Coffee grind size guide

Grinding whole beans right before brewing coffee will not only make your home smells delicious, but also bring the freshest taste to your cup. Generally speaking, the complex compounds within your coffee beans are what create your brew’s aroma and flavor. As soon as the beans are grinded, factors such as oxidation, moisture, and CO2 depletion start affecting the coffee freshness.

That’s why you’ll always hear coffee experts recommending whole beans over ground coffee whenever possible. It might sounds like coffee snob talk, but it’s really the ideal way of making the best cup.

Now that doesn’t mean it’s the only way of getting a great cup of coffee. Adding equipment such as a burr coffee grinder can be expensive, they take up space, and although you could opt for smaller or manual grinders some people just want to keep their coffee routine as easy and simple as possible.

At Portfolio we believe you can make an excellent cup of coffee at home regardless of where you are in your coffee journey. That’s why we offer whole beans as well as ground coffee. Rest assured that the coffee we grind right before shipping to you will still be much fresher than shelf coffee foun elsewhere.

In case you do have access to a coffee grinder and are wondering how coarse or fine should you grind your coffee for your preferred method, follow the quick guide below for optimal flavour and aroma extraction.

Coffee grind sizes and brewing methods

Best coffee grind size for cold brew

Cold brew coffee is a very forgiving method of brewing. You can get great results from anywhere between coarse to medium grind. As a starting point, follow the brewing method you will use for cold brew and adjust according to your personal taste.

For example, if you are making cold brew coffee with a French press, follow the recommendation of coarse grind. If you prefer pour over cold brew, use fine grind as per the table above.

Best coffee grind size for espresso

Espresso is likely the brewing method that allows you to be as precise as you would want. If you are considering buying an espresso machine we highly recommend you also plan on buying a coffee grinder.

Use a fine grind when brewing with an espresso machine. For this brewing method, you’ll notice right away if your choice of grind is appropriate as it impacts the brewing the most and the end result is more apparent.