Following the orthodox doctrine of coffee enthusiasts, I had been spending about a dollar an ounce for organic whole-bean coffee and grinding it in a burr grinder. The coffee was very good, but my wife and I wondered if using the grinder was worth the mess and hassle. The gadget collects grounds underneath, which invariably get everywhere. You find coffee grounds all over the counter. You take a wet washcloth to clean them up, and it becomes covered with giant dark brown streaks. You feel like an environmental worker cleaning up an oil spill. The work is constant. The grounds are insidious. They get everywhere.
There is also the matter of limited counter space. The burr grinder is big and establishes its presence among the coffee, protein powder, creatine, and oatmeal containers. Something had to give.
So my wife and I decided to break with the coffee purists and conduct an experiment. We put the burr grinder in the garage and decided to try less expensive pre-ground coffee. We started with Peet’s ground dark roast at 72 cents an ounce. It was just as good as the whole-bean coffee at about 75% of the cost. Maxwell House Smooth Bold, at the same price as Peet’s, was also very good. Tomorrow we’ll try Yuban Dark Roast Bold at 55 cents an ounce. I’ve had it before, and I’m confident it will meet our standards. The day after that, we’ll try the cheapest of the bunch, Folgers Black Silk, at 44 cents an ounce. I’ve had this before, too, and I’m confident it will be very good.
The experiment has produced some surprises. For one, the budget coffee Maxwell House Smooth Bold costs the same as Peet’s. On principle, Maxwell House should lose its spot in the rotation unless I can find it cheaper. I’m drinking it now as I write this, and it is very good.
I’m also surprised that I detect no difference between pre-ground and whole-bean coffee. I thought there was a significant difference a few years ago. What happened to me? I wonder how much confirmation bias makes people believe freshly ground whole-bean coffee tastes better than pre-ground. Or perhaps another form of confirmation bias is at work: I love the clean kitchen countertop and want to love the pre-ground budget coffee, so I will myself to like it. I doubt that’s the case. I love coffee, and if I found it weak, acidic, or off-tasting, I would reject it and happily bring back the burr grinder.
My wife is happy with the new arrangement. So is one of my teenage daughters, who constantly fretted over the messy coffee grounds from the burr grinder.
I’m 99% certain that, moving forward, our morning ritual will be grinder-free, and those whole-bean coffees costing over a dollar an ounce will be replaced with varieties costing half as much. The coffee purists will give us a censorious glare, but our kitchen countertop gleams bright and clean.
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