Espresso, French press, Automatic brewer, Pour-Over, Moka pot? Who knew there were so many different ways to enjoy your favourite brew? At times, this can be confusing; especially when trying to remember what grind works best for each of these methods.
After our own extensive research into each method, we do have some recommendations but they really just serve as starting points. Overall the best advice is to look into your specific grinder's settings and adjust based on your own preference. Trying is the fun part! Always in search of the better cup.
A note before beginning; brewing methods are best conducted using filtered water at a temperature of 93.3 degrees Celsius or 200 degrees Fahrenheit (this ends up being around 40-60 seconds off of a full boil). For the best tasting brew beans should be as fresh as possible. We recommend browsing our options of fresh, local, and sustainably sourced beans, the roast date is handwritten on each bag to ensure you are using the freshest beans for your brew. Click here to browse our options and pick what is best suited for you.
Ok down to the nitty-gritty. The most important concept to understand about your coffee grind is to understand the difference between a coarse grind and a fine grind.
Coarse grind: Think larger flakes/ chunks of coffee. This can look similar to sea salt with large, even chunks.
Fine Grind: Think very fine and powdery. This can look similar to sand or sugar.
Now, why does this matter? Well, it's critical to the coffee extraction process when you are brewing your coffee! If you don’t use the right grind, your coffee could come out over-extracted (tastes bitter, astringent) or under-extracted (tastes sour, lacks sweetness/ salty). So what? Well, this will help you to further dial your coffee grind in:
If the coffee tastes bland and bitter, you’ll want to extract less from your coffee (adjust your grind to a coarser setting)
If the coffee tastes sour/ salty or lacking sweetness, you'll want to extract more from your coffee (adjust your grind to a finer setting)
To help visualize this, I once heard on a coffee podcast a great analogy that stuck with me. Picture yourself on a sandy/ rocky beach. Pick up some of the stones laying around and pour water over them. You will notice the water does not take a lot of time to move between the stones and out as there is lots of empty space - this is a coarse grind. Now pick up a handful of sand and do the same thing. It will take a lot more time for the water to move through the tighter space - this is a fine grind.
Now to put it all into perspective for brewing methods. We have organized the below in order of most fine to coarse grind.
Brewing Method
Espresso: Espresso uses pressure and boiling water to extract the perfect shot. Fine grounds are pressed to extract a rich and delicious brew, minus any bitterness. A single shot of espresso has 1 oz volume and contains around 47 to 64 mg of caffeine, however, double shots are the most common shot type extracted from the machine. Espresso is the fastest of all brewing methods, and typically the most expensive. Espresso machines calculate the ratios of water for you, but you do need to measure out the grounds you put in the machine to create the perfect cup of coffee. You need about 19 grams of fine grounds for an ideal shot of espresso, this gets pressed and extracts a shot. The machine will handle the water aspect so the focus is mainly on the amount of grounds needed for the machine to work its magic to create a beautiful shot of espresso. An ideal espresso shot should take roughly 25-30 seconds to pull through the grounds (think of the sand and rocks analogy). To clean an espresso machine you can use coffee machine-specific products to backflush the machine, and it's important to keep your portafilter (which inserts the coffee) dry and clean overnight. Do not leave any grounds leftover!
French Press: French press coffee uses pressure and immersion to create the perfect cup of coffee. This works by a separate compartment of the press (the filter) separating grounds from water while immersing them. This allows the coffee to soak and become flavourful. You can adjust how strong your coffee is with a french press by changing how long you choose to let the grounds mix with the water. A french press calls for a finer and even grind, a general rule of thumb would be pouring twice the amount of water than you have coffee into the press. If you have 30 grams of coffee you will want 60 grams of water. Let coffee steep for around five minutes and then press down. If it’s hard to press, your grind is too fine; if it slams immediately down to the bottom, it means your grind is too coarse. French press actually offers the most caffeinated coffee so this method is simple and trusted to give you the kick you need to start your day. To clean a french press you should take warm water and a dish soap which will fill the press. Then take the handle which moves the filter and pump it up and down. Do this a second time with plain water to rinse out any soap. The press should be free of grounds during this process. This will help clean any residual oils.
