What is the theory behind spraying coffee beans?

The purpose of water spraying is to help the physical grinding process rather than to directly affect the final cup of coffee. The hypothesis is that a light spritz of water helps combat the static created during grinding, ultimately reducing the mess produced by the grinder. This also means fewer coffee fragments are wasted, and the grounds don’t get stuck in the walls of your grounds chamber.

However, it has been met with some criticism in the coffee world. It is universally known that the key to maintaining your grinders is to avoid any additional moisture. This is because this can easily rust the burrs (blades). But this tactic has been tested by most notable coffee experts out there, and they have all been swayed into this water spraying process. In fact, a lot of notable coffee brands now hail spray bottles as an essential item, having them as part of their grinding kit as standard.

What are the pros and cons?

The pros

• It almost completely removes the static produced when grinding.
• It reduces the amount of mess created by flying coffee grounds.
• It reduces the amount of coffee wasted.

The cons

• It might not work with your grinder. For example, if you measure your beans in the same container as the one you grind into, the ground coffee will stick to the container if it gets sprayed with water.
• If your grinder funnel is too narrow, it could cause damp beans or clumps of coffee grounds to stick together and cause a blockage.
• If you do this frequently, it could cause a lot of moisture within your grinder, which could cause some maintenance issues to occur over time. (rust, etc.).

Where did this method come from?

While many coffee experts have recommended adding a drop of water to your beans before grinding (the Ross Droplet Technique RDT), this spray bottle adaptation is relatively new. Whilst we can’t find anyone to give 100% of the credit to, it definitely seems to be the new and improved version of RDT, as it provides the perfect light coating of water on the beans.

Do we recommend spraying your coffee beans before grinding?

Whilst there’s no denying that spraying your beans significantly reduces the amount of static produced, whether we would recommend it depends on your method of grinding coffee. When using a bean-to-cup machine like a Sage, we recommend holding off on spraying the beans.

This is because you deposit the beans into the funnel in bulk, with it grinding on demand for the coffee dose selected. If you spray this large collection of beans, it will mean they are sitting around in added moisture, which is a big no-no (no one wants stale coffee!).

However, if you have a hand grinder or separate grinding machine where you add the specific quantity of coffee needed for that drink, it’s worth giving it a light spritz, as the results are pretty incredible!