Coffee Grind Size Chart
Reference
Coffee Grind Size Chart
Every method, what it needs, and something in your kitchen that feels the same. If one thing on this site fixes your coffee, it is this page.
The chart
Particle sizes are approximate and vary between grinders, so use the kitchen comparison and the brew time as your real check. The rule underneath the whole table: faster methods need finer grinds, slower methods need coarser ones.
| Method | Grind | In the kitchen | Rough size | Brew time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | Very fine | Caster sugar, just gritty | 200–400 µm | 25–32 sec |
| South Indian filter | Fine | Fine table salt | 300–500 µm | 15–25 min |
| Moka pot | Fine–medium | Table salt | 350–550 µm | 3–5 min |
| AeroPress | Medium-fine | Between table salt and sand | 450–700 µm | 1–3 min |
| V60 / pour over | Medium | Coarse sand | 600–800 µm | 2:30–3:30 |
| Batch brew | Medium | Coarse sand | 600–900 µm | 4–6 min |
| French press | Coarse | Coarse sea salt | 900–1,100 µm | 8 min |
| Cold brew | Coarse | Breadcrumbs | 1,000–1,400 µm | 12–16 hours |
Why grind is the biggest lever you have
Brewing is water dissolving soluble material out of a solid. Two things govern how fast that happens: how much surface the water can reach, and how far it has to travel into each particle to reach the rest. Grind size controls both at once.
Halve the diameter of a particle and you roughly double the total surface area of the same weight of coffee, while cutting the distance to the centre in half. Nothing else on your counter does that. Water temperature moves extraction by a few percent across its usable range. Time moves it, but with diminishing returns. Ratio changes how strong the drink is without changing how much you pulled out of the bean at all.
In any brewer where water flows through a bed — espresso, moka pot, V60, batch — grind does a second job as well. It sets the resistance of the bed, so it also decides how long the water stays in contact. That is why a small grind change can move an espresso shot by ten seconds and change it completely, while the same change in a French press only alters surface area.
No grinder produces one particle size. It produces a spread, with fines at one end and boulders at the other, and your cup is the average of everything in it. Fines over-extract and taste bitter and silty; boulders under-extract and taste sour. This is why two grinders set to the same number taste different, and why "medium" is a description of intent rather than a measurement.
Burr or blade
A blade grinder is a propeller in a cup. It smashes beans at random until you stop it, so you are choosing a duration, not a size, and the result contains dust and chunks in the same spoonful. It also heats the coffee while it works. For espresso it is unusable. For everything else it is the reason your coffee is inconsistent from one morning to the next.
A burr grinder crushes beans between two surfaces set a fixed distance apart. Nothing leaves until it is small enough to pass the gap, so the output is bounded and repeatable. Flat burrs generally give a narrower spread; conical burrs are usually cheaper, quieter and a little broader. Both are fine and the difference between them is far smaller than the difference between either and a blade.
If you have a budget of one upgrade, buy burrs. A decent hand grinder with steel burrs will beat almost any electric blade grinder at the same price, and it will still be working in ten years.
Bitter or sour: what to change
Almost every bad cup is one of two faults, and they have opposite fixes. Taste for the shape of the flavour rather than for intensity.
Sour, sharp, thin, salty, and it disappears quickly. That is under-extraction. Grind finer. If that is not enough, raise the water temperature towards 96°C or extend the contact time. Adding more coffee will not fix it and usually makes it worse.
Bitter, drying, ashy, and it lingers unpleasantly. That is over-extraction. Grind coarser. If that is not enough, lower the temperature or shorten the brew. On a moka pot, take the pot off the heat earlier.
Balanced but weak, or balanced but overwhelming. That is not an extraction fault at all, it is strength. Change the ratio, not the grind. Our coffee to water ratio page covers the difference and has a calculator.
Change one variable, brew again, and taste before you change anything else. Two changes at once tell you nothing.
Questions
Grind size, answered
What grind size should I use for my brewer?
Use the chart above as a starting point, then adjust by brew time. If your method finishes faster than the listed window, the grind is too coarse. If it runs long or stalls, it is too fine. The kitchen comparisons matter more than any number printed on a grinder dial.
Can I use a blade grinder?
For a French press or cold brew you will get a drinkable cup, and it is still better than pre-ground coffee that has been open for a month. For espresso, a moka pot or pour over it will fight you, because the fines it produces over-extract while the chunks stay sour. Pulse in short bursts and shake the grinder between them to reduce the spread.
Why do two grinders set to the same number taste different?
Because the number is not a size. Grinder dials are not calibrated to each other, burr geometry differs, and each machine produces its own spread of particle sizes around the target. Two grinders on "medium" can easily differ by 200 microns. Calibrate by brew time and taste instead.
How long does ground coffee stay fresh?
Aroma starts leaving within minutes and most of it is gone within an hour. Ground coffee is not dangerous at a week old, it is just dull. If you buy pre-ground, buy small quantities often and keep the bag sealed and away from heat. If you grind at home, grind for the brew you are about to make.
My coffee is bitter. Finer or coarser?
Coarser. Bitterness is usually too much extraction, and a coarser grind reduces the surface area available to the water. If it is bitter and also weak, the problem is heat or a stalled brew rather than the grind — check the water temperature and how long the brew is actually taking.
Roasted to order in New Delhi
We will grind it for your method.
Choose your brewer at checkout, including a proper South Indian filter grind.