Coffee grind size can be a bit of a mystery. Coffee grinds that are too fine will produce a weak cup of coffee, while coffee grinds that are too coarse will produce a bitter cup of coffee. So, what’s the perfect grind size for your brew method?
That’s where a coffee grind size chart comes in handy.
Luckily, we’ve created this helpful Coffee Grind Size Chart to take out the guesswork. Simply match up your brew method with the grind size listed below and you’ll be one step closer to the perfect cup of coffee.
Whether you’re using a drip coffee maker, French press, or espresso machine, this chart will help you get the perfect brew. So take a look and find the right grind for your coffee needs.
Coffee Grind Sizes
Perfect extraction is the heart of coffee drinks. If you cannot extract it properly, then you cannot taste the exclusive flavors of your coffee. So, the most crucial part of coffee extraction is the grind sizes of coffee beans. The taste variation of different types of coffee depends on the coffee grind size and brewing time. Finer grounds cause over-extraction and taste bitter. And, coarse grinds cause under-extraction and taste sour.
If you want to taste a velvety, full-bodied, and intense espresso, then have to use finer grounds. If you want a French Press or Cold Brew coffee, then use coarser coffee grounds. Finer coffee grounds cannot work in this case. So, each coffee brewing methods have its coffee grind size. A good grinder can deliver you the perfect grind size you need.
In common, there are three basic categories of grind sizes.
- Coarse ground
- Medium ground
- Fine ground
But, when we are talking about coffee, we go deep down and expand each grind category. Coffee experts usually use 7 grind categories instead of 3. To be more precise, you may even find 40 grind settings in regular coffee grinders nowadays.
For better understanding, take a look at the coffee grind size chart and corresponding coffee drinks.
Grind Sizes For Different Brewing Methods
Grind Size | Coffee Drinks |
---|---|
Extra Fine Grind | Turkish Coffee |
Fine Grind | Moka pot, Espresso, Aeropress |
Medium-Fine Grind | Aeropress, Moka pot, Coffee dripper, Siphon, Cone-shaped pour-over brewers |
Medium Grind | Siphon, Chemex, Flat drip, and Aeropress |
Medium Coarse Grind | Clever Dripper, Chemex |
Coarse Grind | French Press, Percolator |
Extra Coarse Grind | Cowboy Coffee, Cold Brew |
Collect a coffee grind size chart if you are new to in-home grinding coffee beans. Compare your coffee grounds with the ground chart to get the exact size. Here, we will explain a little to help you understand the different types of coffee grinds.
Extra Fine Grind
This coffee grind is similar to powder or flour. Generally, this more powdery ground uses in Turkish coffee. For your convenience, Turkish coffee is also known as Ibriks.
Fine Grind
Fine grinds look like table salts. Finer grinds commonly use for Espresso and Moka pot drinks. You can use it in AeroPress.
Medium-Fine Grind
Medium-fine grinds are like Kosher salts. The AeroPress and cone-shaped pour-over brewers need this grind size for brewing.
Medium Grind
The medium coffee grinds are similar to the sand of masonry work. It is a little bit big than the previous grinds. A wide range of brewers uses medium coffee grinds in brewing time. Mostly covered with Siphon, AeroPress, pour-over, and drip brewers.
Medium-Coarse Grind
The rough sand-like medium grinds suit many coffee makers. It is easy to use in brewing. The Chemex, Clever Dripper, and café solo brewer need medium-coarse grinds.
Coarse Grind
Coarse grinds are like sea salt in size. It is bigger than the previous grinds. Coarse grinds commonly use in French Press and Percolator coffee brewing process. You need to brew these grinds for 3-5 minutes to get the full flavor.
Extra Coarse Grind
Extra Coarse Grinds are similar in size to black pepper or ground peppercorns. Or, you can define it as a rough chunk of broken coffee beans. You can use these non-uniform grinds to brew Cold Brew Coffee and Cowboy Coffee.
