S1: Episode 4: Grind Size Matters

The importance of coffee grind size on the flavour in your cup and why you really should buy a grinder. This week’s FACQ answers the age old question: can you grind coffee for Instant?

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• Transcript

  Hello and welcome to The Coffee Drinker’s Guide, a podcast for the coffee curious where I explore and explain the world of specialty coffee to make your daily coffee better and more satisfying.

  I’m Angela Holder a coffee roaster and writer on a mission to fight back against bad coffee by giving you the knowledge you need to help you get good coffee and a happier (coffee) life in coffee-break sized episodes. So grab your coffee, pull up a chair and take a break…

  This week's episode takes a deep dive into grind size - and by grind size I mean the particle size of ground coffee. Does grind size actually matter and should you get a grinder? Yes. To both, but keep listening to find out why…and later I’ll be answering an often asked question about Instant coffee…

  One of the slightly daunting things about buying whole bean rather than instant or pre-ground coffee is getting to grips with the whole process of grinding the coffee yourself in order to make a brew. Admittedly it can be a bit technical and there is plenty of opportunity to get really geeky when it comes to grinds and coffee grinders. But never fear you don’t need to be a geek to get your head around some basic principles and your taste buds will thank you for it…

  So firstly grind size and the brew

  I am stating the obvious here, but coffee must be ground to be brewed. If you're curious, try putting some whole beans into water and see how long you need to wait to even slightly change the colour of the water. Contrary to the ‘one size suits all brewing methods’ principle of supermarket ground coffee, the grind size of the coffee does need to be tailored to the brewing method used for the best result in the cup. A fast brewing method like espresso requires finely ground coffee while a slower method like cafetière needs coarser grounds in order to get the best extraction of the coffee oils from each method. Using the wrong grind size for a brewing method can also mean that the brewing equipment doesn’t work properly - for example using too fine a grind in a cafetière means you’ll need superhuman strength to depress the plunger! Espresso machines are particularly sensitive to grind size, which can result in the coffee gushing out of the portafilter if the grind is too coarse or in parsimonious drips if it is too fine. However you brew your coffee its flavour will benefit from the coffee being ground just before you start the brewing process.

  Next grind size and the taste

  So the finer the grind the faster you can brew but also - crucially - the more even the grind the better the quality, or flavour, of the brew. If your coffee grounds are wildly uneven in size, meaning it contains a mix of small and large particles of coffee, the larger grounds will be under-extracted and the smaller grounds will be over-extracted during brewing. This is due to the differences in the surface area exposed to the water by each particle. This produces coffee with a muddled or even muddy flavour and enhanced bitterness. Spice grinders are frequently touted as being able to grind coffee beans too, but their blades chop the beans unevenly which will produce a poor quality brew. A proper coffee grinder is much more likely to produce a more even grind size. This means that the coffee oils will be extracted from the coffee grinds at around the same rate, producing a clarity of flavour which allows the coffee to shine. How do you know if the grind size of your coffee is correct for your brewing method? Ultimately the taste of the brewed coffee will guide you - if it tastes too bitter or too sour, or just blah, tweaking the grind size is one of the things you can do that may resolve the problem. The right grind size for your method should produce a pleasant brew that displays the full breadth and character of the coffee. So if your coffee is disappointing, before you start blaming the beans try tweaking your grind size. Or if your beans were pre-ground for you, check that your supplier ground the coffee correctly. Because you know what? Mistakes happen…

  Finally grind size and the bean

  So does the type of coffee bean influence the grind size you should use? To some extent, yes. Light roasts are less soluble than dark roasts so benefit from a slightly finer grind to increase the surface area of coffee exposed to the water. Decaf coffees seem to suit a slightly coarser grind than usual when brewed by the filter method but need to be finer than usual for espresso in my experience. For the best tasting coffee at home, having your own burr grinder allows you to tweak the grind from brew to brew to achieve the best grind to suit the alchemy of your brew method and that amazing coffee you just bought. If that isn’t reason enough to buy a grinder, grinding only as much coffee as you need for each brew will help your coffee stay fresher for longer, as whole bean coffee doesn't go stale as fast as ground coffee. This is because with whole beans there is less surface area to be affected by the oxygen in air.

  And now its time for a Frequently Asked Coffee Question…This episode’s question is a very frequently asked question…and it is: Can you grind coffee for Instant?

  Sorry to to disappoint but no. You cannot grind coffee for Instant. Instant coffee is a manufactured product that is created by essentially brewing a giant vat of coffee and then dehydrating it to leave the coffee solids. When you make a cup of coffee with instant coffee powder you are simply rehydrating the coffee. No matter how finely you grind coffee beans, the grinds will not dissolve completely as the structure of coffee beans are formed from non soluble plant material. So there will always be grounds left over from brewing 'proper' coffee which of course needs to be dealt with, but the good news is, coffee grounds are compostable.

  Thank you for listening to this episode of The Coffee Drinker’s Guide and that was all about grind size. I do hope that you found this useful and not too geeky! Did I convince you to buy a coffee grinder? Let me know on Instagram @thecoffeedrinkersguide or email me at thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com. In the next episode we get into roast level: what does it all mean and how do you decide what is best for you? Make sure you hit subscribe so that you don’t miss it. Also tell your coffee friends about the show and rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other coffee curious people find the show too. Thanks to my executive producer Viel Richardson at Lusona Publishing and Media Limited. You can find him at lusonapub.co.uk. Until next time I’m Angela Holder thanks for sharing your coffee break with me - the best way to tackle life is one coffee at a time and here’s to better coffee!

  The Coffee Drinker’s Guide is a Blue Sky Coffee Project