coffee beans grind size – talking about coffee

First of all what is grind size? It is how big or small each coffee particle is. This can be defined from visually inspecting it and describe the grounds like sand or powdered sugar.

Since we are talking about pour over, we are looking for a medium or medium/fine grind which would be table salt or caster sugar like.

The grind size together of the consistency of a grinder can absolutely change the taste of your coffee. Lots of people will look for consistency before the actual and very defined size.

The most important thing is to know what you are looking for. What you prefer to drink, then you can go for that. Do you like clarity? Do you prefer balance or body? Do you value sweetness or you prefer a coffee more on the acidic side?

The grind size will determine your extraction. The thinner the grinding, the more surface area and quicker accessibility to the hot water. Furthermore it determines your extraction levels, cause it determines the flow rate. This second point is vital in pour over.

Grind size vs portions

If you are going to brew more or less portion than what you normally brew, it might be that you need to adjust a bit your grinding. Cause for example with cone brewers you might clog it when using more coffee and cause over-extraction.

Grind size vs different beans

Depending on the beans, you might want also to grind also differently to enhance the experience. Different beans have different profile flavors and they are going to be developed with different grinding.

Grind size vs roasting

Normally for lighter roasts  go finer to optimize your extraction and for darker roasts go coarser.

Ideal grind sizes for some common brewers

According to Acaia these are the ideal grind sizes in microns:

• 1000 microns and larger: French press (coarse)
• 600-800 microns: drip or pour over (medium coarse to medium fine)
• 400-600 microns for Aeropress and moka pots (fine)
• 300-400 microns for espresso
• Extra fine for Greek coffee
• Anything smaller than 300 is defined as “fines” and it is not desirable, since it is over-extracting quickly and clogging the filters.

Ideal ratio: 1g of coffee to 16-17g of water but it definitely can vary depending on personal taste: 1:15-1:20.            

Different grinders can give you different shades of a coffee. We have a post about the different grinders out there here:

LINK GRINDERS

Bibliography

• https://counterculturecoffee.com/blogs/counter-culture-coffee/guide-to-pour-over-coffee?srsltid=AfmBOop2lw3WinjMNGc-D5g9PLP5kkKV-6–LhHhoHIWua_Oa3DU8yrV
• https://honestcoffeeguide.com/pour-over-grind-size/
• https://www.kimbocoffee.com/blogs/kimbo-blog/how-to-grind-coffee-beans-for-pour-over
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/1y99xx/what_grind_is_best_for_pour_over/
• https://batchcoffee.co.uk/stories/pour-over-grind/?srsltid=AfmBOoorRCFQHXih4jAffgZ236_y5B8aHEldXLmiQZHR6jxSVn7ZaCfa
• https://grosche.ca/blogs/blog/coffee-grind-chart?srsltid=AfmBOopjjmxbFi0BneJFh0brqg0kNraHJ4ywiX8-_EEYEOD7ZZKfrpYj
• https://1zpresso.coffee/how-to-dial-in-the-perfect-grind-size-for-pour-over-coffee/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/pourover/comments/19bv7vb/grinder_recommendations_for_pourover_only/
• https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-coffee-grinders