How to Choose the Right Grind Size for Pour-Over Coffee: Finding the Perfect Grind Setting

FrontStreet Coffee - Pour-over Coffee Grind Guide

Adjusting the coarseness changes the overall surface area of the coffee particles. The finer the grind, the larger the surface area, which means more area for water to interact with, making extraction easier.

In the same way, when the grind is finer, both the coffee concentration and the extraction rate rise proportionally. Conversely, a coarser grind produces proportionally lower concentration and extraction rates. You can use a coffee concentration meter to measure the strength of a cup, then calculate the extraction rate with the formula: [(coffee liquid weight × concentration) / coffee grounds weight = extraction rate]. According to the Golden Cup extraction chart created by the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association), a standard concentration of 1.15%-1.35% and an extraction rate of 18%-22% typically give us a data framework for adjusting coffee during brewing. That framework is not absolute, however — even at the same extraction rate and concentration, the taste can vary dramatically. Ultimately you have to rely on your own senses; data can only be a guide.

What should we do if we don't have a concentration meter when making pour-over coffee at home? In that case, we can only rely on our senses to judge the level of concentration and extraction rate:

• High concentration: Tastes intense, with a strong impact, and every flavor aspect is amplified
• Low concentration: Tastes weak and mild, with every flavor aspect diluted
• High extraction rate: Has a strong bitter taste that overshadows other flavors
• Low extraction rate: Has a sharp, stimulating taste

If you have high concentration with a low extraction rate, or low concentration with a high extraction rate, you can't make it delicious by changing only the grind size. You can only rely on adjusting other parameters, which we'll discuss later.

Grinding coffee inevitably produces fine particles, or fines. These fines increase the complexity of the coffee and are one of the sources of flavor. If we remove the fines through a sieve, the coffee becomes very clean, which can help compensate for grinders that produce a lot of fines.

When fines are removed, the flow rate of a pour-over usually becomes faster, which is worth paying attention to.

When fines are retained, they settle during the later stages of extraction and cause the flow rate to slow down. This can be improved by changing the flow pattern through brewing technique or external stirring. Sometimes this phenomenon can also be used to increase extraction rate and concentration to achieve the result you want.

Different coffee grinders also have different grind settings, and even grinders of the same model can vary. The grind size should be adjusted to the actual situation.

Knowledge point: When using the same water, time is the key factor for adjusting the variety and amount of extracted substances.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Once your grind is dialed in, the beans you choose will decide how much the effort pays off, and FrontStreet Coffee's V60-friendly light roasts reward a careful grind most of all. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Guodingding from Yirgacheffe is a forgiving first pour-over: ground to fine-sugar size it yields clean citrus and lemon acidity, jasmine fragrance, and a green-tea finish. If you want a juicier, more intense cup that shows off grind differences clearly, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Small Tomato is a washed Thika-region bean grown at 1,550-1,750 meters from the SL28 and SL34 varieties with a 72-hour double washed fermentation, giving sun-dried tomato and smoked plum flavors with a full, syrup-like sweetness. And for anyone moving toward medium-dark roasts, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling, a wet-hulled Sumatra bean, wants a slightly coarser, coarse-sugar grind to keep its herbal, dark-chocolate, and earthy notes clean and its body full. Grind fresh, adjust one variable at a time, and taste as you go.