Let’s compare the Coffee Grind size (size of bean for Dutch) with sugar size

Hello everyone, this is Catch Mind, always living a life with ‘Be happy with Coffee’ mind. Nowadays, it is easy to find those equipment help you to make your own Dutch coffee at home. But, it is difficult to control grinder and grind level time to time.

 

Even you search online, it is not easy to implement what you read or see. A few word and image is just not enough.

 

Today, I am going to resolve that difficulty by comparing the size of sugar particles with the ground coffee to discuss about the grind size.

 

 

The reason why you need to control the grind size

The process of melting the substances of coffee into the water is called extraction. And it is best to extract 18-22% of the substances out of coffee. If the extraction is out of that range, it may feel unpleasant in your mouth.

 

Thus, you need to extract the coffee within the normal range by adjusting the different variables. The variables including degassing, amount, water temperature, extraction time, extraction method, roasting degree, Agtron, origin of coffee, and such can be critical in coffee extraction but especially the grind size of the beans is even more important.

 

 

Few things you need to know about grind size of the coffee

 Actually there is no ‘fixed’ grind level of the coffee depending on the extraction method but it largely depends on the condition of coffee beans and the extraction tool. 

 

The evaluation on the extraction result depends on the taste and texture and by that means you need to see the texture of coffee brewed within normal range, bitterness, acidity, and the overall balance.

 

I personally think that you would not have to know all the theory on coffee grind size.

Just focus on making good enough texture and the taste that you wanted to make, by thinking the two flow of ‘thinner coffee grind size’ by looking below.

 

and,

 

 

The grind size depending on extraction method and tool

To easily compare the grind size, I will use the white sugar particles as basis so you can easily see the difference. Regardless of the scale, you can compare the size relative to the sugar particles.

 

With the size in the image below as a basis, you can adjust the grind size to smaller or larger depending on the taste and texture you want to create.

(* When the variables such as extraction time are fixed and only grind size is set as variable) 

(Generally the smaller the number of grinder, the thinner the coffee particles)

 

 

Grind size of filter coffee (using dripper such as Hario, Kono and Kalita)

 

 

It is good to make an extraction setting based on the grind size of the above picture, and it is also okay to be a little thinner than this.

 

Grind size of gold brew and Dutch coffee. 

It is not a problem even if it is a little thin. It is important to note that the ratio of coffee to water and extraction time is important for cold brew and Dutch coffee.

 

When the extraction is difficult

 

 

It is the degree of grinding that can be selected when the roasting is less degassed and there is a lot of gas remaining, or when extraction is not smooth due to roasting (light roasting). It is advisable to set the extraction from the grind size below this thickness.

For reference, less than 50% of this size is the grind size of espresso machines.

 

If you need to extract old coffee

 

 

If you need to extract old coffee, adjusting to thicker grind size is not the only way. Multiple variables can be adjusted to extract the coffee.

 

In general, if you want to quickly extract the coffee with thicker grind size, it is recommended to set the extraction based on the above grind size

 

Set the grind size according to the extraction method and the extraction tool

 

In case of immersion extraction (the same extracting environment and bean condition) other than using a dripper such as Hario, Kono, or Kalita,

It is better to choose thicker grind size than filter coffee. Typically, the dripper like such as French press and clever.

 

 

Extraction through immersion has the advantage of being uniformly extracted, but the texture and taste may be poor due to fine grinding or long extraction times. In this case, I recommend to start with the grind size of filter coffee and adjusting it gradually by making it thicker.

 

Depending on the taste and texture of the extracted coffee, it may be better to extract with a little thinner or a little thicker grind. (Assuming that extraction conditions such as extraction time, water temperature, and amount of coffee used are the same)

 

To sum up...

So far, I have talked about the coffee’s grind size by comparing it to sugar particles. If you adjust the grind size by using the thickness I showed you, you can enjoy a delicious, café-standard cup of coffee at your home.

I also think that you can make your own cold brew or Dutch coffee at home by purchasing a simple and inexpensive equipment.

 

Thank you for reading my post till the end. I wish your happiness.

 

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