How to Determine Coffee Grind Size? What Grind Size Should Be Used for Different Brewing Methods?

There are various devices that can make coffee, and the same coffee beans will produce coffee with different characteristics when using different equipment. Therefore, people have many different choices when making a cup of coffee. However, regardless of the equipment used, we need to grind the coffee beans before extraction! 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 do not use a universal grind size! We cannot extract all soluble substances from coffee because some of them are not delicious. Therefore, an accurately matched grind size is crucial! So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share what grind sizes should be used for different equipment!

Currently, the most commonly used coffee equipment includes the following: siphon pot, cold drip/cold brew, French press, pour-over coffee, espresso machine, and moka pot. We arrange them according to the fineness of the grind used, in 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 coarse or fine coffee grinds, the question remains: specifically, how coarse or how fine? Compared to what standard? There is no clear numerical value! Therefore, we need to use a recognized standard as a reference to list the suitable coffee grind sizes for each equipment!

Grind Size Standards

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 "How to Use a #20 Sieve?" for detailed explanation~).

In other words, we only need to use its grind parameters as a standard and make adjustments according to the different extraction methods and parameters of each equipment to find the corresponding grind size and clearly list it with data!

French Press Grind Size

French press and cupping both use immersion extraction, so their grind sizes will have a high degree of overlap. However, the difference lies in that cupping uses water temperature limited to 94°C, which is just right for long-term immersion with this grind size. French press usage is more oriented toward daily use, where hot water is typically poured directly from a boiled 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 with a 68-75% pass rate through a #20 sieve (raw 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

The water temperature for pour-over coffee will be lower than the above two methods, and the extraction time is relatively shorter. Therefore, we need to increase extraction efficiency by using a finer grind to give the coffee a normal concentration!

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a grind size with a 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 cold 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 efficiency! So, should we use a finer grind than pour-over for extraction? Nonono! Although ice water has a low extraction rate, its extraction time is long!

! This can completely compensate for the deficiencies brought by ice water. Therefore, we don't need to make too much adjustment on the basis of pour-over. Like cold pour-over, simply increase the pass rate by 5% on the basis of 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 fine~

Avoid grinding too finely just because you see its low extraction efficiency. Firstly, this makes filtration difficult (fine powder will clog the filter holes, extending filtration time), and secondly, many extremely fine particles will pass through the holes, joining the coffee and 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 extraction parameters of: 85-90% pass rate through a #20 sieve.

Espresso Machine Grind Size

The grind for espresso machines is close to flour-like fine particles and cannot be measured using a sieve. Moreover, because espresso machine extraction is more precise, even a difference of just 0.1g of coffee grounds will 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 plan. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses "20g of coffee grounds to extract 40ml of coffee liquid in 28±1 seconds" as the standard plan daily, then adjusts parameters around this data. If 20g of grounds cannot extract 40ml of coffee liquid within 28±1 seconds, then adjust the grind so the data matches the plan, and then decide whether to make fine adjustments to the coffee weight or liquid weight through tasting~

Moka Pot Grind Size

The grind size used for moka pots is quite special. It can use the finest particles ground by a pour-over grinder, or directly apply the grind size of an espresso grinder - both work! The finer the coffee particles, the richer the extracted crema!

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

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

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