Content may be curated. Please read our disclaimers policy for more information. We hope you enjoy our site! Coffee is a delicate balance of many variables. There is always talk about the type of beans and the type of brews, but today we are going to see if coffee grind size matters and explore fine ground coffee versus course ground coffee. The size of your grounds can make or break your coffee. Not only does the difference between coarse ground coffee and fine ground coffee change how your coffee tastes, but the grinding process can ruin the entire brew!
Turning your coffee beans into coffee grounds fit for brewing seems simple but there many nuances. When you grind them a little, they are chunky and known as coarse ground coffee.
Grind them even more and you get fine powdery ground coffee. Fine ground coffee has heavy extraction, allowing for the strong flavor to come out in your brew.
Coarse ground coffee has less extraction and has less intense flavor by comparison the exception is when the immersion method is used. Some brews prefer certain levels of grounds. There is an entire spectrum of consistency of coffee grounds. There are also extremes of coffee grinding. When coffee tastes sour or bitter , poor extraction is to blame.
Under extraction creates a sour, acidic taste. Discover how grind size affects your cup and which is right for your brew method of choice. Why grind size matters When it comes to grind size, there are three factors which make the biggest difference: contact time, extraction rate and flow rate.
To put it simply: The extraction rate of coffee grounds increases with a larger surface area. To increase surface area, grind the coffee finer. The higher the extraction rate, the less contact time is needed. A finer grind can reduce the flow rate of water, increasing the contact time. Which grind size should you use?
Espresso is a brewed through using pressure approximately 9 bar to force water through compacted coffee grounds. The contact time is very short, requiring an extra fine grind size. The AeroPress is a popular single-cup manual coffee maker. It's similar to a French press in design and use, though users have come up with a laundry list of ways to brew. Recommended grind size is between medium and fine, depending on steep time.
Siphon brewers use pressure to force water into a chamber holding the coffee grounds. Once the steep has finished, heat is removed, which creates a vacuum in the lower chamber and pulls the water through a filter. This method calls for a medium-fine grind size. Pour-over brewers come in an array of different sizes and shapes. While different brewers require varying grind sizes to control the flow rate of water, most pour over methods call for a medium to medium-fine grind.
A stovetop espresso maker or Moka pot is a coffee maker which uses steam pressure to force water upwards through a filter basket full of coffee grounds. But also a more flavorful cup of coffee. Like with tea, the smaller the surface area the easier it becomes for the flavor to go off and end up too bitter or acidic.
Most often, you end up with a better cup of coffee if you use a coarser ground coffee with a longer brewing time. This is because a coarse grind offers a more 'complete' flavor, as the steeping time is just right for that. Let me explain a bit about the surface area first. If you want to make the best coffee at home, you absolutely need to check my article on the best coffee gear.
So what would happen if you just threw in hot water the whole coffee bean and expected it to brew? You'd be waiting for a long, long time. About as much as for a cold brew. This is because the larger the surface area, the more time water needs to effectively extract everything from the coffee bean.
This means that different grind sizes will bring you different coffee types. Some will be done very quickly, like an espresso that uses the finest grind possible. And there's also the fact that water's meant to pass through those grounds, and in some cases it needs very little resistance. If you use a smaller ground, like for a drip filter , you're going to see individual bits of coffee, just a bit smaller than poppy seeds. This means that there's less surface area for the water to cover and extract, which means you can use a fast extraction method.
It could be a Turkish coffee, it could be espresso, it could be Moka. You could even use smaller grind than that, as fine as you can get it. This will serve to both brew the coffee very fast, but in some cases provide the right resistance for water to pass.
For example in espresso, a very fine ground is welcome, as it will slow down a bit the speed at which the hot water comes through the metal filter. This allows for a few extra seconds of brewing time.
If you were to use coarser grounds, like medium, for a shot of espresso, you'd be left with a watery mess that's not really coffee at all. Small grinds also require a lower water temperature, so you don't risk overextracting it.
You might wonder if espresso is overextracted. It isn't, because the show is pulled in only half a minute. The coffee won't overextract in such a short time, but it will if you let the shot run for a full minute. No, not necessarily. Finely ground coffee, so the finest of them all, is usually used for espresso, at least in the West.
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