How to Grind Coffee
The optimal coffee grind consistency
for your coffee maker.
Once you have purchased the correct coffee, how you grind your coffee is the
next crucial step in influencing the taste of the final coffee brew. Coffee machines will brew
better if you make sure to grind your coffee beans to the optimal size in the first place.
Cheaper coffee grinders don't always
have coarseness settings, so you will have to experiment a little to establish how long to let
your machine grind to achieve the right consistency, coarseness or fineness, for your coffee
machine.
This is a coffee grind comparison chart
to help you to gauge your coffee grind against common coffee grind descriptions:
| Coarse |
Very chunky. Very distinct particles of coffee. Like heavy-grained kosher salt. |
| Medium |
Gritty, like coarse sand. |
| Fine |
Smoother to the touch, a little finer than granular sugar or table salt. |
| Extra fine |
Finer than sugar, but not quite powdered. Grains should still be discernable to the touch. |
| Turkish |
Powdered, like flour. Most inexpensive (blade) grinders will be unable to grind this finely.
|
The table below will tell you which
coffee grind to choose to suit your particular coffee-brewing method.
| Grinding Chart |
| Drip coffee makers (flat bottomed filters) |
Medium |
| Drip coffee makers (cone filters) |
Fine |
| Plunger pot / French press |
Coarse |
| Percolator |
Coarse |
| Espresso machines (pump or steam) |
Extra fine |
| Espresso moka pots |
Fine |
| Vacuum coffee pot |
Coarse |
| Ibrik |
Turkish |
|