Information That You Need To Know Before Brewing
In this section, we will discuss some popular brewing methods and different types of coffee grind sizes. This is the notability for that specific coffee drink.
Espresso Coffee Grind Size
The boiled water passes through the finer grounds under high pressure to brew espresso drinks. It bestows an intensely flavored cup of Joe. There are lots of espresso drinks that are very popular among young people.
Grind size: Fine
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 4-9
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 4-9
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 1-3
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 2-4
- Bodum Bistro: 1-3
Brew Time: 20-30 seconds
Temperature: 92–96 °C (198–205 °F)
Pressure: 9-15 bars
Notes and Taste: Well-balanced intense velvety crema that lingers aftertaste
French Press Coffee Grind Size
Since the nineteenth century, French Press is one of the regular coffee drinks. You need coarser coffee grinds to make French Press coffee. The fresh home grinds provide you with a balanced pure black coffee in French Press.
Grind size: Coarse
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 31-36
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 31-36
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 11-13
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 12-14
- Bodum Bistro: 11-13
Brew Time: 4-5 minutes
Temperature: 93–96 °C (199–205 °F)
Notes and Taste: Full-bodied flavor
Pour Over Coffee Grind Size
In pour-over coffee, we use medium-ground coffee beans. Different cup brewers are a great example of pour-over coffee. The use of different types of filter paper may vary the flavor.
Grind size: Medium-coarse to Medium-fine
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 11-29
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 11-29
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 4-11
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 4-12
- Bodum Bistro: 4-10
Brew Time: 3-5 minutes
Temperature: 90–96 °C (195–205 °F)
Notes and Taste: A little bit of sour flavor
Chemex Coffee Grind Size
Chemex is another very popular coffee brewer. You have to use blotting filter paper to get the ultimate flavor of Chemex.
Grind size: Medium-coarse to Medium
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 24-29
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 24-29
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 9-11
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 10-12
- Bodum Bistro: 8-10
Brew Time: 3-5 minutes
Temperature: 90–96 °C (195–205 °F)
Notes and Taste: Sparkling nuanced taste with a less acidic flavor
Cold Brew Coffee Grind Size
Cold brew coffee is brewed at room temperature and may serve as chilled drinks. It originated in Japan centuries ago.
Grind size: Extra Coarse
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 31-40
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 31-40
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 11-15
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 12-16
- Bodum Bistro: 11-14
Brew Time: 12-24 hours
Temperature: Room temperature or chilled water
Notes and Taste: Smooth, less acidic with a sweet taste
AeroPress Coffee Grind Size
Aeropress is a machine, that brews a wide range of coffees, such as Cold brew, Filter coffee, and Espresso. So, it can work for a variety of coffee grinds. It is a portable and travel-friendly brewing machine.
Grind size: Medium to Fine
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 4-23
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 4-23
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 1-8
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 2-9
- Bodum Bistro: 1-8
Brew Time: 30 seconds for espresso drinks and 1-5 minutes for others
Temperature: Uses external boiled water
Pressure: Air pressure
Notes and Taste: Wide range of flavors depends on what brewing methods use
Drip Coffee Grind Size
A wide range of coffee brewers counts under Drip Coffee makers. These include cup brewers, drip coffee machines, and other drippers. It uses medium-fine grinds and provides simple flavored coffee in your cup.
Grind size: Medium-fine
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 17-23
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 17-23
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 6-8
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 7-9
- Bodum Bistro: 6-8
Brew Time: 4-5 minutes
Temperature: 90–96 °C (195–205 °F)
Notes and Taste: Full-bodied innocent fresh black coffee
Moka Pot Coffee Grind Size
Moka Pot is also known as a stove-top espresso drink. In Moka Pot, the coffee brews under step pressure, which is not so high. But, Moka Pot provides you with pure coffee with a slight bit of crema touch.
