Comments on: Pre ground the devils work, or a stairway to heaven? http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven Has Bean Coffee Blog Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:27:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Elise http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-11674 Elise Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:33:27 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-11674 What a bold statement that blogger made. To call ground coffee "coffee prostitution" is surprising. I agree with you Steve, it is not the world's best <a href="//roastedcup.com" rel="nofollow">coffee</a>, and whole bean or single cup brewers are definitely a better solution. Yet ground coffee is still far better than instant coffee. What a bold statement that blogger made. To call ground coffee “coffee prostitution” is surprising. I agree with you Steve, it is not the world’s best coffee, and whole bean or single cup brewers are definitely a better solution. Yet ground coffee is still far better than instant coffee.

]]> By: Stephen Leighton http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-10658 Stephen Leighton Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:19:52 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-10658 Hi Tom We stocked the Hario one (which for me is slightly better than the Kyocera), but sold out way too quick but going to get some more Hi Tom

We stocked the Hario one (which for me is slightly better than the Kyocera), but sold out way too quick but going to get some more

]]> By: Tom http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-10657 Tom Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:17:02 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-10657 Good to hear your thoughts on this Steve. I thinks it's great that Has Bean does go to the effort of offering pre-ground and it definitely does 'start the conversation' as you said. Although I plan to buy a decent grinder at some point I wouldn't have been able to get into the world of these great coffees without the pre-ground option and I'm sure that's the case for a lot of people, it's the 'gateway drug' ;-) Also, the pre-ground I've had from you so far is a world away from anything available in a supermarket (all too coarse for espresso anyway) and incomparable. Actually got my eye on the excellent looking kyocera ceramic hand grinder but can only find it available from the US, any plans to offer this on the shop? Good to hear your thoughts on this Steve.
I thinks it’s great that Has Bean does go to the effort of offering pre-ground and it definitely does ’start the conversation’ as you said.
Although I plan to buy a decent grinder at some point I wouldn’t have been able to get into the world of these great coffees without the pre-ground option and I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of people, it’s the ‘gateway drug’ ;-)
Also, the pre-ground I’ve had from you so far is a world away from anything available in a supermarket (all too coarse for espresso anyway) and incomparable.
Actually got my eye on the excellent looking kyocera ceramic hand grinder but can only find it available from the US, any plans to offer this on the shop?

]]> By: Roland Glew http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-3422 Roland Glew Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:22:44 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-3422 I agree whole heartedly with everyone above :) Pre-ground might not be ideal for flavour, but it's perfect for easy access. All you need is a few quid spent on a cafetiere and you've got everything you need. I'm also personally a fan of the blade grinder for similar reasons. I used a nice blade grinder for quite a while before I finally upgraded this Christmas to an electric burr grinder. Again, that's not to say the blade grinder is a great grinder, but at £10-£30 it's much more accessible to people who want to see what a step up from pre-ground can bring. I agree whole heartedly with everyone above :) Pre-ground might not be ideal for flavour, but it’s perfect for easy access. All you need is a few quid spent on a cafetiere and you’ve got everything you need.

I’m also personally a fan of the blade grinder for similar reasons. I used a nice blade grinder for quite a while before I finally upgraded this Christmas to an electric burr grinder. Again, that’s not to say the blade grinder is a great grinder, but at £10-£30 it’s much more accessible to people who want to see what a step up from pre-ground can bring.

]]> By: David Dunlop http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-3390 David Dunlop Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:57:58 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-3390 As much as i would find it very hard to go back to buying pre-ground, i still believe it has its place on the market. If it wasn't for pre-ground i would not have got into brewing coffee at home, and i think for many of us enthusiasts it is the platform from which we start our quest for coffee heaven. My friends and family enjoy the flavours that come with the freshness of my home roasted, ground on demand brews. However i know they would be less inclined than i would to notice the differences between that and a bag of pre-ground from their Hasbean subscription pack, and they certainly wouldn't spend the money i have done on roasters/grinders to bridge taste gap. Granted, supermarket pre-ground i wouldn't recommend to anyone. However i believe great speciality companies such as Hasbean who have the highest respect for their coffees and roast and grind just before shipping, should continue to sell pre-ground, as eliminating customers who may not currently own a grinder, is counterproductive to their business and the industry as a whole. I think there is a flipside to this argument, in that although most coffee shops do grind on demand, there is no guarantee over the quality or freshness of the beans being ground. Therefore if i didn't own a grinder i would always have more confidence in the cup quality of a pre-ground zip locked bag of Cachoeira from Hasbean, than a freshly ground shot of potentially poor quality beans from a local cafe. As much as i would find it very hard to go back to buying pre-ground, i still believe it has its place on the market. If it wasn’t for pre-ground i would not have got into brewing coffee at home, and i think for many of us enthusiasts it is the platform from which we start our quest for coffee heaven.

