Personal Coffee History.

Coffee for many of us is a passion beyond explanation! Coffee grinding is either a taboo or another passion in our coffee journey. It’s a simple but very passionate part of our lives! I was initially introduced to instant coffee as a teenager when I joined the RAAF! In the Air Force the standard request was “white with two” {sugars} no matter which tech or other crew room you visited. It was one of those constants right across the Air Force. It was some time before I discovered espresso machines but when I did it changed my world forever.

It would be many years actually till I got my very own coffee machine and the option to choose between pre-ground coffee or beans and do my own coffee grinding.

Pre-ground or Beans? Coffee Grinding – It’s a big decision at least initially.

My first machine is the one pictured below and it didn’t give me the immediate option to do coffee grinding myself. It continues to be a decent inexpensive coffee machine that I will likely brew a coffee in when I have a minute today. For the longest time I have survived on pre-ground coffee with coffee grinding always being seen as unnecessary. I have tried many types but settled on Vitoria coffee for many years. The flavour was generally satisfactory, but I knew there was more to home coffee making even on a budget.

I fell into the coffee bean grinding rabbit hole about nine months ago just simply deciding to try it after purchasing an inexpensive manual coffee grinder, I’ve always wanted to give it a go but danced around it thinking that the pre-ground should be just as good.

It’s Just a Waste of Time Grinding your own Coffee! Or is it?

It’s a question you may ponder when it comes to choosing the convenience of buying a coffee at a Cafe or opting to create your own signature drink at home with your own coffee grinding challenge. It does require some commitment initially for sure I feel if your already comfortable with pre-ground beans.. Finding the coffee, you think is for you is also an adventure worth undertaking. This can provide instant satisfaction or frustration for many of us wanting to create our own signature drink, so you have to be patient because it’s probably not all going to come together in the first instant.

Discovering your own Beans!

If you have a passionate coffee shop that has many beans available and on show to choose from, then the best way to test a new coffee bean is to actually chew on a bean your considering buying. Yes, ask the shop owner/assistant if it’s possible to get a single bean to try. Of course, have a discussion with them regarding what you’re looking for in flavour so they can suggest possible beans to fulfil your flavour dream. You should get an honest representation of the full flavour of the bean.

Personal Adventure at Adelaide Market.

I used to visit my local market in Adelaide in Australia and there was a fantastic coffee shop there. I would walk past it just to bathe in the rich coffee aromas that emanated from its vast display of coffee beans under glass counters. You could ask what a coffee would likely taste like, and they could tell you! When I got one or two that sounded like what I was looking for, they offered me the bean and said, “Take a bite!” I looked at the shop owner with some amazement but he reiterated with “Just take a bite and you’ll experience the flavours you will get in your coffee!” It was amazingly good to have a dedicated shop like this to guide me.

Your own milage may vary, so when shopping you need to decide if you’re looking for a light – Medium or Dark flavour to start with. These are often also matched with other flavour descriptions like notes of chocolate or bitter with rich and a full range of other descriptive words to help you understand what you’re getting.

Google on its description of Coffee Flavours: Sour: a sharp, acidic taste Sweet: a sugary, caramel-like taste Bitter: a strong, pungent taste Fruity: a taste reminiscent of berries, citrus, or other fruit Nutty: a taste reminiscent of nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts.

Descriptions are not limited to the above but it’s a good guide. Enjoy the journey discovering your own coffee preference. This can also change if you get other brands beans so it’s just a guide.

Choosing and Grinding My First Beans.

So why not grind coffee yourself? Well, it can just be an inconvenience if you simply don’t have a grinder available. What set me off down this path was running into a super inexpensive hand grinder. Yes, it was only about $10 or less when I got it. It had the grinder with a rotary action, two glass bowls that fit onto the grinder so either can catch the fresh coffee you make.

I was in one of our local Chiang Rai department (Central Plaza) and saw a table of Thai Coffee beans. Priced at 375 Thb ( Thai baht} ($10.40 US) for 500 grams, I though why the hell not give it a try!

On the display table there was a group of coffees from a couple different local suppliers, so I looked at what’s was available. There was a choice of light, Medium, Espresso and a Dark roasts to choose from. Thai people really love the dark roast, but personally I think it tastes way to bitter and more akin to being burnt than just roasted. Thats just my perception anyway!

I initially purchased the medium roasted coffee beans, and it was really pleasing when I made my first coffees that the results were even better than I had really expected. Rich flavours with some light chocolate notes which I liked very much. Also a smooth flavour that wasn’t bitter or burnt. It was a pleasing deep and dark flavour in a latte style drink made at home.