Grind size: Fine
Grind settings:
- Baratza Encore: 4-16
- Baratza Virtuoso Plus: 4-16
- OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinder: 1-6
- Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder: 2-6
- Bodum Bistro: 1-6
Brew Time: 7 minutes
Temperature: 100 °C (212 °F) or above
Pressure: 1.5-2 bars stem pressure
Notes and Taste: Full-bodied balanced coffee
How Does Grind Sizes Affect Coffee?
Grind size affects coffee drinks so much. It associates with under-extraction and over-extraction directly.
The flavor of the coffee depends on the coffee grind size and brewing time always. The more time goes during brewing, the bitter the coffee will taste. For example, if you use coarse grind in an espresso maker, it cannot brew at all. Again, using finer grounds in the French Press will make a mess of the coffee maker. So, there is no alternative to putting the correct grinds into the appropriate coffeemaker. Else there are 2 possible outcomes: under-extraction and over-extraction.
Under-extraction and its Reason
- Coarser coffee grounds
- Low-temperature water
- Less brewing time
- May taste sour or tasteless
Over-extraction and its Reason
- Finer coffee grounds
- High-temperature water
- More brewing time
- Taste bitter
There is no fixed size of coffee grind for all types of coffee drinks. You require different grind sizes for distinctive drinks. For instance, French Press and Cold Brew required coarse grounds for brewing. Also, finer grounds for Espresso or Turkish coffee. You can follow our grind size section in this article to know the details.
The amount of coffee grinds is varying from one drink to another. According to NCA, the golden ratio is 1 tbsp or 2 tbsp ground for every 6 Oz of water. You need around 6-16 grams of grounds to brew coffee in Chemex, Coffee dripper, and French Press. If you want to brew Espresso drinks, you need around 16-21 grams of ground coffee. So, depending on the brewing methods you follow, the minimum amount of coffee grinds changes. You can adjust the amount of coffee per cup depending on your preferences.
Coarser grinds will take short time than finer grinds. So, it will depend on what type of grind size you want to make. Generally, you have to grind for 5-10 seconds to make coarser grinds. And 10-15 seconds to make medium grinds. You need 30 seconds for the finer grounds. Remember, you may need to adjust the grinding time according to your grinder.
How Should You Correctly Store Ground Coffee?
If you want to store coffee grounds for further use, then put them into an airtight jar. Otherwise, coffee grounds will lose their traits gradually.
When the coffee beans are roasted, they start degrading due to the presence of air. Both coffee beans and grounds face moisture effects, oxidation, and CO2 depletion. So, grinding a big batch of coffee beans is never a good idea. But you can mill and store it in an airtight container for using the next 3-5 days.
Coffee Grinder Settings
Since you are here, you must search for the best setting for grinding coffee beans. We are sorry to inform you that coffee needs a different grinding setting. If you want to brew Espresso, Chemex, French Press, or Cold brew with just one grind, then it will be a disaster. So, you require multiple grounds to brew these coffee drinks.
In every grinder, there have grinding scales to set the grinding category. Select any options from coarse, medium, fine-medium, and fine grinding. These four categories will cover any brewing methods that you desire. Nowadays, regular grinders on the market have 4, 8, 10, 18, 40, and more settings. So, you can tune the grinding scale. It will be good if you have a grinder with 10-18 frames. Then, it will help you to brew any type of coffee drink.
Grinders And Grinding
Coffee grinders grind coffee beans into different sizes to make coffee drinks. Check out some basic information about coffee grinders.
Types Of Grinders
You can categorize each grinder into many types. First, according to the action performed, grinders are of two types, manual and electric.
- The Manual grinder needs muscle energy to grind coffee beans
- Contrary, the Electric grinder uses electricity to grind the beans
According to the grinder blade, you can use burr or blade grinders.
- The Blade grinder misspends the grinds and makes non-uniform grinds
- The Burr grinder is more effective and produces uniform grinds than the blade grinder
Two types of burr grinders are available out there.
