Does Coffee Bean Roast Level Affect Grind Size? What Grind Size Should You Use for Different Roasts?

When brewing coffee, we all run into the same question: different brewing methods call for different equipment. In the same way, different roast levels call for different grind sizes. Light roast, medium roast, and dark roast coffee beans should each be ground differently.

Today, FrontStreet Coffee will use medium roast coffee beans as an example to illustrate the appropriate grind size for various brewing tools.

1. Espresso Grind

The grind for espresso is approximately as fine as powdered sugar. Because the grind is so fine, larger burrs are generally needed to keep the extended grinding time from generating too much heat. Most regular grinders cannot handle this task well, so it's best to use a grinder designed specifically for espresso.

2. Siphon Grind

Siphon brewers call for mostly a fine grind, roughly the size of fine sugar. The larger surface area speeds up extraction, but because the brewing time is longer, an extremely fine grind such as that used for espresso is not suitable.

3. Pour-over and Drip Grind

The popular pour-over and American drip coffee makers of recent years mostly call for a medium grind, typically with particles slightly larger than fine sugar. Because the steeping time is relatively long, a fine grind would extract too many undesirable flavors.

4. French Press Grind

The French press generally calls for a coarse grind, with a particle size roughly like rock sugar.

The above are general guidelines. Since there are no absolutes in the world of coffee, don't be surprised if you next see a barista using a grind for pour-over that is close to the fine grind of siphon brewing; they may have adjusted their pouring technique, water flow, and water temperature accordingly. When practicing at home, whichever brewing equipment you use, remember to change only one variable at a time with each extraction adjustment so you can isolate what made the difference.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Grind size matters most in an immersion brewer like the French press, where FrontStreet Coffee recommends a coarse, raw-sugar grind, about 10.5 on an EK43s or 26 on a hand grinder, brewed at a 1:15 ratio (15 g coffee to 225 g water) with a 4-minute steep. Because immersion favors medium or dark roasts, FrontStreet suggests its PWN Golden Mandheling, a famous Asian single origin that is hand-sorted three times and machine-sorted once, then roasted medium-dark to give large beans with spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate aromas and a thick, oily body. If you prefer something lighter and more aromatic, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy, a Gesha blend of Costa Rican honey-process coffee and Panamanian washed Gesha, brews with rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry aromas and turns into strawberry gummy candy when milk is added.