Coffee Grind Size for Pour-Over: How Fine Should You Grind Your Coffee to Avoid Making "Coffee Medicine"

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FrontStreet Coffee - Pour-Over Coffee Grind Size and Single-Origin Bean Varieties Introduction

Grind size is one of the factors that affects pour-over coffee.

Today, let's briefly discuss the impact of grind size on coffee. Adjusting the coarseness can increase or decrease the overall surface area of coffee particles. The finer the grind, the larger the surface area, the more area for contact with water, and the easier it is to extract flavors.

Similarly, when the grind size is finer, the coffee's concentration and extraction rate will increase proportionally. When coarser, they will decrease proportionally. We can use a coffee refractometer to measure the concentration of coffee, then calculate the extraction rate using the formula: [(coffee liquid weight × concentration) / coffee ground weight = extraction rate]. According to the Golden Cup extraction rate chart created by the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association of America): concentration 1.15%-1.35%, extraction rate 18%-22% - this standard typically provides us with a data framework to adjust coffee during the brewing process. However, this framework is not absolute. Even with the same extraction rate and concentration, the taste can vary dramatically. Everything still depends on your own sensory evaluation - data can only assist you.

What if we don't have a refractometer when making pour-over coffee at home? In this case, we can only rely on our senses to judge the level of concentration and extraction rate: high concentration gives a strong, impactful taste with amplified flavors; low concentration tastes bland, gentle, with diluted flavors; high extraction rate has a strong bitterness that masks other flavors; low extraction rate tastes sharp and stimulating.

If the concentration is high but extraction rate is low, or concentration is low but extraction rate is high, we cannot make it delicious by changing only the grind size. We need to rely on adjusting other parameters, which we'll discuss later.

Grinding coffee inevitably produces very fine particles (fines). The presence of these fines can increase the complexity of our coffee and is one of the sources of flavor. If we remove these fines through a sieve, the coffee becomes very clean, which can compensate for the effects of grinders that produce many fines.

When fines are removed, the flow rate of pour-over coffee usually becomes faster - this point should be noted. When fines are retained, during the later stages of extraction, the fines settle and cause the coffee flow rate to slow down. This can be improved by changing the agitation method: brewing techniques, external stirring. Sometimes this phenomenon can also be used to increase extraction rate and concentration to achieve the desired effect.

Knowledge Point

Pour-over coffee is typically made by manually brewing single-variety, single-origin coffee beans. Enthusiasts even roast and grind their own beans.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a research-focused coffee establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share unreservedly to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three discounted coffee events each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to provide the best coffee at the lowest prices for more friends - this has been our principle for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

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