![\"Whole](\"https:\/\/chloelina.com\/authentic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Fresh-espresso-beans-C3185-300x200.png\")
<\/figure>Bean or preparation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For me it is both- it’s a good quality bean, which before grinding, has a soft sheen, not glossy but a sheen. This is a clue as to the oil content of the bean and it follows, the better tasting coffee. Freshly ground coffee beans have a rich, deeply fragrant aroma. The aroma primes the senses for the experience.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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It’s been more than a few years since I started grinding coffee beans but I can’t imagine doing it any other way. I use a simple electric grinder that makes short work of the task and is ‘old reliable’. I grind just enough for a day or two and store it in a glass canning jar with a gasket and clamp lid, in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a time, on vacation, that I purchased a bag of coffee only to discover the next morning that it was whole beans and the cottage in which we were staying had no coffee grinder – manual or electric. And it had a french press coffee pot. Those gorgeous beans just sitting there, showing off their wonderful sheen. Desperate times – the morning coffee is<\/em> under threat-<\/em> call for desperate measures. I improvised with the bottom of a heavy, stainless steel pot and a wooden cutting board. I was able to do a fair job of producing a coarse to medium ground which was surprisingly good. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSheen to achieve ‘crema’<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n