Page 25 - CW-MAY-JUNE-2021 non-tob

The world is filled with great debates: tomato versus barbecue sauce, crunchy versus smooth peanut butter, and in the world of coffee, there’s ground versus whole bean. While many consumers (me included) are most likely just happy to have a fresh cup of coffee sitting in front of them regardless of whether it comes from pre-ground or whole beans, the connoisseurs feel strongly about the pros and cons of each side of this debate. This month, Convenience World takes a look at ground coffee and the benefits and disadvantages that come with it. Business Director at FreshFood ANZ Karen de Leeuw says The House of Robert Timms supplies both whole bean and ground coffee. “\\\\\\\[We have\\\\\\\] a range of ground coffee available in retail pack formats, which is targeted at the home consumer who doesn’t have access to a grinder,” she said. “As a brand, we have strength in our history of supplying whole bean and ground coffee, with Robert Timms being a pioneer in the 1950s through the introduction of self-service grinders in supermarkets.” What is pre-ground coffee? The definition of pre-ground coffee is in its name. It’s whole coffee beans that have been ground before being packaged, or supplied to cafe, supermarket or consumer. Therefore, it skips the step of the consumer having to grind the coffee beans. Fox Coffee notes that when you walk into a cafe, you can generally smell and hear the sound of coffee beans being freshly grounded. If a cup of coffee is being made using pre-ground coffee, this step would be skipped. Many consumers when buying coffee from the supermarket will opt for the pre-ground format, especially if they don’t have the correct equipment. The big differences Equipment “Using ground coffee rather than whole beans provides benefits in specific instances, such as where separate grinders would be required because of the unique nature of the blend,” Ms de Leeuw said. “Such instances include decaffeinated or organic coffee, where cross contamination of caffeinated coffee needs to be avoided so that the product isn’t adulterated.” She adds that ground coffee reduces the overall capital investment in equipment required, as well as optimising bench space. Being able to ensure that beans are not cross contaminated is crucial, especially with the growing number of consumers opting for decaffeinated coffee. Ms de Leeuw says one of the most common trends the FreshFood team has noted in recent times is decaffeinated coffee’s popularity. “In the case of decaf coffee, consumers turn to it for a variety of reasons,” she said. “They want to continue consuming the same number of cups a day, without the increased caffeine, or they may be sensitive to the energising effects of caffeine later in the day, which impacts their quality of sleep at night.” As consumers increasingly act, in all aspects, according to the dictates of their physical and mental health, their caffeine intake is a prime consideration. Blends “The use of pre-ground coffee has the additional benefit that the cafe can use a variety of blends simultaneously without having separate grinders, such as having a single-origin offer alongside the house blend and a Fair Trade or organic,” Ms de Leeuw said. Consistency Having the roasted beans pre-ground by the roaster on commercial-grade grinders will ensure consistency in grind, Ms de Leeuw says, “which will result in a better cup than if the whole beans were ground on a low-quality grinder”. While pre-ground coffee offers benefits surrounding convenience and ease for cafes, it’s important to note that once the coffee bean has been grounded, it begins to lose freshness and flavour. “As with whole beans, the storage of pre-ground coffee is important, as environmental factors such as oxygen, light and temperature contribute to the deterioration of the product once roasted, and as such, consumption should take place within a reasonable period of time,” Ms de Leeuw said. Whether you’ve made up your mind yet on ground versus whole bean, she says the fortunate side of this debate is that “we’re actually quite spoilt in Australia, which has a very mature and advanced coffee culture compared with many other countries”. “The challenge is to remain relevant and come up with new and continued innovation,” she added. Touching on what’s ahead for coffee trends, Ms de Leeuw said: “It will continue to evolve, and the challenge will be to ensure that a wide offering can be provided across consumer preferences. “This extends across not only coffee – blends, single origins, organic, sustainable and micro-lots – but also the milk offering where a variety of plant-based alternative milk options are available.” In the July/August issue of Convenience World we will focus on whole bean coffee and its benefits. CAFE CONVENIENCE MAY/JUN, 2021 CONVENIENCE WORLD 23