The history of coffee would not be complete without coffee grinders — after all, it is in the ground beans that the aroma of this drink is fully revealed.
In ancient times, it was customary to boil coffee beans without grinding. At best the beans were soaked before brewing. The Bedouin nomads were the first to make coffee their “national drink”. They managed to grind roasted coffee beans with a pestle in a mortar. Crushing the hard, oily grains was not easy, it was a task for men, and the skill had to be learned. But even professionals were unable to obtain fine grinding.
In the 15th century, the Arabs invented the first mechanical coffee grinder for better results. The beans were put into a hollow wooden cylinder with two millstones, and the millstones were powered by a handle on top of the grinder.
In the middle of the 17th century, a Turkish coffee grinder was invented. It had a convenient cylindrical shape — one could hold it and did not need to fix it on a flat surface. The folding handle was used not only for carrying the griner, but also in order to increase or decrease the distance between the millstones. All this made “grinding to the dust” and the brewing of real Turkish coffee possible.
In Europe, coffee grinders were made in the form of a cube, which had to be attached to the edge of the table. The grains were put into a funnel — an open or closed one (in this case, the aroma was preserved better). The ground powder was collected in a small drawer. The millstones were made of metal or ceramic: the metal ones were more durable, but the latter heated up less and retained the taste and aroma of the grains better. The distance between the millstones could be changed with a screw.
April 3, 1828 was a significant day for coffee connoisseurs: on this day, James Carrington patented his “mechanical coffee grinder”. In 1840, the Peugeot brothers, the future founders of the automobile company, received a patent for the production of “coffee mills” at their own factory.
Nowadays, manual blade and burr grinders are used to make homemade ground coffee. Connoisseurs claim that burr grinders grind beans to a smaller and more uniform size of particles.
In ancient times, it was customary to boil coffee beans without grinding. At best the beans were soaked before brewing. The Bedouin nomads were the first to make coffee their “national drink”. They managed to grind roasted coffee beans with a pestle in a mortar. Crushing the hard, oily grains was not easy, it was a task for men, and the skill had to be learned. But even professionals were unable to obtain fine grinding.
In the 15th century, the Arabs invented the first mechanical coffee grinder for better results. The beans were put into a hollow wooden cylinder with two millstones, and the millstones were powered by a handle on top of the grinder.
In the middle of the 17th century, a Turkish coffee grinder was invented. It had a convenient cylindrical shape — one could hold it and did not need to fix it on a flat surface. The folding handle was used not only for carrying the griner, but also in order to increase or decrease the distance between the millstones. All this made “grinding to the dust” and the brewing of real Turkish coffee possible.
In Europe, coffee grinders were made in the form of a cube, which had to be attached to the edge of the table. The grains were put into a funnel — an open or closed one (in this case, the aroma was preserved better). The ground powder was collected in a small drawer. The millstones were made of metal or ceramic: the metal ones were more durable, but the latter heated up less and retained the taste and aroma of the grains better. The distance between the millstones could be changed with a screw.
April 3, 1828 was a significant day for coffee connoisseurs: on this day, James Carrington patented his “mechanical coffee grinder”. In 1840, the Peugeot brothers, the future founders of the automobile company, received a patent for the production of “coffee mills” at their own factory.
Nowadays, manual blade and burr grinders are used to make homemade ground coffee. Connoisseurs claim that burr grinders grind beans to a smaller and more uniform size of particles.
