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We all know how tough it can be to choose the right coffee equipment sometimes. When it is time to buy a coffee machine, there is more choice than ever.

Different machines use different methods, and some include grinders, some don’t, and some don’t even need them. For instance, a capsule coffee machine will use pods or capsules to prepare your beverage.

A lot of machines like coffee drippers and espresso machines, as well as bean to cup coffee machines, will use ground coffee beans to make your beverage, so the choice you have is whether to buy a model that takes beans and grinds them for you, or to buy something that leaves you to sort the grinding yourself.

So, your three choices are:

It’s a tough decision, but in this guide we talk you through the advantages of using a coffee machine with an integrated grinder.

Freshly ground coffee for your drink

When you see coffee advertised in a coffee shop or a restaurant it is often described as “freshly ground” but does this really make a difference? Is there any harm in putting coffee that you have bought weeks ago, that was already ground, into your coffee machine?

Fresh is always the best option when it comes to coffee. If you can grind beans at home, then it is more likely that you will capture more of the beautiful flavour and aroma of the coffee, resulting in a far more satisfying cup.

With a coffee machine featuring an integrated grinder, you can get fresh coffee every time you want to make a beverage, and this can have a big impact on the flavour.

It should grind for the machine’s brew functions

Coffee machines tend to have different modes and brew functions. If you buy a really simple machine like a filter coffee maker, it might just have the one method of making coffee, and if this is the case, the manufacturers will make the coffee grinder so that it grinds to a great level for the coffee that it is making.

For example, if your coffee machine makes drinks using espresso coffee (even drinks like lattes use espresso) then it should have an espresso grind setting.

This ultimately means that you can tailor the coffee beans and make sure the flavours and aromas are all extracted properly.

If you have a bean to cup coffee machine then there could be a few different modes, and this means that you might have multiple options for grinding. This might even be automated depending on what coffee you choose.

Grinding coffee in a separate grinder or by using a hand grinder can be messy work. It is easy to make spillages and not get all of the coffee where you need it (in the machine). This leads to wastage and unfortunately, mess.

By keeping everything within the same machine there are few chances for spillage. It may still need to be cleaned sometimes, but you won’t end up having to clean all of the surfaces in your kitchen or break room because they have coffee on them.

Buying a grinder and a coffee machine separately might not make sense for a few reasons. One of these reasons is financial. If you are going to buy yourself a coffee machine and you know you’ll need the option to grind coffee, getting a bean to cup coffee machine or a filter coffee machine with an integrated grinder is a sensible approach.

If you have ever ground coffee by hand you will know that this is quite an arduous task, and it can be time consuming and really build the arm strength.

It’s a pain. Although you can buy automatic grinders, they cost more than manual, so many people are still grinding coffee by hand. However, if you buy a machine that has a grinder built in, you will have the benefit of never having to use a poxy hand-grinder again.

Coffee machines have come a long way in terms of their design and quality, and a lot of bean to cup models and filter coffee machines have grinders inbuilt. This often doesn’t add too much to the cost, but it can reduce the mess and effort of making coffee and even make for a better taste, ensuring freshly ground beans for every drink the machine makes.