Hey everyone,

My question pertains to whether I should use my Cuisinart SupremeGrind (modified to create a finer grind as shown here - http://www.instructables.com/id/Hacking ... -Espresso/) to grind fresh at home before extracting, or if I would be better off using the professional espresso grinder at the cafe I work at to grind ahead of time a couple times a week, and the store the grinds in a vacuum container I purchased on amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/PREMIUM-Airtight ... ee+storage ).

Thanks for your advice!

Im not going to lie, I don't think either option is very good. I cannot attest to the "hacking", but I can tell you that generally that grinder is not going to be close to sufficient for espresso. Conversely, espresso deteriorates very quickly after grinding, so no matter the container you choose, even by the time you get home the quality will have noticeably diminished, by the next day? Forget about it. Some people use pressurized baskets to try to counteract this, which is again something to which I cannot speak, but your real solution is investing in a new grinder, although this may not be an option for you, I'm not sure.

Presented with only the two choices, I would first try the hack and see just how good of an espresso grind it can actually produce. If it is not to your liking, I would try the cafe' and compare the two.

Try freezing the grounds as soon as you can after grinding them at the cafe. Then I would take the frozen grounds and add them to the portafilter straight from the freezer. If your portafilter is preheated hopefully it won't drop your brew temp too low. But yes, a good grinder is key.

Preground coffee = stale coffee. Search on "preground coffee" for plenty of prior discussions. For example:

Use preground coffee while saving for an espresso grinder?
How can good espresso be made with preground coffee or pods?
Professionally pre-ground coffee vs...

There's only one answer if you want anything better than barely passable espresso: Get a good grinder.

HuntieC wrote:Hey everyone,

My question pertains to whether I should use my Cuisinart SupremeGrind (modified to create a finer grind as shown here - http://www.instructables.com/id/Hacking ... -Espresso/) to grind fresh at home before extracting, or if I would be better off using the professional espresso grinder at the cafe I work at to grind ahead of time a couple times a week, and the store the grinds in a vacuum container I purchased on amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/PREMIUM-Airtight ... ee+storage ).

Thanks for your advice!

Even though you might be able to use it for espresso it doesn't mean it will be good espresso. I have a cheap backup Saeco that can almost choke my espresso machine but it doesn't get anywhere near good crema or taste. If you can't afford to pay big dollars consider a used Ascaso i1 or i2 that gives me pretty good results at a reasonable price (better still would be a new one)
Like everyone says the grinder is the most important thing to great espresso

Good luck

Randy