Most people don’t stop to consider just how important it is to grind your coffee properly before making coffee to ensure that you get the best possible extraction of the flavors.

Most people take the grind for granted. As long as the coffee is ground, then it should work, right?

Well, that depends on several factors. What brew method are you using? How strong or weak do you like your coffee? How much do you need to grind at a time?

All of these factors and more contribute to getting the best grind. Coffee ground to the wrong size for the method you use to make your coffee will result in not getting the most from your coffee beans.

It’s worth doing right.

The Grinder

Choosing a grinder is a fairly easy task, as long as you know what you want. First of all, you do not want one of those cheap blade grinders that you can find at most big box stores. These chop the beans up instead of grinding them, rendering them different sizes and allowing for a poor extraction of the coffee’s flavors.

Instead, choose a burr grinder. For most people, a good quality burr grinder can be had for $50 to $100. This will give you consistent grinds at the right size for your needs. If you want to make a high quality espresso, you’ll need a grinder that can grind to a very fine degree. These will set you back a little more, costing a couple hundred or better. Unless you are opening a coffee shop, you probably won’t need one of these.

Also, make sure you don’t grind anything else with your grinder. A few years ago, my wife ground up some cinnamon sticks in my grinder. My coffee tasted terrible. Once I realized what had happened… She now has a nice grinder for her cinnamon, and I have a new, dedicated coffee grinder.

A couple of great options re available if you want an electric grinder, but I much prefer a Hario hand grinder.

The Grind Size

Not only must your coffee be ground consistently to the same size, you will need to make sure it is the right size for the method of brewing you choose to use. Here is a brief list of some common brewing methods, and what size your grind needs to be:

Extra Coarse Grind: Cold brew coffee
Coarse Grind: French press, or press pot
Medium Coarse Grind: Chemex or other pourovers
Medium Grind: Drip pots, coffee makers
Medium Fine Grind: Pourover cones, siphon brewers, vacuum pots
Fine Grind: Espresso, Moka pots
Extra Fine Grind: Turkish coffee

Choosing the right grind will help you get the most flavor from your coffee beans.

When To Grind

Perhaps the most often overlooked part of grinding coffee is when to do it. A great rule of thumb to remember is that as soon as you grind your coffee, the process of it going stale accelerates. Roasted beans have a shelf life of a couple of weeks; but ground coffee goes stale in a matter of hours. Remember that next time you are contemplating a can of ground coffee at the grocery store.

The less time between grinding the coffee and brewing it, the better your flavors will be. That means an extra step in the morning when you are making your coffee, but the taste is well worth the effort.

Selecting the right grind is a critical aspect of getting the perfect cup of coffee, but it is often one of the most overlooked. Taking the time to experiment and perfect the grind you need for your brewing method will take some trial and error, but the result will be a much better cup of coffee.

Question: What method do you use to brew your coffee? What size grind do you use for it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.