1. Grinder

The key to great coffee is freshness and unfortunately pre-ground coffee just isn’t that fresh. Air is the world’s greatest thief and given its chance it steals valuable flavour from coffee. If you can smell coffee in the air, then you’re losing flavour from the cup.
 
Of course some loss is inevitable; there’s no stopping air. But you can minimize the affect by reducing coffees contact with the air. Whole beans are much better protected than grounds as they have a much smaller surface area. While whole, air only has contact with the outside of the bean. But once its ground into many tiny pieces air can penetrate nearly everywhere.
 
So if you grind just before you brew, you’re going to capture much more flavour in the cup. Now you don’t have to invest hundreds in a grinder to reap the results. A simple hand grinder (less than £20) is perfectly adequate for most brewing methods – filter, cafetiere, stove-top coffee maker. It’s only when you start brewing under substantial pressure (espresso) that you really need to invest more money.
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