<h1>Grind Size Cheat Sheet</h1>
Grind size is the single most important variable in brewing — more than water temp, more than ratio. Get it wrong and you'll fight your way to a bad cup. Get it right and the method takes care of itself.
This guide covers every method Foxhole sells beans for.
<h2>Why Grind Size Matters</h2>
Coffee extraction happens at the surface of each ground particle. Smaller particles = more surface area = faster extraction. Larger particles = less surface area = slower extraction.
When you change grind size, you're changing the extraction rate. A grind that's correct for one method is wrong for another because the contact time is different. V60 contact time is 3 minutes. French Press is 4 minutes. Cold Brew is 14 hours. Each needs a different grind.
<h2>The Grind Size Chart</h2>
**V60 / Pour Over** Setting: Medium-fine — like table salt. If your coffee tastes sour: grind finer. If it tastes bitter: grind coarser. Adjust in one-step increments and taste between changes.
**AeroPress** Setting: Fine-medium — finer than V60, think of fine sand. AeroPress uses pressure, so channeling (water finding paths of least resistance) is a risk. Finer grind packs more evenly. If it clogs, go coarser. If it's sour and pulls too fast, go finer.
**French Press** Setting: Coarse — like raw sugar. The immersion method extracts over 4 minutes. If your grind is too fine, you get bitter over-extraction that no amount of time control can fix. Go coarser than you think you need.
**Drip Machine** Setting: Medium — coarser than V60, finer than French Press. Most drip machines are forgiving. If yours makes bitter coffee, start by grinding coarser before you try anything else.
**Cold Brew** Setting: Extra coarse — like flaky sea salt. The steep time (14-18 hours) does the extraction work. If the grind is too fine, the long contact time produces bitter over-extraction.
**Espresso** Setting: Very fine — espresso setting. This is the finest grind on your grinder. Espresso requires the grounds to be compressed into a dense puck that water passes through under 9 bars of pressure. If the grind is too coarse, the water flows through without extracting — sour, watery shot. If it's too fine, the pressure can't push water through at all.
<h2>Burr vs. Blade Grinders</h2>
If you only do one upgrade to your setup, make it a burr grinder.
Blade grinders produce inconsistent particle sizes — some particles are powder, others are whole beans. This means uneven extraction: some particles over-extract (bitter), others under-extract (sour). The cup fights itself.
A $100 burr grinder produces uniform particles. The difference in cup quality is immediate and obvious.
<h2>Cleaning Your Grinder</h2>
Run a grind-through of rice or specially-formulated grinder cleaning beans every 2-4 weeks. Coffee oils go rancid and affect flavor — especially in grinders used daily.
<h2>Storing Coffee</h2>
Grind fresh. Whole bean coffee stays fresh for 3-4 weeks after roasting when stored in a sealed container away from light and heat. Pre-ground coffee is at peak for 3-5 days.
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