What’s the Difference Between Coffee “Grinds” and Coffee “Grounds”?

Here’s an article for grammar freaks.

I like to think of myself as someone who is good with spelling and grammar, usually.

But admittedly, there are people who are much, much better with using proper grammar than I am.

And usually they are pretty… anal about it. Especially when they write about other people’s grammar.

So now, we come to this question: what’s the difference between coffee grinds and coffee grounds? When should you use them?

Well before I answer this question, I need to say that… I’ve been using these two words incorrectly! Gasp!

I’ve Been Doing It All Wrong…

It’s true, unfortunately.

Not that it’s a really big deal or anything, but I’ve been using the terms “grinds” and “grounds” wrong.

But before I say more about that, here are the definitions for the words “grinds” and “grounds” when referring to coffee.

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, “grounds” in the coffee sense means “the particles deposited by a liquid in the bottom of the vessel containing it; dregs, lees.”

This means that coffee grounds are the used, gunky, coffee grinds that have been used to make coffee.

And coffee grinds are just different degrees of ground coffee, still in its dry, unused form. For example, fine grinds, espresso grinds, coarse “grinds”, etc.

I have written dozens of articles here on My Home Brewed Coffee where I used these two terms improperly, I use them in the opposite way of what they mean!

Is this a big deal?

No, it’s really not in the long run!

But what do I do about it is the real question.

Me being the perfectionist, grammar lover and slight freak that I am, I’m quite tempted to go and change all the times I’ve used the words incorrectly and fix them.

But alas, I’m not going to do this.

I’m going to leave them be in their serenity, and tell myself blissfully my dear readers can figure out what I’m referring to when I write them.

This also begs the question… what do I do in the future???

Well, I don’t really know.

I’m honestly probably going to just keep doing it wrong, for consistency’s sake.

Please don’t hate me.

Because I love you all.

But now we both know, and knowing is half the battle.

Doing is the other half. So it’s comforting that now I’m winning half the battle, instead of losing the whole stinkin’ thing like I was before.

“Does This Help Me Make Better Coffee?”

No, it doesn’t.

Not even in the slightest bit.

Knowing this trivial piece of information doesn’t help your home-brewed coffee become any better even in the most miniscule way.

In fact, if you’re concerned about proper grammar and spelling like I am, it may only hinder your coffee enjoying experience if you get too caught up in it.

But if you want a way to help you remember which is which, just think of it like this: grinds are the ones that have just been grinded in the grinder.

Grounds are used and should be thrown on the ground in your garden.

This information won’t make your coffee any better, but you can promote awareness of proper grammar and word usage, and that’s also a pleasant thing.

Want A Prize!?

I’m in a generous and grateful mood to you readers and visitors to my site.

And at the same time, I have no idea how many people will read this article.

I might not fully optimize it for SEO, after all.

But, because I’m in this grateful mood, I want to make a fun offer.

If you find all the grammar and spelling mistakes I’ve made in this article and show me why they’re wrong and write it in a comment down below in the article, I will give you a prize!

This offer is only valid for people living in the United States of America though.

I’m sorry to international readers. I still really, really appreciate you too.

And it’s only for the first person who does it, of course.

Anyway, for this prize, I’m not going to say what it is…

But I’ll say this: If you like coffee, you’ll really like it!

And look, this isn’t just some stupid ‘virtual high five’ or something.

It may or may not have something to do with getting free coffee shipped to your door.

Aren’t you glad you kept reading until the end!?

Now, I’m not talking about all the things I could’ve written better in this article, because there can be numerous instances of that.

I’m talking about blatant mistakes in grammar or spelling.

And if you can’t find all of them, at least find 3 and I’ll be fine with that.

Lastly, I won’t be offended if you do this, so please feel free and not be afraid, if you want to.

I hope someone gets it!

And While You’re Here…

If you want to know the best uses for your coffee grounds, feel free to check out my video below!

I hope this article helped with this word and grammar quandary.

Have an awesome day, and coffee grounds cheers!