My friends and family enjoy the flavours that come with the freshness of my home roasted, ground on demand brews. However i know they would be less inclined than i would to notice the differences between that and a bag of pre-ground from their Hasbean subscription pack, and they certainly wouldn’t spend the money i have done on roasters/grinders to bridge taste gap.

Granted, supermarket pre-ground i wouldn’t recommend to anyone. However i believe great speciality companies such as Hasbean who have the highest respect for their coffees and roast and grind just before shipping, should continue to sell pre-ground, as eliminating customers who may not currently own a grinder, is counterproductive to their business and the industry as a whole.

I think there is a flipside to this argument, in that although most coffee shops do grind on demand, there is no guarantee over the quality or freshness of the beans being ground. Therefore if i didn’t own a grinder i would always have more confidence in the cup quality of a pre-ground zip locked bag of Cachoeira from Hasbean, than a freshly ground shot of potentially poor quality beans from a local cafe.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-3356 uberVU - social comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:07:21 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-3356 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by hasbean: Lazy blog post (audioboo)on pre ground coffee http://bit.ly/a6S2yL but I am shattered... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by hasbean: Lazy blog post (audioboo)on pre ground coffee http://bit.ly/a6S2yL but I am shattered…

]]> By: Howard http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-3353 Howard Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:03:42 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-3353 Could not agree more Steve! Didn't have a grinder at home till Christmas, still only use (and can sensibly afford) a hand grinder, but before that enjoyed some lovely stuff as pre-ground. No, it was not as good as whole beans, yes it lost a lot of character very quickly - but as my friends who got filter (pre-ground) packs for Christmas will atest - it was the best coffee I / the've had, ever, to that point - and Steve has at least two new customers as a result. As an industry we must never close ourselves off to people who don't meet our 'expectations' as customers - what a daft way of doing business that would be! Bring on those conversations! Could not agree more Steve!

Didn’t have a grinder at home till Christmas, still only use (and can sensibly afford) a hand grinder, but before that enjoyed some lovely stuff as pre-ground. No, it was not as good as whole beans, yes it lost a lot of character very quickly – but as my friends who got filter (pre-ground) packs for Christmas will atest – it was the best coffee I / the’ve had, ever, to that point – and Steve has at least two new customers as a result. As an industry we must never close ourselves off to people who don’t meet our ‘expectations’ as customers – what a daft way of doing business that would be! Bring on those conversations!

]]> By: Jon http://www.hasblog.co.uk/pre-ground-the-devils-work-or-a-stairway-to-heaven/comment-page-1#comment-3348 Jon Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:56:27 +0000 http://www.hasblog.co.uk/?p=1954#comment-3348 Agree about ground coffee - I don't think I'd have started drinking nice coffee unless the roaster I used could do preground. I wonder if the cost of some grinders is an issue, though? - spending £100+ on a grinder is hard/impossible for many to consider...let alone when you 'need' one at work, one at home, one to take on holiday etc ;) Would it be helpful to have some cheaper grinders to consider? - things like Le Cafetiere's manual grinder can do fine for french press/filter, and a blade grinder (which far from ideal) is still better than preground imo. None of these will give you consistently optimum results - but I do think they're a lot better than preground which will be consistently stale. You could do a £30 'starter bag', inc a basic grinder and some beans :) Agree about ground coffee – I don’t think I’d have started drinking nice coffee unless the roaster I used could do preground. I wonder if the cost of some grinders is an issue, though? – spending £100+ on a grinder is hard/impossible for many to consider…let alone when you ‘need’ one at work, one at home, one to take on holiday etc ;)

Would it be helpful to have some cheaper grinders to consider? – things like Le Cafetiere’s manual grinder can do fine for french press/filter, and a blade grinder (which far from ideal) is still better than preground imo. None of these will give you consistently optimum results – but I do think they’re a lot better than preground which will be consistently stale. You could do a £30 ’starter bag’, inc a basic grinder and some beans :)

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