Beans or Ground - How much?

[philandsue1]

I''m new to grinding my own beans and have normally bought vaccuum packed pre ground coffee. Are beans generally cheaper to buy than ground coffee per cup of use. One last question, does anyone know of a good, reasonably priced online seller of beans that is a UK based outlet?

Thanks,
A Bean Newbie

 

[roaster dave]

The beans will likely cost the same - pre ground or whole. Congrats on taking a good step towards making your coffee experience more enjoyable.

Sorry I can't help you out with online retailers in the UK.

 

[omegapd]

Hi and Welcome...

I don't think there's much difference in price between the ground and whole beans. If you're buying your whole beans from a Supermarket, they should be the same price as the ground beans from the same manufacturer. If you're buying on-line, I have seen a few places tack on a little bit more when they have to grind the beans themselves, making the whole beans a few cents cheaper.

Whatever the difference in price, though, grinding your own beans is very much worth it. :wink:

E.W.

 

[caffe biscotto]

I've seen a few online roasters and/or supermarkets that charge $1 more per pound for ground coffee.

Most places I've seen will grind your order at no charge. Many roasters will even ask you at what setting you would like your grind.

For home use, I buy whole bean now anyway.

Welcome to Coffeeforums.com philandsue1 !!!

 

[philandsue1]

Thanks for the quick response. I just need to work out which beans I should buy now. I normally buy the pre ground Lavazza, Arabica coffee.

 

[shadow745]

To be honest and drop the hammer on your dreams of buying preground coffee, DON'T DO IT........ Instead buy a decent burr grinder and then buy beans in whole form and go from there. Once those beans are ground they start to stale instantly. For example, with espresso you must grind only at the moment before dosing the basket. Out of curiosity I have ground extra beans and then pulled a shot with it about 6 hours later and it was horrific. Very flat, stale and no crema whatsoever. It may not be as critical with drip or other extraction methods, but it is important to grind only when you need it. Later!

 

[PinkRose]

Hello "philandsue1"

Welcome to the coffee forum! I'm sure you will find a lot of useful information here.

I've noticed that there are some on-line sellers of roasted coffee who add twenty five cents to the total if you select to have the beans ground. That's so petty, especially considering that they add so much extra for the shipping and "handling."

One day a few years ago, I made the mistake of buying coffee beans and asking to have them ground. They opened up the fold-lock-top package and put the beans into the grinder and ground the coffee right back into the same package. By the time they were finished, the "static cling" on the package was unreal, and the ground coffee clung to it like fuzz on a peach. It was a mess. I'll never do that again! I now grind my coffee beans as I need them.

If you're wondering if buying beans and grinding them yourself is cheaper than the vaccuum packed pre ground coffee (that you were buying), I'd have to say that it's probably not cheaper, but it's much much better. The pre-ground vacuum packed coffee is usually a blend of coffee that's of a much lesser quality, plus the pre-ground vacuum packs are mass produced and stale by the time you buy them.

Depending on how much ground coffee you use per cup, you can get a lot of brewed coffee from a pound of coffee beans. I hope you continue exploring the world of coffee and that you won't ever sacrifice quality just to save a few pennies more per cup.

Soon you'll be hooked on good coffee like the rest of us!

I'm sure someone on the forum will be able to suggest a reasonably priced online seller of beans that is a UK based.

Rose

 

[ArabBeaker]

Hi philandsue1, I also am new to this forum.
Now that you are taking the step of grinding your own beans, you may, in time want to consider roasting your own, in a simple corn popper.
You should be able to save money doing this.
For example where I live, freshly roasted beans are $ 35 per kilo and green beans are between $ 16 and 20 per kilo. :wink:
Arab.

 

[Alun_evans]

Hey Arab. Kiwi$ or US$? Are greens really that dear?

 

[ArabBeaker]

I was quoting $NZ.

Furthermore, if I buy 250 gms of roasted beans from the roaster, I'm paying $ 12. Thats $ 48 per kilo. :!:
Supermarket prices are around $ 28 per kilo for roasted beans.

 

[Alun_evans]

Ah well, its not that bad...just think how much you would be paying if you were able to find the equivalent 250gm bag in Harare, using the local currency. The green price is interesting though...its about US$11/kg. Maybe I should send you a little sample pack of various greens over? :wink:

 

[Alun_evans]

Actually its a pity you did not join CF's a day or two earlier. 1 of my regulars has just gone back to NZ for a weeks holiday, he could have carried some Indonesian Gold (green) back for you. About 30% of my Jakarta cafe clientele is Kiwi, so I am sure someone else will be heading back there real soon. You have any favorites, or "pengen coba" (want to try) greens? Take a pic from- Java Estate, West Java smallholder, Central Java Village, Ngobo small bean, Bali Kintamani, Flores Arabica, Wamena Papua, West Papua, Sumatra Lintong, Sumatra Mandehlng Villge, Sumatra Toba Arabica, Takengon Aceh, North Sulawesi Mt Arabica, Toraja, Gunung Rantapeo Arabica, Gunung Dewa West Sumatra.... just pick maybe 3 or 4 or the BEagles at Auckland/Welly airport might go beserk with the smell.

 

[ArabBeaker]

Alun_
nice offer, thanks. I tried yesterday to get PNG but the roaster told me "it sucks"
I read on the Coffee Shared Roasting Log that PNG A/X Malooaba is rated quite highly. So I'm assuming what he has here is not this origin.

Alun_ of course I would most gratefully accept your offer. Green is best, any that you would recommend and also your roast length recommendation. Superb. PM if you like.
ArabB.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello again,

I often have a difficult time figuring out currency and weight conversions when I read some of the postings on this forum. I found a couple of web pages that help make it easier to figure things out when I want to compare things to what I know. (US dollars, pounds and ounces, etc.).

http://www.unitconversion.org/unit_conv ... rency.html

http://www.unitconversion.org/unit_conv ... eight.html

Here are some examples of the conversions that I did when I was exploring that web site:

1 New Zealand Dollar = 0.711057594 US Dollar

1 Australian Dollar = 0.839503932 US Dollar

1 Euro = 1.3877 US Dollar

250 gram = 8.818490487 ounce

1 kilogram = 2.204622622 pound

I remember the "olden days" when I had to look everything up on a chart and then calculate by hand. It's so nice to find a web site that will do it for me. I love the Internet! I bookmarked the web site in case I need it again.

Enjoy your day.

Rose

 

[ArabBeaker]

Whenever my kids speak of my younger days as the olden days, I remind them, THEY are LIVING in them. "Get ready today" I say, "for tomorrow your kids will be reminding YOU".

They have no idea what I'm talking about. :wink: