Getting your coffee bean grind size right is essential for a great cup of coffee. Some people prefer to buy their coffee already ground. It’s less messy and quicker. However, when buying whole beans, you will have so many more options for tailoring your cup.
Once beans are ground, the oxidation process is faster, meaning aroma and flavors are lost quicker. We recommend grinding your beans immediately before brewing. Not only will your coffee be better, we think it’s a great ritual, a time to send a thought to all the people who helped the coffee on its way, and a moment to enjoy!
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Different brew techniques require different grind sizes. It’s physics, really: a finer grind will have more surface of the coffee bean, and a quicker extraction. A coarser grind will allow water to pass through the coffee with less resistance, and hence needing more time to pick up the flavors.
An espresso, which pushes pressured steam through the beans, will require a very fine grind. Contact time between water and ground beans is only 20-30 seconds, so the beans need to work their magic fast.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have cold brew, which leaves the beans to “simmer” for around 12 hours, and needs a very coarse grind. Drip or pour over will need a medium sized grind.
You can see here which grind size is appropriate for your coffee brew method.
TYPES OF GRINDERS
Grinders can be inexpensive (around $15), or quite pricey ($2,000 and above). They typically come in two types: Blade grinders, which basically chops and cuts the coffee beans, much like a propeller. They are effective and inexpensive, but they also make a somewhat uneven grind. For many people, blade grinders are perfectly fine, especially in the early stages of a coffee love affair.
The other type is burr grinders, aka burr mills, made up of two revolving burrs. The beans are crushed between a moving grinder wheel and a non-moving surface. That makes for a more uniform grind, and a more even coffee extraction. This means a better cup quality.
EXPERIMENT WITH GRIND AND GET DIFFERENT CUP PROFILES
Once you start experimenting with grind size, it gets interesting and fun really quickly. Even when using a simple pour over or drip machine, the variables quickly add up to so many possibilities.
You can grind your beans a bit finer, to get more extraction. Your coffee will be more intense, but you can consider decreasing your coffee/water ratio to offset. You would maintain the same intensity. Or you, can brew it faster, which also compensates for the finer grind. You can experiment with all three factors.
When it gets real advanced, you will also experience that different beans and roasts will need different grinds, adding even more dimensions – all in the pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee 😊.
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Happy brewing from Fabula Coffee! Read more blogs here.
