Coffee Beans or Granules

Coffee beans are the full seeds of coffee plants, while coffee granules are already ground up. There is some debate over which is better, and both have their advantages. Coffee granules are what the majority of coffee drinkers buy, as they’re most convenient and easily found on the shelves of any supermarket. Yet when it comes to taste, most agree that coffee beans offer the full, rich flavor that is well deserved.

For the most part, the only advantage to coffee granules is that they are convenient. You can choose from an array of flavors and strengths, so it’s easy to match your preferences with a coffee of your choice. There are some drawbacks to using coffee granules however, as ground coffee lacks freshness. Although the cans come vacuum sealed, they have already lost a lot of their freshness, as the bean oils evaporate once the beans are ground up. When you brew a cup of coffee, you’ll probably notice that it goes stale if you don’t drink it right away.

For many people, they haven’t had the luxury of drinking freshly ground coffee beans, so they don’t know what they’re missing. If you want the freshest coffee that is bursting with flavor, coffee beans are your answer. You will need to know how to work with these beans though. You’ll want to ground the beans right before you use them, as this will retain their freshness. You can also choose from different grind finenesses, as some coffee drinkers like the grinds to be coarse, while others like them fine. And there’s no reason to stay consistent either. Maybe you’ll prefer a coarser grind one day, and a find grind the next day.

In order to grind the coffee beans, you will need to have a coffee grinder. It will be an extra piece of equipment lying around, but you can purchase a coffee machine that has a built-in grinder to avoid this problem. Grinding up the beans and cleaning out the grinder will be your only extra chores, but the taste will be well worth the convenience you’ll be trading. Fortunately, grinding up coffee beans only takes a few minutes, so you won't have to adjust your morning routine by much.

Although coffee connoisseurs will argue over which is better – coffee beans or granules – coffee beans come out on top in terms of flavor and freshness. However, if convenience is what you’re looking for, coffee granules are still the best option. You can always give freshly ground coffee beans a try to see if they're worth the extra effort!