Grind from Frozen? - Page 3

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
jpender
Posts: 3861
Joined: 11 years ago

#21: Post by jpender »

jetroaster wrote:Apologies if I've missed it in another thread, I'm still finding my way around here. Is there any data to support the idea that grinding from frozen might preserve VOC's ? Cheers, Scott
Not that I've seen.

galumay wrote:The research from Matt suggests 20 deg C is the critical point so its not necessary to freeze beans for the improvement he is describing.
You misread his paper or the accompanying article. He said the "biggest change occur(s) between room temperature [20°C] and −19 °C beans". Coffee oil freezes at -6.5°C so maybe that's the critical temperature, assuming there is one.

jetroaster
Posts: 6
Joined: 8 years ago

#22: Post by jetroaster »

I've been poking around freeze grinding for reasons other than extraction. I've been looking through patents filed between 1970 and 2011. Most have to do with preserving aromatics during grinding and for better shelf-life. Others have to do with achieving a very fine grind without turning the coffee/food product into an oily paste.
This patent link is fairly interesting; https://www.google.com/patents/US3725076 It seems to suggest that grinding while frozen keeps the oils in a state that retards the loss of aromatics....thereby giving better shelf-life than coffees ground above freezing.
The references at the bottom move in other interesting directions including this one regarding CO2 flushing. http://www.google.ch/patents/US2855313
Cheers, Scott

jpender
Posts: 3861
Joined: 11 years ago

#23: Post by jpender »

That is kind of interesting. Of course you or I aren't going to grind, vacuum pack and then store the ground coffee at 110°F for 6 weeks prior to brewing. But it seems plausible that if aroma and freshness are improved by grinding colder under those conditions they would also be improved for coffee brewed immediately after grinding.

It would be easy to try it.... why not do that?

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