Whole Beans or Ground Coffee, Which is Best?

Coffee lovers know that nothing beats a steaming cup of their favorite flavor in the morning. You may find that you enjoy a cup after a large meal or as part of your dessert and also love drinking coffee in the middle of a workday. Though you can easily make a cup from ground coffee, some coffee lovers find that they prefer beans because of the benefits of using coffee beans. The best choice for you between whole beans or ground coffee depends on whether you have access to a burr coffee grinder and other tools or if you prefer the convenience of ground beans.

When to Use Ground Coffee

The biggest reason to use ground beans is that you want a fast and convenient way to make coffee. Made from beans and available in all of your favorite flavors, the ground version comes in bags in different sizes. While you can keep the gourmet coffee in that bag, it's better to store it in an airtight container. This ensures that it lasts longer and stays fresh.

Pre-ground coffee is also best for those who use drip machines. These machines require that you add the ground beans to a small interior cup and then add water. As the machine heats, it pushes the hot water over the beans and extracts their full flavor. Many of the automatic machines designed for home use utilize this design. You don't need to worry about the coffee tasting too bitter or not getting enough flavor. With pre-ground coffee, you simply add as much of the ground beans as you want. You can make a single cup or multiple cups.

When to Choose Bean Coffee

In the race between whole beans and ground coffee, bean coffee wins when you want to ensure that the coffee you buy isn't stale. Ground varieties can sometimes lack the flavor that you want because the bags sit on shelves for months. With coffee beans, you get whole beans that have all of the flavor that you want. You can adjust the grind size with your burr coffee grinder to get the level of flavor that you want. Though some prefer a coarse grind, others like a finer grind. Choosing the grind size can also help you make different types of coffee such as Turkish coffee or a cappuccino made from your favorite flavored coffee.

Some of the other reasons to choose bean coffee include:

•You can change the grind to adjust the speed of your machine
•It lets you skip the hassles of keeping pre-ground coffee fresh
•Whole beans work in all types of machines
•You can adjust the extraction to get more or less flavor
•Coffee beans come in all of your favorite flavors

Make Your Choice

Whether you love decaffeinated coffee or prefer espresso and other drinks loaded with caffeine, you need to choose the type of coffee to buy. If you have a burr coffee grinder, whole beans are a great choice because you can grind the beans to the consistency that you want. A ground variety is a better option for those who have a standard machine and want an easy way to make a fresh cup.

Once you know the basics, it's easy to decide whether whole beans or ground coffee is the best for you.