Coffee Grind Sizes
Coffee is a drink made from roasted, ground coffee beans. You should know that coarse coffee grounds have greater color variation than fine grind. In bags of coarse coffee, you can see distinct, chunky pieces of the coffee bean and easily identify various grains. To obtain the ideal cup, you must match the appropriate grind size with the brewing machine.
Why Does Grind Size Matter?
There are a few essential ingredients that you need when preparing coffee:
- Heat
- Water
- Receptacle (the humble coffee mug)
- Roasted coffee beans
However, as you are undoubtedly already aware, combining these ingredients hoping for the best does not result in a tasty cup of coffee. So the next step is to master a brew ratio, such as the ideal temperature, the ideal coffee beans, the ideal coffee bean quantity, the ideal water volume, and the ideal extraction time.
The majority of current coffee makers will handle this correctly. Even the manual Moka pot and French Press have specific sizes to prevent people from getting this ratio wrong. A cup of coffee can still taste awful.
The size of the coffee beans you use is what we mean when we talk about how coarse the coffee is. There are huge chunks of coffee beans when you have coarsely ground coffee. Grind your beans to a powdery, grit-like texture using an extremely fine grind.
Heated water sticks to the outside of the individual grinds of coffee when you grind it coarsely. As the flavor eventually permeates each grind’s center, it is absorbed. Hot water clings to the outside of the distinct coffee grinds when it comes to fine ground coffee. However, the water can pierce and extract flavor quickly due to the considerably smaller grinds.
Fine grinds take a quick extraction time compared to coarse coffee grounds, which take a slow extraction time. And for this reason alone, the coarseness of the coffee grind can have a massive impact on the flavor of the final coffee beverage.
Which Grind Size Do I Need?
The coffee you’re trying to make will also affect the coffee grind size you need. Some coffee machines are best for varying levels of ground coarseness. You need a coarse grind for slow extraction methods and fine grinds for quick extraction. Below is a guide to get you started. You can experiment with little grind size changes to get a quality coffee flavor.
Aeropress
Even though you can adjust most Aeropress models, you need fine to medium-fine grinds. Like an espresso, an Aeropress works by swiftly rushing water through your coffee grinds rather than allowing them to boil. You need finer grinds for this quick extraction so that the water has a chance to get inside the coffee molecules.
If you don’t plan on waiting an eternity for the coffee to brew, coarse ground coffee in an Aeropress will produce seriously under-extracted coffee.
Drip Coffee Brewers
Use medium-fine grinds for drip and pour-over techniques (where you add water to your coffee grounds and allow gravity to do all the job). Although it doesn’t move through as swiftly as an Aeropress or an espresso machine, the water can still flow directly through the coffee.
A medium-fine grind guarantees the taste extraction is just enough without being over-extracted by the slow, steady stream of water.
Espresso Machine
To pull a shot of espresso, real espresso machines need nine bars of pressure. These devices are pricey and occupy a significant amount of kitchen counter space. Before using fine grinds, ensure you have an espresso machine, not a coffee maker making robust coffee.
The espresso grind size is fine ground coffee. In 30 seconds, the device forces water obtrusively through grinds; consistency in grind size, distribution in the group handle, and proper coffee volume ratio are crucial. You won’t extract your coffee fully if your grind is too coarse. If inconsistent, you will extract inadequately and excessively in the same cup. Read our article and find out How to Reset Nespresso Vertuo.
French Press
You require coarse grinds for your French Press. In contrast to the drip, espresso, and Aeropress methods, you soak the coffee grinds in your French Press water for a protracted period.
Use finer grinds to extract the coffee tastes and oils more quickly and avoid over-extracted coffee. This allows the water better molecular access to the coffee. Generally, your grounds are too fine if you have trouble depressing the plunger.
Generic, Automatic Coffee Makers
Medium to medium-fine grinds are often optimal for these coffee makers, whether they drip or utilize some effort to push the water through the grinds. The idea is to choose the proper grind size and stay with it because they will have a defined extraction time.
This is true for basic brewers like the BUNN GRB Velocity Brew: once you know that it produces the best coffee with a medium grind from a specific brand, don’t stray! The manufacturers did not program it for varied extraction times.
Moka Pot
Like an espresso machine, your Moka pot or stovetop coffee maker typically needs a fine grind. The steam a Moka pot produces passes through your coffee grinds and into the top compartment, where it is ready to pour.
Fine ground coffee is still necessary even though it doesn’t work as quickly as an espresso machine. The grinds must be fine enough to let water molecules pass through for the steam to extract and rise through the coffee. A fine grind and a lengthy extraction period typically produce exceptionally strong coffee.
Chemex
The Chemex uses the infusion method to create coffee, making its taste and body comparable to drip coffee. A richer cup of coffee and a slower brew are the results. It also produces a sediment-free cup of coffee that will impress anyone used to the weaker taste of most auto-drip coffee machines. This is even though it is not as rich as the French Press.
The medium-coarse grind level, which resembles coarse sand in texture, is the ideal Chemex grind size.
Pour Over
One of the most available options among home baristas is a pour-over grind, which is popular. This brewing technique provides exceptional hands-on control over extraction settings, produces coffee that highlights particular taste characteristics, and is incredibly pleasurable to use. The most typical pour-over grind is the medium grind size.
Percolator
A percolator coffee grind makes for a delicious cup of coffee when used in a percolator. Using a French press is fairly similar to the procedure. However, the boiling water climbs to the top, causing some turbulence in the coffee grounds.
