Using freshly ground coffee beans delivers freshness, a great aroma and most importantly, a vibrant flavour.   Grinding coffee just before using it helps to reduce the oxidisation process allowing you to get the best flavour from the coffee beans.

How should coffee be ground?

There are lots of different ways to grind coffee, from bashing it up with a pestle and mortar, to throwing it into a food blender or preferably using a burr grinder.  Ideally we are looking for uniformity of grind size to allow the water react in the same way with all of the coffee being brewed.  This makes the burr grinder the preferred choice as each coffee bean must pass through the blades which are set at the same distance from each other which gives that uniform grind profile.  Whether you choose a manual hand burr grinder or a fancy electronic one, that’s a matter of personal preference and hand strength!

Why does grind size matter?

The coffee grind affects the time the water is in contact with the ground coffee and hence the length of time allowed for the chemical reaction between the two.  The grind profile will affect the speed at which the water passes through the coffee picking up flavour.  A fast extraction of coarsely ground beans will result in nothing more than tasteless coloured water and a slow extraction through very finely ground beans creates burning and an over extracted flavour, so it’s a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we need to get it just right!

What size should the coffee be ground to?

Now, it really depends on how the coffee will be brewed.  For espresso machines, a good rule of thumb is that the  grind profile needs to deliver an extraction time of approximately 25 seconds including pre-infusion; so from the time you press the button to the time you have extracted a 40ml shot of coffee.  As the water is forced through the coffee at pressure for a short amount of time, the coffee grind needs to be fine so that all of the flavour is extracted.  A useful guide is comparing the coffee grind to the texture of fine table salt.

For a French Press or Cafetiere, the coffee is immersed and steeped in the water for up to 6 or 7 minutes so a coarser coffee grind is acceptable to avoid getting an over extracted flavour from the coffee and a build up of coffee ‘silt’ in the cup.  For me a useful guide is a texture similar to that of granulated sugar.

For other types of filtered coffee like V60 drip or aeropress there is good scope for experimentation but I like a fairly fine grind similar to or a little courser than what I would use for espresso; something like fine sea sand.

Coffee that is freshly roasted or has a different roast profile will react differently when ground in a grinder so there are no hard and fast rules which leads to loads of scope for experimentation and fun!

Espresso machine

For me this is my favourite way of making coffee.  My first coffee of the day is Americano and I look out for a grind profile that feels a bit like grains of salt to touch and has an extraction time of approximately 25 including pre-infusion. I add water that is ‘off the boil’ or around 90 degree into the espresso shot.   I use Crone or Djoice whole beans.  Pure bliss!

Cafetiere / French Press

This is my weekend treat as it takes a bit longer.  The trick here is to leave the coffee brew for 4 minutes before you plunge and another couple of minutes after you plunge.  The coffee is immersed in the water and the flavour seeps out of the coffee giving a stronger bolder flavour.  Again use water that is off the boil and the grind should not be as fine as for your espresso machine; coffee that has the consistency of granulated sugar is best here.  I like to use pre-ground Djouce blend as the citrus notes are more pronounced with the longer brewing time.

V60 / Pourover Brewer

The coffee from a V60 is lighter in body as the water passes through the coffee in the filter paper as it’s poured so the drink is more ‘tea like’ in terms of mouthfeel.  The resulting drink is lighter but there is real clarity of flavour, if you use a French press it may take a little getting used of but I find I like it later in the day or after a meal.  I like to use either Woodland coffee blend as both taste really great.

Aeropress

The Aeropress is a combination of immersion coffee (like French Press) and filter coffee using the air pressure from the plunge to help extract the coffee flavour.   What’s nice is that it’s a really quick way of making coffee and there is loads of scope for experimentation.  Again use water that is off the boil and pre-infuse the coffee first by pouring 40ml or 50ml into the coffee and leave for 30 seconds before adding the rest of the water and plunge slowly (between 15 – 30 seconds).  The result is a clean balanced flavour but with a little more punch.

For me, I like experimenting and messing around with different ways to bring out the range of flavours in the coffee.  Our Woodland Coffees are available in 500g recyclable bags of whole bean or ground coffee, give them a try and perhaps you’ll find your perfect cup!