I set off home with new medium beans in hand ready to now unpack the manual coffee grinder I had purchased a month ago. First, I gave the coffee grinder a good clean, I opened the freshly purchased coffee beans and placed a few beans in the top of the grinder basket. I chose to not yet adjusting anything initially as I needed to establish a reasonable baseline! This seemed a wise choice to get a starting point.

I turned the grinder handle which offered a small amount of resistance and was rewarded with some comforting grinding noises with the freshly ground coffee appearing in the grinders glass base. Looking at the size of the initial grindings, I thought they were probably larger than my normal pre-ground coffee, so made the decision to adjust the grinder to produce a smaller grain size than the pre-ground varieties I had used previously.

Taking the mechanism apart I was able to unlock the centre adjuster in a few seconds and wound it in the direction I felt it would likely grind a smaller size coffee. I ground some more fresh coffee in the grinder, and it produced approximately what I had hoped for!

My First Coffee Experience.

In anticipation of what was about to occur the coffee machine was turned on. My very old and well used Sunbeam Cafe Coffee maker in readiness for this new experience. I have carried this coffee maker around the world with me. It’s not a big commercial unit at all, but simply a small home unit that I picked up on special some 15 years plus ago! Yes, its well-worn but a virgin to freshly ground coffees. Let’s get producing!

I filled the coffee makers basket with a good scoop of coffee so when I patted it flat the basket was level and full! I locked the coffee basket in place then grabbing my milk container steaming the milk to as good as perfection as I can. The steamer wand is actually quite small in diameter and doesn’t have the flow of newer machines. It doesn’t deliver the volume of steam newer machines do but it’s what I have!

Placing my favourite coffee mug under the coffee basket I was ready to discover both nothing and everything in this first taste. I turned the switch to brew and my first cup of dark aromatic liquid flowed into the cup. I allowed for a 15 second pour and then shut off. The coffee smelt just amazing from the very first instant. I certainly didn’t expect a lot from my first try honestly!

Pouring in my silky-smooth milk the combination of the coffee and freshly steamed milk became heaven in an instant! The flavour was truly much better than the previous experiences with the pre-ground coffees! I have always loved my Vitoria coffee, but I’ve always got it in pre-ground, so I look forward to getting some beans in the future.

Inconsistency is the Pitfall of Home Coffee Makers!

With my initial success I got cocky pretty quickly and reduced the coffee grind size yet again! This turned out to be an absolute disaster as the grind was so small it blocked the coffee machine holder. This caused the pressure to build so high it couldn’t escape through the coffee but push out the coffee through the top. Unfortunately, this made quite a mess for me to clean. After a few choice words I cleaned up the mess and returned the grinder to the earlier setting.

I found that all was good at this size and its remained so since the beginning. I tried a click either side over the first few weeks and it seems my very inexpensive coffee grinder likes it where I have it which is about 4-5 clicks from the smallest size. It was about 15 when I first opened the unit so it’s down a fair way.

In finding this balance over the last nine months I have to say I screwed it up still many times! Primarily by over pouring the coffee. About a 12 -15 second pour remains the best results. Less and its not enough coffee so weak flavoured. Overpouring to say 20 seconds or more ensures the coffee is all poured out and just tasteless hot water adds to the initial brew.

If you watch the pour closely what happening at about 15 seconds is the coffee coming out of the machine lightens and becomes muddy something like muddy water and not full flavoured coffee. Moral to the story is watch the poor and don’t get greedy as more is actually less on the flavour front!

Quality comes from consistency in your process. I don’t care to spend time and effort weighing out a set amount of beans and have some idiotic hairbrush with five prongs to ensure its properly placed in the basket. Thats not me at all, and if it’s you then dive in and be as precise as you like. I have found my coffee to be consistent after the initial experience to not have gone to my local coffee shop more than twice in the last nine months. That in itself I hope will give you an indication of how happy I am with the process to date.

Brendon McAliece is a multi-lingual expat who brings over three decades of flight simulator/PC building experience as well as over two decades of real-world jet fighter experience as a weapons/egress technician. He holds a sport pilot certificate giving him real-world flying experience. Hi travels have taken him from Europe to the Middle East, Asia and his home of Australia. He has a passion for travel, languages, Flight simulation as well as Guitaring and Coffee. You can read more in his blogs below.

Learn more @

DreamingGuitar.com – DreamingCoffee.com – LetsFlyVFR.com

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