Grind size

Grinding exposes the beans' cell walls and prepares the beans to release their flavour during brewing. Because of variations in the length of the brewing cycle, the water temperature and the water agitation pattern, each brewing method requires different degrees of grind.

Effects of Grind

Since there are so many different ways to brew coffee, choosing the correct grind is essential to get the optimal flavour extraction during brewing. The degree of extraction depends on three things:

• the fineness of the grind


• the ratio coffee / water


• the length of time the grounds have been in contact with the water

Generally, the shorter the brewing cycle, the finer the grind required to produce optimal flavour extraction. The longer the brewing cycle, the coarser the grind required. Fine grinds expose more of the coffee's surface area to the water and the coffee's essential oils are released faster. Longer brewing methods require a coarse grind to avoid over-extraction. For example, espresso brewers can produce a cup of espresso in just 20 seconds, so they need a very fine grind. A grind that is mismatched to the brewing method can produce a bitter, overly strong coffee, or one that is weak and lacking in flavour.