Grind Size Guide

Grind size is the single biggest lever you have over how your coffee tastes. It controls how fast water flows through the coffee and how much flavour is extracted. Too coarse and the water rushes through, leaving a sour, weak, under-extracted cup. Too fine and it struggles through, over-extracting into bitterness. Matching your grind to your brew method is the foundation of a great cup.

The grind scale, finest to coarsest

• Extra fine (icing sugar) — Turkish / ibrik.
• Fine (table salt) — espresso and Moka pot.
• Medium-fine (fine sand) — Hario V60, AeroPress, Kalita Wave, Fellow Stagg.
• Medium (coarse sand) — automatic drip machines, Clever Dripper.
• Medium-coarse — Chemex and larger flat-bottom brewers.
• Coarse (sea salt) — French press and cold brew.

Why a burr grinder matters

Blade grinders chop beans unevenly, producing a mix of dust and boulders that extract at different rates — muddy, inconsistent coffee. A burr grinder crushes beans to a uniform size, which is what lets you dial a method in reliably. If you make one upgrade to your setup, make it a burr grinder.

Dialling in with grind

If your coffee tastes sour or thin, grind finer to slow the flow and extract more. If it tastes bitter or harsh, grind coarser to speed the flow and extract less. Change one thing at a time and taste as you go. Every one of our brew guides lists the ideal grind for that method — and if you grind fresh at home, choose the Whole Beans option and grind just before brewing.