Therefore, employing a grind that is excessively fine will also extract off-tastes. Like the French Press, fine-grind coffee results in a murky beverage. The secret to successfully utilizing a percolator is having the perfect percolator grind- coarse ground coffee.
Cold Brew
The exact opposite of cold brewing is French Press. If one removes all (or most of) the bean’s components, the other will extract the components that one desires. Using this technique, many people who struggle with acid reflux can now benefit from the stimulating effects of coffee.
It ensures a balanced extraction by using coarser coffee while cold brewing. This technique submerges the grounds in water for hours—typically 16 to 24. The grind could be just as rough as a French press; more coarse is preferable. You can even use whole beans. However, you must extend the duration of cold brewing. So, coarse ground coffee for cold brew is the way to go.
Using Coarse Coffee Grounds
French Press, cold brew, and percolator coffee benefit from coarse coffee. The three methods require the proper grind to utilize the equipment without experiencing “mechanical” issues or, worse, extraction problems.
You probably have the equipment needed to appreciate all these coffees because you’re a coffee expert. You can make the best-tasting cold brew ever with a French press. If you focus on a few things, you won’t require anything else:
Water
Water is the most crucial component of coffee. Did I surprise you? Only 3 percent of the coffee in your cup is grounds; the remaining 97 percent is water. Fresh water with a nice taste will always ensure a successful extraction.
Use filtered water at room temperature. After that, put your coffee and water in the refrigerator after combining them. The force created by this transformation, which is cooling down, helps in extraction. The same holds if you keep your cold brew outside at room temperature.
Like the chilled option, the cooler water will reheat to room temperature and produce great coffee. These significant adjustments benefit your brew.
Coffee
Use the coffee profile you enjoy using at all times. The ratios are up to each person. A 5:1 ratio is an excellent place to start. Remember that you will consume at least 30% more caffeine than if you brewed it hot.
Additionally, you will extract a lot of caffeine from your brew while it sits for a while. Caffeine is extremely soluble compared to the other ingredients in a coffee bean.
What if you don’t want a new device, though? There are several actions you can take. How to grind coffee at home is straightforward. Use a mortar, or alternately, you might use a cup and a tool to crush the beans.
Always remember that you don’t have to pound forcefully. The majority of coffee types are simple to crush. Use a little bit at a time. It won’t be an exact, even grind, but it will be adequate.
Another choice is to stuff some little pockets of beans into a clean kitchen cloth and crush them with an empty bottle or a rolling pin. When there are no other options, they are life hacks. Varying grind size is more forgivable in cold brewing.
An alternative would be to use a food processor. A magic bullet works as intended. But this method makes it simple to obtain a coarse grind; just let it go. To acquire the proper grind, you would need one or two pulses. Finding out how to grind coffee at home requires patience and lots of practice.
Technically, you can prepare a cold brew or even a French press with whole or half-crushed beans. That has the drawback of producing weaker coffee and wasting pricey beans. This method has the benefit of being simpler to clean up.
Types of Coarse Grinds
| Grind Size | Brewing Method |
| Extra Coarse | Cowboy coffee, cold brew coffee |
| Coarse | Percolator, French press, coffee cupping |
| Medium-Coarse | Cafe solo brewer, Chemex coffee maker, clever dripper |
| Medium | Siphon coffee, cone-shaped pour-over brewers, Aeropress (with 3 plus minute brew time), flat bottom drip coffee machines |
| Medium-Fine | Aeropress (with 2 to 3 minutes brew time), cone-shaped pour-over brewers |
| Fine | Stove-top espresso maker (Moka pot), Aeropress (with 1 minute brew time), espresso |
| Extra Fine | Turkish coffee |
What Does Poorly Extracted Coffee Look Like?
Under-extracted coffee is the result of the bean still being too unbalanced and flavorless. This occurs when the water cannot remove enough debris from the grounds.
Remember that extraction is unlike a switch you can turn on and off. It moves slowly and gradually over time. Under-extraction might be barely perceptible, excruciatingly visible, or anywhere between. The following indicates a subpar extraction:
Extreme Sourness
Sometimes, people misunderstand coffee’s acids. The best coffees in the world are acidic, which is a good thing. When balanced, acids give the tastes of coffee vitality and zing. They emphasize and enhance flavors to produce rich experiences. However, the type of acidity we’re referring to is not this.
We’re talking about coffee that’s extremely tart, excruciatingly acidic, and sometimes sour. This is unchecked acidity. The sides of your tongue might often feel bitingly sharp after drinking under-extracted coffee. When it’s extremely terrible, you might even want to pucker your lips like you would when eating sour candy.
Little Flavor
The delicious tastes of under-removed coffee result from not extracting them from the grounds. Most of the sugars, oils, and balancing bitter notes remained in the grounds. This causes both a lack of flavor and that unpleasant sourness. Under extracted coffees have a gaping, unfinished taste. The coffee has a wide variety of flavors; you want to savor them all, but you can’t.
Saltiness
Poorly extracted coffee may have a salty flavor from the sourness. Although it doesn’t quite taste like you filled your mug with table salt, it comes close.
Parting Words
It’s not hard to learn how to grind your beans. With this thorough guide, you can confidently grind your beans to the ideal size. There are many different grind sizes, ranging from extra coarse to extra fine. Grinding your coffee beans properly will prepare you to brew a good cup of coffee.
We sincerely hope that this coffee grind size chart has clarified your concerns and assisted you in brewing the best coffee possible.