The Ultimate Specialty Coffee Grind Guide: How To Match Your Grind to Your Brewer

Want a better cup of coffee? It all starts with the grind, one of the most important steps people overlook.

When coffee tastes bad, individuals tend to blame the beans. However, most of the time, the real culprit is how they were ground. If your coffee grounds are too coarse, your coffee tastes weak and watery. If they’re too fine, your coffee tastes too strong and bitter. However, it all depends on the brew method. 

In order to get the perfect cup for your specialty coffee, you need to match your grind size to your specific brewing method. For the best results, we recommend using a burr grinder (the kind with two spinning plates that crush beans evenly) rather than a blade grinder, as blades tend chops up your beans into uneven pieces. They also produce an excessive amount of heat that may potentially burn the coffee grounds.

Here is your step-by-step guide to grinding coffee for the six most popular brewing methods from coarsest to finest

The Percolator

·         The Target Size: Coarse to Extra Coarse

·         What it looks like: Rough sea salt or cracked peppercorns

·         Why it matters: Percolators continually recycle boiling or near-boiling water through the coffee grounds. If the grind is too fine, the water will over-extract the coffee rapidly, leaving you with a bitter, muddy, and metallic-tasting brew. Additionally, standard percolator baskets have relatively large holes; a chunky, coarse grind is essential to keep the grounds in the basket and out of the bottom of your pot.

French Press

·         The Target Size: Coarse

·         What it looks like: Chunky sea salt

·         Why it matters: In a French press, the coffee sits in hot water for a long time (about 4 minutes). You need big, chunky pieces so the coffee doesn’t over-extract and turn bitter. Plus, coarse grounds won’t slip through the mesh filter into your mug.

Drip Coffee Machine

·         Grinder Setting: Drip/Fine Grind

·         The Target Size: Medium

·         What it looks like: Regular sand or sea salt

·         Why it matters: A medium grind ensures that the water flows evenly through the basket without pooling at the top or rushing through so fast that it tastes weak.

Pour Over

·         The Target Size: Medium-Fine

·         What it looks like: Fine beach sand

·         Why it matters: When making a pour over, gravity pulls the water through a paper filter. A medium-fine grind allows the water to stream through at a steady, gentle pace, just long enough to catch the bright, delicious flavours without clogging the filter. 

Espresso

·         The Target Size: Fine 

·         What it looks like: Table Salt

·         Why it matters: Espresso machines force hot water through a tightly packed “puck” of coffee at high pressure in just 25 to 30 seconds. The grind needs to be very fine to create resistance against the water, forcing it to pick up that rich flavour and signature creamy foam.

Greek & Turkish Coffee

·         The Target Size: Extra fine / Powdered 

·         What it looks like: Powdered sugar or flour

·         Why it matters: Greek and Turkish coffee is brewed by boiling water and coffee together directly in a small pot, the coffee grounds do not actually dissolve in water (like sugar does); they just settle to the bottom of the cup because they are so fine.