The Grind

For this next lesson on how to make a great cup of coffee, the element we will be discussing is the coffee grounds. If you’re just joining us be sure to check out the other elements on our brew guide! We’ve been talking a lot about consistency and your coffee grounds play a major role in being able to do just that. You may be wondering how do I know how coarse or fine my coffee needs to be? We will go into more detail of that when we get into the different ways you can make coffee using different brew methods. Today, we will focus on taking control of consistent grounds. Inconsistencies in the grounds from one cup to the next can noticeably sway the flavor of your coffee. One cup may turn out great, but the next may be bitter. Even though the coffee’s flavor can sway dramatically, that is not necessarily a bad thing! It’s also one of the easiest elements to control with only a little bit of effort!

What you need to achieve a consistent grind: a good coffee grinder!

A good coffee grinder will replicate noticeable results with the flip of a switch. We will start with the two types of grinders, blade grinders and burr grinders. Now if a blade grinder is all you have, that’s a great place to start but below, you’ll see pictures of the types of grounds that come out of both grinders. Hopefully you’ll be able to notice the difference in the pictures. Another way to see the inconsistency in your grounds, is to grind a few beans and put them in a sifter and see what happens as you begin to sort the grounds from small to large.

Blade Grinder - inconsistent grounds varying anywhere from small to large

As the name portrays, blade grinders are similar to a blender style design, where the blades spin around cracking and slashing the coffee beans into an inconsistent grind.

Burr Grinder - consistent and more evenly ground coffee

Burr grinders on the other hand, allow you to have more control over getting consistent grounds because it runs the coffee beans through two round burrs that have adjustable gaps.

So now that you can see that using a burr grinder allows you to control how coarse or fine your coffee grounds are. You can see how being able to replicate the same grounds time and time again will help you stay consistent. You might also start thinking about the door that is now unlocked with you being able to control you coffee grounds. You can now start taking control and changing the flavor of your coffee by intentionally changing the coarseness of your coffee. A quick tip or summary, you should use a fine grind for espresso or Aero Press (for pulling “shots”), a medium grind for pour over and Chemex, and a course grind for a french press.