3. COFFEE BEANS AND THE BUILT-IN BURR GRINDER
Grinding the beans just before brewing will maximize the flavor and aroma of
your coffee. Conical burr grinders are considered the best way of grinding
beans. The slower grinding speed of the conical burrs creates less heat thus
preserving more aroma of the ground coffee. Following the recommendations
below will make your coffee taste better and your machine last longer.
a. Storing Coffee Beans in the Freezer?
Coffee stores do not store beans in the freezer or refrigerator! Coffee will act
like baking soda, absorbing all odors and tastes surrounding it. Coffee beans
will stay fresh for several weeks as long as you keep them in a dry, dark
container. (It’s the ground coffee which will lose aroma rapidly!) If you must
store coffee beans in the freezer, take them out the day before use and thaw
in an open dish. This way they will thaw fully and evenly prior to adding the
beans to the machine.
CAUTION:
Do not add frozen beans to the grinder, always thaw before using.
IMPORTANT:
If you fill beans from the freezer directly into the grinder, moisture
will seep into the burrs and the ground chute. The moisture makes the ground
coffee stick in the ground coffee chute (Fig. 10) and will clog it up over time.
b. Finer or Coarser Grind?
The three grind settings (Fig. 4) of your CoffeeTEAM PRO Plus are calibrated
for grinding drip coffee. Choose the coarser settings for darker, oilier beans.
Choose the finer settings for light or medium roasts.
CAUTION:
Do not use the FINE setting when grinding more than 8 cups as this
could cause the filter basket to overflow during brewing.
c. Dark Beans versus Light Beans
Your CoffeeTEAM PRO Plus burr grinder is calibrated to work with all different
kinds of roasts. Dark, oily beans will leave some oil residue in the ground
coffee chute so it is important to clean the grinder and ground coffee chute
often to avoid clogging. For cleaning the ground coffee chute see chapter
10.6. The machine has a special "OILY" button which adds extra time to the
grinding process for the slow moving beans. Press the OILY setting prior to
brewing to activate this feature. See chapter 7.1, f.
d. Maintaining the Ground Coffee Chute
(Fig. 11)
As mentioned above, all coffee beans contain oils. These oils and other
residues from the ground coffee can build up in the ground coffee chute. It is
important to maintain this chute by using the angled cleaning brush to
sweep out the chute on a regular basis as described in Chapter 10.6.
e. Flavored beans, liquid flavorings, syrups
• Do not use sugar or powder coated beans in the grinder (e.g. cinnamon,
chocolate, vanilla etc). Coated beans can pit the bean container. The coating
might stick to the burrs and, over time, will reduce the performance of the
grinding mechanism.
• Do not add any liquid flavorings or syrups to the beans.
• If you like flavored coffee we recommend buying liquid flavorings at your
local coffee store. Add a few drops into the carafe before or after brewing.
f. Stones and Beans
Every coffee specialty store will tell you that occasionally small stones can
be found in between coffee beans. Very small stones will be processed
through the burr grinder without any harm (the stone will end up in your filter
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