(All About) Getting to Grips with the Grind

When brewing whole bean coffee at home, it’s the simplest of slip-ups that can compromise the quality and enjoyment of the resulting cup. In all instances, brewing with coffee beans (rather than buying grounds) has the potential to produce superior results.

Particularly when working with the best coffee beans in the world, but beans in general are better than grounds…period.

Unfortunately, the process of transforming whole bean coffee into fresh coffee grounds is something that seems to perplex a lot of people. Or at least, it is a process most don’t show the precision and priority it deserves.

The simple fact of the matter is that you cannot and will not brew an exceptional cup of coffee with grounds of the wrong size. From bargain coffee beans to the best coffee beans in the world, the same applies – mess up the grind and the rest is inconsequential.

Why Pre-Ground Coffee is so Difficult to Work With

Have you ever wondered why pre-ground coffee never seems to make for particularly fantastic results? Even if you pick up a fairly decent quality bag of grounds from a local supplier, you will probably come out with the same semi-ok coffee…but why?

The reasons might surprise you – first of all, ground coffee loses its freshness much faster than whole bean coffee. Secondly, pre-ground coffee has the wrong size for the vast majority of coffee makers.

All brewing methods call for a different grind size. This means that whatever consistency the grounds in the bag are, they’re no good for most brewing methods.

Precisely why it pays to grind your own whole bean coffee at home, for a difference you’ll pick up on with the very first cup.

How to Determine the Appropriate Coarseness

At first, the whole thing can seem like a pretty daunting prospect. You need to get to grips with how your coffee grinder works, determine how each setting affects the grind and so on. In addition, different coffee beans grind at different speeds, so care and attention is always needed.

Nevertheless, the whole thing becomes second nature soon enough. You’ll quickly learn how to identify the coarseness you need by visual inspection alone, at which point you’ll have no trouble getting it spot on.

Keeping things nice and simple, here’s a basic overview of the coarseness you should be aiming for with most common brewing methods:

Coffee Brewing Method	Correct Grind Size
Turkish Coffee	Extra Fine
Espresso	Fine
Moka Pot	Medium-Fine
Pour Over	Medium-Fine to Medium
Aeropress	Medium-Fine to Medium
Chemex	Medium
Auto Drip	Medium to Medium-Coarse
Cold Brew	Medium-Coarse
French Press	Coarse

In any case, there’s a degree of trial and error to the whole thing, so be sure to keep notes along the way. And if you haven’t already done so, treat yourself to the single most important piece of coffee gear you can own – a high-quality burr coffee grinder!

At Hayman’s online coffee store, you can confidently order ground coffee, because you can choose the right grind size for your brewing method and, last but not least, your coffee is always roasted and ground on the same day it is shipped to you to protect freshness. Click here to order today, we offer free worldwide shipping!