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How to determine the grinding thickness of hand-brewed coffee powder?

Published: 2026-04-10 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/04/10, When you have a good bag of beans, choose a suitable grind for it before brewing to achieve the predetermined extraction purpose. To talk about the effect of grinding degree, it can not only allow the aroma of coffee to undergo transformation during extraction, or reach a higher level, but also destroy those good flavors that should be pleasant at any time, and then allow the whole cup to be filled with coffee.

When you have a good bag of beans, choose a suitable grind for it before brewing to achieve the predetermined extraction purpose.

To talk about the effect of grinding degree, it can not only allow the aroma of coffee to undergo transformation during extraction, or reach a higher level, but also destroy the good taste that should be pleasant at any time, and then discount the taste of the whole cup of coffee. The core is whether we can adjust the grinding degree of coffee powder according to our needs.

Better to grind it rough or grind it down

For hand punches, the size of the scale directly changes the grinding thickness of the coffee powder, thus affecting the contact area between the coffee powder and water and the extraction speed.

When other parameters remain unchanged, the thicker the coffee powder means the larger the particles, the smaller the contact area with water, and the lower the extraction efficiency. This may easily lead to insufficient coffee extraction, too light the taste, thin the body, and lack of mellow feeling., you can consider grinding it a little;

On the contrary, the finer the coffee powder, the smaller the particles and the larger the surface area. If the extraction speed is too fast, it will easily cause excessive extraction of the coffee. Not only will the taste be strong, but it may also have a bitter and astringent negative taste. At this time, you may wish to grind it thickens to improve.

The above theory of grinding degree adjustment has been discussed many times in many articles, and can also be applied to most brewing plans. However, when this basic framework is put into actual operation, it causes many novices to fall into the wrong direction.

Misunderstanding 1:"memorizing" the grinding scale

Although there are many types of bean grinders nowadays, the grinding method is mostly the same, that is, directly twist the scale. The smaller the number, the thinner the corresponding coffee powder will be; the larger the number, the thicker the corresponding coffee powder.

Compared with the various doubts about other parameters, the question that Qianjie received most mentioned the degree of grinding was: "How many (grinding) scales do you use to make this bean? "Obviously, these friends mistakenly confuse all bean grinders. They don't know that the scale system of each brand, each model, and the wear degree of the cutter head are all related to the final thickness. Therefore, when determining the degree of grinding, rather than "copying" other people's numbers, it should be judged based on the brewing time and the taste of the coffee.

Take an example of the usual combination in the street (15g coffee powder, 1:15 powder-to-water ratio, temperature 88 - 93℃, three-stage water injection). If the time exceeds 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the flow rate is too slow and the taste is bitter. The coffee powder may be fine (to be thickened). When the flow is finished within 1 minute and 50 seconds, it means that the flow rate is too fast and the taste is light or sour, which means that the powder is too thick and needs to be refined.

Misunderstanding 2: Significantly change the degree of abrasion

Qianjie noticed that some people who had just begun to play hand-washing were very aggressive in adjusting the range of grinding. Whenever the taste was wrong, they would directly turn the dial a large circle in an attempt to save the next cup of coffee.

But as the saying goes, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. When adjusting the grinding degree, you must remember the principle of "fine-tuning"! As long as the time does not deviate seriously from 1 minute and 50 seconds to 2 minutes and 10 seconds, the main tone of the coffee has not changed, and when problems such as unclear flavor, miscellaneous taste, and weak aroma appear in the taste, we only need to adjust a small compartment at a time and brew it once to record the flavor changes so that we can find the feel faster.

Misunderstanding 3: Neglecting the uniformity of coffee powder

Many people may not know that the uniformity of coffee powder is more important than the thickness itself, because only when the particle size becomes uniform can coffee be extracted evenly.

We used the same coffee bean-Qianjie·Little Tomato to conduct a comparative test. This is a single product from the Kenyan production area with a strong aroma of saint fruit. The flavor is extremely recognizable. In addition to hand-brewed, it is also suitable for use. Extraction by cold extraction, ice drops, French press pots, American drip coffee machines and other methods.

Next, Qianjie used an electric bean grinder (E43s scale-10 grid) and a hand-operated bean grinder (scale 5) within 100 yuan to grind coffee beans into grains to reach 80% of the thickness of China's No. 20 standard sieve, and carried out hand-flushing extraction. (Qianjie·small tomato hand-flushing parameters: 15g powder quantity, 1:15 powder-water ratio, 93℃ water temperature, three-stage water injection).

The coffee in the EK43s group ends in just 2 minutes, and the extraction time in the hand-cranked bean grinder is 15 seconds longer. Observation of coffee grounds on Qianjie found that the grains from the electric bean grinder were uniform and fine granulated sugar with obvious gaps, like a honeycomb; while the coffee grounds from the hand-cranked bean grinder also had more granulated sugar grains, if you look carefully, you will find that the surface layer has slurried mud powder, mainly distributed on the bottom and edge of the filter cup.

(Hand-operated bean grinder)

Comparison in flavors: The fruit acid of the EK43s group is full and rising, with the flavor of cherry and pear, with the strong mellow aroma of caramel, and the sweetness of ripe red brins after cooling down; the front street of the hand-grinding group·small tomato is the flavor of nuts and a little berry, with a slightly sweet sugar cane and a bitter ending. The whole tone is relatively dull.

(EK 43s bean grinder)

Uniformity is the cornerstone of all good coffee. A bad bean grinder will damage the essence of even the most expensive beans, so when selecting equipment, you should also focus on this one. The above situation is obviously caused by the uneven thickness of coffee powder. Very fine powder will release its flavor early when it meets water, while the innermost substances of the coarse powder are difficult to dissolve, resulting in both over-extraction and under-extraction.

The range of 200 - 499 yuan can be regarded as an entry-level hand grinder. The hand grinder at this price is also suitable for beginners at the enlightenment stage. The price is not high but the grinding quality is still OK. You can pay attention to the grinding particle size of the coffee.

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