Coffee bean grinding trick

[Goatrope]

Do you spritz your coffee beans with water before grinding?

Study: Why a spritz of water before grinding coffee yields less waste, tastier espresso

"It turns out you can’t cut corners if you want to achieve excellence.”

arstechnica.com

 

[EclipseRedRing]

The full article is behind a paywall but if the idea is to reduce static then I have never tried it as static has never been a problem in the grinders I have used. Might it cause a need for more regular grinder cleaning?

 

[Goatrope]

I edited my post to reference an article which is NOT behind a paywall.

I haven't ground coffee in awhile so I don't remember if I had static electricity problems, but I do remember grinds tending to 'cling' to the inside of the grinder.

Just stumbled across the article in my casual websurfing today and thought it was intriguing.

I found a few earlier dated articles about the method, so apparently, it's not an entirely new concept.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Interesting - I will give it a try

 

[cvac]

I don't bother as I use a handgrinder and the loss is only usually about 0.2g. Most of that will be fines and chaff with the light roasted coffee that I primarily drink these days.

If you have an electric grinder then you may see more benefit. The motors in those things move very fast and will create more static than most handgrinders.

 

[Goatrope]

@cvac Good point. Makes sense that electric grinders would probably generate more static electricity than hand grinders.

 

[cvac]

One more thing: if you grind in "turbo mode" with your handgrinder, it will likely generate more static and fines. Overfilling the hopper on a handgrinder will also likely create more static. At least IME.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I've had several on a roasting forum suggest this. I have a Virtuoso+ that has an anti-static bin and don't find static to be enough of an issue. However, my last grinder was full of static. I often thought of trying this trick but never bothered. I like to keep things simple.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Do you spritz your coffee beans with water before grinding?

Study: Why a spritz of water before grinding coffee yields less waste, tastier espresso

"It turns out you can’t cut corners if you want to achieve excellence.”

arstechnica.com

You are talking about doing RDT, also known as the Ross Droplet Technique. The idea is to lightly wet the beans with a quick mist spray of water, so that when you run the beans through the grinder, you reduce the static buildup issue. Because that has been such an issue with many grinders, is why the new DF64 gen 2, and the DF83 gen 2, have plasma generators built in, to reduce the static problem, so you don't need to use RDT. I believe the Owed gen 2 grinder also has a plasma generator built in as well. But most grinders do not have plasma generators yet, and are still susceptible to static problems.

I too own the Baratza Virtuoso+ grinder, and for me personally, I do not like the idea of sending wet beans through my grinder. While I do understand that the burrs are made out of stainless steel, regardless, I don't like pushing my luck, and want my grinder to last a long time, so I just rather not. So instead, I chose to buy a bellows for it, for only 13 buckaroos on Amazon. The bellow works so good, at pushing the remaining grounds, into the collection chamber. Additionally, the bellows helps to feed the last beans through, while I am simultaneously, pulsing the grinder in P mode.

And static issues are really not much of an issue with hand grinders, I have the 1ZPresso K-MAX grinder, and retention on my hand grinder is 0%. And I am not entering a hand grinding championship, so I am not going to crank that handle like an idiot. Hand grinding should be enjoyed, a lot like shaving, a meditative experience. If your cranking the handle super fast enough to cause static retention, then your just showing off in front of your lady or something, cause its not necessary.

Cause at the end of the day, if you really need fast grinding, get a Virtuoso+, or better yet, a DF83 grinder.

 

[Omega48]

More than for avoiding build up it is for avoiding a mess around the chute and on the counter. Two drops for 15 grams of beans are more than enough, shake well. The grinder stays clean, the counter stays clean and I have never seen any rust on the burs.

 

[FoolishMortal]

Yes.

 

[FoolishMortal]

This may be interesting for the group:

And static issues are really not much of an issue with hand grinders, I have the 1ZPresso K-MAX grinder, and retention on my hand grinder is 0%. And I am not entering a hand grinding championship, so I am not going to crank that handle like an idiot. Hand grinding should be enjoyed, a lot like shaving, a meditative experience. If your cranking the handle super fast enough to cause static retention, then your just showing off in front of your lady or something, cause its not necessary.

It feels like you're painting with a pretty broad brush here. There are different beans, different roasts, different grinders - heck, different levels of humidity based on where you are, all of which can affect the presence of static during hand-grinding. I'm not trying to break any records with my grinding, and I'm already happily married, but I do deal with static in three of my four hand-grinders. I find RDT to be helpful.

 

[saf]

I use a hand grinder and mist the beans. Seems like less fines in the grinder cup. It at very least makes me think it’s a better way to do things and then makes my cup taste better.

 

[mfury]

My electric grinder will produce static. I load what I plan to grind right now, barely wet my finger under the tap, and stir the beans a couple of times. The grind never appears damp but no static cling either.

 

[H4nk]

After the grounds go into the filter, I stir them with a fork.

 

[tjsgarden]

I am new and inexperienced in the B&B coffee threads.
I learned the basics of espresso thru Youtube and 3 months of beginner experience. I wdt and will experiment more with RDT with light roast beans.
I ordered a Flair Pro 2 today to begin the pressure profiling journey!