Grind size

Grind size plays a crucial role in coffee making, affecting the taste and aroma of your brew. Discover the different grind sizes and how to achieve the perfect grind for your preferred coffee preparation method.

espresso portafilter with grinds

 Shortly after purchasing an expensive camera, I learned a little bit about photography.  I got a book that explained the main variables in creating the exposure; shutter speed, f-stop, and iso.  Making craft coffee is much like that, in that there are a few main variables, and how they interact with each other can change the results drastically.  

    The first variable that I am going to discuss is grind size.  This is important because the way that coffee is made is by adding water, the solvent, to a bed of coffee grinds and extracting soluble material.  How finely ground the coffee is, will determine how easily it is extracted.  A finer grind will expose more surface area.  If coffee is ground too coarse it will under-extract and taste sour, while too fine will over-extract and taste bitter. If you notice one of these effects the obvious solution is to step it a little in the opposite direction.  When using a brewing method that drips through, like a pour-over or espresso, you will slow the flow of water the more finely the coffee is ground.  Time is, of course, another variable in coffee making to be discussed later.  A general rule for determining how to grind for any given preparation method is, that the longer the water will remain with the coffee, the coarser it should be ground.  For espresso, since it goes through rather quickly you should make it fine.  A french press should be coarse.  In my photography book, they gave a small homework assignment to play around with each of the variables independently to see the effects they have.  For that, I am going to suggest making a cup of coffee in which you change nothing but the grind size.  Try making one cup with a fine grind, another with a coarse, and a third with a medium grind.  This exercise should all be done together so that you can compare them side by side and notice the change this makes. 


If you have tried this, please feel free to leave a comment describing the results you observed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Drink Coffee?

Image
Why Drink Coffee? One of the problems I have been noticing is a collection of studies that all seem to contradict each other.  I remember reading about how bad coffee is for you and then another one that discusses the health benefits.  So which is it?  Should I drink it or not?  Not being a scientist I really am not qualified to give a definitive answer, but being armed with some amount of common sense, I can tell you that most of the contradictions are based on flawed studies.  If we look at a population that drinks a pot of coffee to stay awake because they are up all night, then notice that they are on average less healthy than those that get a good night of rest.   It would be easy to conclude that coffee is contributing to this disparity if you fail to consider the difference in lifestyle.  Some of the studies that are more favorable to coffee take this into account for more of an apples-to-apples comparison. Benefits of Coffee 1. Coffee helps to improve focus and give
Read more

The Secrets of Coffee: Growing and Processing Beans

Image
     Discover the captivating journey of coffee beans, bringing the rich aroma and exquisite taste of freshly brewed coffee to the world.      To ensure that you can trace the origin of your coffee and avoid any potential supply chain issues, growing your coffee is the best way to go. While it is generally true that coffee is grown in tropical regions at altitudes above 2,500 feet, this should not stop you from growing your own for personal consumption. Growing coffee from seeds takes about three years for the coffee tree to bear fruit.  Each tree yields about one pound of coffee beans per year.      Once it is ready, you will need to  pick the cherries. crush the cherries. soak them in a bucket of water for a day. separate the pulp from the beans. spread the beans out on a tarp or cookie sheet in the sun stirring regularly during the two-day drying process.       Once complete, the finished product is ready for roasting. The coffee beans can last in this state for up to a year, depend
Read more

Emotional Attachments to Coffee

Image
Discover the emotional attachments people have to coffee and the impact it can have on their mental and emotional health. Explore the relationship between coffee and emotions, as well as coping with loss and grief through coffee rituals.  I have been watching a show with my wife called "This is us" on NBC lately.  In one episode a character makes coffee for herself and her husband because that is how her mornings usually went.  After filling up his cup the realization that he just died hits her again.  Fortunately, I have not shared that experience yet, but it made me think.        When talking about the term ritual many think about religion.  One of the definitions according to Webster is "an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner".  When I wake up, making coffee is part of my morning ritual.  How it is done exactly is also a ritual.  I know exactly how much of each ingredient to use.  I make it in the prescribed manner and pour it into tw
Read more