Understanding Grind Settings
What happens if I make my grind finer?
Grinding finer will generally increase extraction if all other variables remain the same. Because each piece is smaller, your ground coffee as a whole has a higher surface area, which means there’s more room for water to get in there and brew your coffee. This (plus, of course, the very high pressure) is why a shot of espresso is typically done brewing in 20-30 seconds — it’s ground super fine, so after 25 seconds or so the water has taken all of the desirable flavor compounds from the coffee.
Using the Kone or Disk, grinding finer will generally slow your brew time. If you find that your brew is going faster than you want, grinding a bit finer will make it take a little longer. Flavor-wise, if your coffee is tasting sour or grassy, you are probably not extracting enough from the coffee. Try grinding finer for a more balanced cup.
What happens if I make my grind coarser?
Grinding coarser will generally decrease extraction, if all other variables remain the same. Because each piece is larger, your ground coffee as a whole has a lower surface area, which means water needs more heat, contact time, and/or pressure to brew. This is why something like a French press — where the water is in contact with the coffee for a long time — might call for a coarser grind size.
Using the Kone or Disk, grinding coarser will generally speed up your brew time. If you find that your brew is going slower than you want, grinding coarser will speed it up. Flavor wise, if your coffee is tasting very bitter or drying, you may be over extracting your coffee. Try grinding coarser for a more balanced cup.
Where should I start with my Kone or Disk?
Generally, we like to start with a medium-fine grind — around the size of coarse sea salt. That said, everyone’s grinder, coffee, and preferences are different, so feel free to use this as a jumping off point and make whatever changes feel right to you. Part of the fun of coffee is experimenting!
A quick note on changing variables
Want to see the effect grind size has on the flavor of your coffee? Whenever you adjust any variable (such as grind size, or water temperature, or coffee to water ratio), we recommend only changing one variable at a time — that way you can more easily notice what changes your adjustment made in the cup. If you make your grind finer and use more coffee and use hotter water — and all of a sudden the coffee tastes amazing — it might be tough to tell which change was actually responsible. Then again, if the coffee tastes amazing... you might just be a coffee genius. Feel free to shoot us a note and let us know your favorite recipe.