What Are the Ideal Grind Sizes for Pour-Over, French Press, Siphon, and Moka Pot? The Importance of Coffee Grinding

There are various devices that can brew coffee, and using different equipment with the same coffee beans will extract coffee with different characteristics. Therefore, people have many different choices when making a cup of coffee. But regardless of the equipment, we need to grind the coffee beans before extraction! Because only in this way can we quickly obtain the aromatic substances from the coffee beans.

However, it's important to know that due to different extraction methods, these devices don't share a universal grind size! We cannot extract all soluble substances from coffee because some of them are not delicious. Therefore, an accurately appropriate grind size is crucial! So today, FrontStreet Coffee wants to share what grind sizes should be used for different brewing equipment!

Common Coffee Brewing Equipment

Currently, the most commonly used coffee brewing equipment includes: siphon pot, cold drip/cold brew, French press, pour-over coffee, espresso machine, and moka pot. We arrange them according to the grind coarseness they use, in the following order: French press > pour-over coffee > cold drip/cold brew > siphon pot > moka pot ≥ espresso machine! Although we know which of these equipment should use coarser or finer coffee grinds, the question remains: how coarse exactly? How fine exactly? Compared to what standard? There's no clear numerical value! Therefore, we need to use a recognized standard as reference to list the appropriate coffee grind sizes for each piece of equipment!

The Standard for Grind Size

Although these various extraction methods don't have standard grind parameters, there happens to be one extraction method whose grind size is certified and unified within the industry. That is—cupping! The industry-recognized grind parameter for cupping is a 70-75% pass rate through a #20 sieve, which is a value determined through continuous experimentation and tasting (for more information about the #20 sieve, you can click on this article for a detailed explanation "How to Use a #20 Sieve?").

This means that by using its grind parameters as a standard and adjusting the grind according to the different extraction methods and parameters of each piece of equipment, we can identify the corresponding grind sizes and clearly list them with data!

French Press Grind Size

French press and cupping both use immersion extraction, so their grind sizes have a high degree of overlap. However, the difference lies in the fact that cupping uses water temperature limited to 94°C, and with this grind size, long steeping time is just right. French press usage tends to be more oriented toward daily life, where hot water is typically poured directly from a boiling kettle, making its extraction efficiency somewhat higher. Therefore, when water temperature is uncontrollable, we need to weaken its extraction efficiency by using a coarser grind to avoid over-extraction.

Therefore, through testing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a French press grind size in the range of 68-75% pass rate through a #20 sieve (coarse sugar), adjusted according to the bean's roast level and hot water temperature! If the water temperature is high and the roast is dark, then control the grind within the coarser range of 68-71%. If the water temperature is normal and the roast is light, then control the grind within the range of 71-75%.

Pour-Over Coffee Grind Size

Pour-over coffee uses lower water temperature than the previous two methods, and the extraction time is relatively shorter. Therefore, we need to increase extraction efficiency by using a finer grind to achieve normal coffee concentration!

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a grind size in the range of 70-80% pass rate through a #20 sieve (fine sugar). Similarly, different roast levels use different grind sizes—medium-light roast beans should use a finer grind (75-80%), while medium-dark roast beans should use a coarser grind (70-75%). For ice pour-over, simply increase the pass rate by 5% on top of the original basis, meaning grind one setting finer.

Cold Drip and Cold Brew Grind Size

Both methods use ice water for extraction, which has very low extraction efficiency! So, should we use a finer grind than pour-over for extraction? Nonono! Although ice water has low extraction efficiency, its extraction time is much longer!

This can completely compensate for the shortcomings of ice water. Therefore, we don't need to make too many adjustments based on pour-over. Like ice pour-over, simply increase the pass rate by 5% on top of the pour-over grind, meaning grind one setting finer! If you don't like it too strong, then using the same grind size as pour-over is perfectly fine~

Do not grind too finely just because you see its low extraction efficiency. On one hand, this makes filtration difficult (fine particles will clog the filter holes, extending filtration time), and on the other hand, many very fine particles will pass through the holes and join the coffee, reducing its cleanliness!

Siphon Pot Grind Size

What are the characteristics of siphon pot extraction? High water temperature and stirring, so theoretically its extraction efficiency should be relatively high. However! Its extraction time is less than one minute, which means we need to increase its extraction rate by using a finer grind size. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the extraction parameter: 85-90% pass rate through a #20 sieve.

Espresso Machine Grind Size

Espresso machine grind is flour-like fine particles that cannot be measured using a sieve. Moreover, because espresso machine extraction is more precise, even a difference of just 0.1g of coffee grounds can cause certain changes in the extracted coffee flavor.

Therefore, its grind size data can only be obtained directly through extraction! FrontStreet Coffee would recommend first setting a stable extraction recipe. For example, FrontStreet Coffee daily uses the recipe "20g of coffee grounds to extract 40ml of coffee liquid in 28±1 seconds" as the standard, then adjusts parameters around this data. If 20g of coffee grounds cannot extract 40ml of coffee liquid within 28±1 seconds, then you need to adjust the grind to match the recipe parameters, and afterward, determine whether to make fine adjustments to the coffee weight or liquid weight through taste testing~

Moka Pot Grind Size

The grind size used in moka pots is quite special—it can use the finest particles ground by a pour-over grinder, and espresso machine grind size can also be directly applied—both work! The finer the coffee particles, the richer the extracted crema!

It's worth noting that moka pot grind size is already very fine and similarly cannot be measured using a sieve. Therefore, we can only determine it through taste testing.

Important Notice :

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