Grind Size in Three Checks: Feel, Time, Taste

Grind size is the biggest lever you own, and most guides overcomplicate it. Here's the whole thing in three checks.

The feel check

Pour-over grounds should feel like coarse sand — gritty, not powdery. French press: like breadcrumbs. Moka: finer than sand, coarser than flour. If you can't feel distinct particles, you're too fine for everything except espresso.

The time check

A standard pour-over (15g coffee, 250g water) should draw down in about 2:30–3:30. Faster: grind finer. Slower or choking: coarser. One variable at a time, one step at a time.

The taste check

Sour and thin usually means too coarse (under-extracted). Bitter and drying means too fine (over-extracted). Adjust toward the fault: sour → finer, bitter → coarser.

This is also why grinder consistency matters more than grinder features — fines and boulders in the same dose extract at different rates, so no setting tastes right. It's the first thing we sieve-test on every grinder we consider.