- The Flat burr grinder grinds beans better than the blade grinder. But waste slightly because of the burr placement
- The Conical burr grinder lets the most ground out from the coffee grinder
How To Use Coffee Grinders
Depending on the grinder you use, the process may vary from one to another. The general steps you could follow are,
- Roast and cool the coffee beans before put into the grinder
- Put a small number of roasted beans into the grinder and close the lid
- Set the grinding scale according to your brewing methods. Then start grinding
- After finishing grinding, collect the grounds and start brewing. You can put coffee grounds into an airtight jar for next-day use
- Clean the grinder after use
How To Clean Coffee Grinders
For cleaning, you will need a soft brush, toothpick, and grinder cleaning pellets. Sometimes you may need other helping objects as well.
- Collect coffee grounds and store them in an airtight jar
- Use a soft brush to clean the excess grounds from the inside of the grinders
- If needed, then use a toothpick to clean narrow spaces
- If you pull apart the grinder for deep cleaning, you can scrub and wipe thoroughly. Let every part dry. Then, reassemble those parts again
You may also use grinder cleaning pellets for deep cleaning. Deep cleaning is mandatory once or twice a month.
How To Grind Beans Without A Coffee Grinder
There are no perfect alternatives for coffee grinders. But do not worry. You can use the below items to grind your coffee beans in the absence of a coffee grinder.
- Mortar and Pestle
- Blender
- Food Processor
- Rolling Pin
- Hammer
- Knife
FAQs
What is a coffee grind size chart?
It is a chart of coffee grind sizes used by coffee enthusiasts to help them achieve the perfect cup of coffee. The chart lists different grind sizes and the corresponding brewing methods that should be used with each size.
How can a coffee grind size chart help me make the perfect cup of coffee?
By giving you a guide on how to grind your coffee beans. It is important to use the correct grind size for your brewing method, as this will affect the flavor and taste of your coffee.
What are the different coffee grind sizes?
There are several coffee grind sizes, the most popular of which are coarse, medium, and fine. Coarse grinds are best for French presses or Moka pots, while medium grinds are good for drip coffee makers. Fine grinds are used for espresso makers.
How do I choose the right coffee grind size for my brew method?
Brewing coffee is an art and a science. The grind size you use is one of the most important variables in achieving the perfect cup. If your grind size is too fine, your coffee will be over-extracted and bitter. If your grind size is too coarse, your coffee will be under-extracted and watery. The key to finding the right grind size for your brew method is to experiment until you find what works best for you.
What is the difference between fine, medium, and coarse grinds?
The difference between these grinds is the size of their particles. Fine grinds have the smallest particles, medium grinds have medium-sized particles, and coarse grinds have the largest particles.
What is the difference between Turkish and espresso grinds?
Turkish coffee grinds are more powdery than espresso. Turkish coffee boils with sugar, which gives it a thicker body and sweeter flavor. Espresso is made by forcing pressurized hot water through fine coffee grounds, resulting in a thicker, more intensely flavored coffee.
How do I make a strong cup of coffee without using more grounds?
There are a few ways to make a stronger cup of coffee without using more grounds. You can try using a darker roast, grinding the beans finer, adding more water, or heating the water first before adding it to the grounds.
How can I make sure my coffee grind size is accurate?
The best way to make sure of that is to use a quality grinder (preferably a burr grinder). You can use a magnifying glass or loupe to measure the size of the coffee particles.
Conclusion
At the end of this article, you know that coffee is not just a drink. It is an art of knowledge, skill, and timing. Coffee connoisseurs are so picky when it comes to flavor. That is the reason you should grind the coffee beans properly according to the categories. You need perfect beans, roasting, grind sizes, and brewing methods to enjoy a cup of Joe.
Grind right before you brew and focus on the size of grinds always. Put a grind chart in your kitchen if you are not familiar with the measurements. Brew different coffee drinks and enjoy the absolute flavor till the end.
Enjoy Your Coffee!