Automatic Brewer: Auto drip brewers are a common household staple used to brew coffee. The motto associated with an auto drip method of brewing coffee is to “set it and forget it”. With a drip machine, you will need filters, and a method to catch the coffee. For an auto drip, you essentially insert a filter, measure out and add your ground coffee, and then program the machine to start. Ratios can vary so it's best to double-check the instructions on your machine and make alterations from there depending on your liking. We tend to grind 120 grams of grounds which gives us a good amount of coffee for the day, water comes from inside the machine and does not need to be measured out. Automatic brewers can take anywhere from 3-12 minutes so take advantage of this time and get any important tasks done to start your day! These machines do need to be cleaned frequently, and if you forget your grounds in the machine (sip happens) you could find mould which would require deep cleaning. It is imperative to not leave any grounds in the machine, attention to this detail is required. To clean an auto drip brewer you can take any removable parts and soak them in warm soapy water, there are also products made for specific coffee machines that might be worth checking out depending on how often you use the machine. You can wipe the outside of the machine down with a damp towel to wipe off any residue.
Pour-Over: The intended setup for a pour-over brew would be a filter, a holder for the filter, a method of boiling water, and something to collect the brew being filtered through. The purpose of the filter is not only to keep small grounds from slipping through into your brew, but also to catch sediments and oils thus preventing bitterness. The method of using a pour-over is good since it can be consistent as long as you are keeping track of the ratios used when making your perfect cup of coffee. Pour-overs can be manufactured so that you can extract numerous cups of coffee or as little as one cup of coffee. To keep it simple we recommend a smaller pour-over meant to produce 1-2 cups of coffee. For a single rich cup of coffee (8oz) it is recommended to use around 2.5 level tablespoons of grounds and then allow the boiling water to filter through. When your ratio is off, some people report a murky or weak-tasting coffee. This is why it is important to find what you like and play around with ratios to match your standards. This method only takes roughly 3-4 minutes. There are a few different ways to clean a pour-over. One would be to let soapy water sit and to swish it around, but to most effectively clean a pour over extra products may be needed. We recommend a brush similar to a pipe cleaner to reach the hard-to-clean places efficiently. There are also cleaning tablets that can be purchased for a targeted and deep clean of the pour-over.
Moka Pot:A moka pot is the most similar brewing method to an espresso machine. Moka pots use the heat from the stovetop to force water through the coffee grounds upwards into a pot. They utilize pressure from the steam to move the water upwards, which is similar to espresso’s use of pressure. An espresso machine needs 9 bars of pressure to create brew whereas the moka pot uses 1- 1.5 bars of pressure. This means the coffee is more robust than espresso is. The correct ratio of coffee grounds to water (in grams) is 1:7 to 1:8. In other words; 1 gram of fine coffee grounds for every 7-8 grams of water. In a three-cup moka pot, this means you need 16.25 to 18.6 grams of fine coffee for 130 grams of water. A common complaint about the moka pot is that it tastes over-extracted which results in a more bitter brew. To avoid this many people actually mix the moka pot brew with water, similar to an Americano. The moka pot method takes around 5-10 minutes depending on which moka pot you use. These pots are small, compact, and pretty simple to operate. They are cheaper than espresso machines but can be pricey. Aluminium pots are cheaper and more common, but stainless steel moka pots seem to function better and distribute heat more evenly. To clean the exterior of a moka pot you can buy a specific product or use an abrasive sponge to scrub off any markings. The inside of a pot can be cleaned with soapy water, vinegar, or specific coffee-safe solutions. Simply run the water or solution through the machine as if it were coffee and your moka pot is deep cleaned!
