If you’re wondering why your coffee tastes bad, one of the issues might be how you’re grinding your coffee. While a cheap spice grinder might be suitable for a typical diner-style drip brew, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you want more control over your coffee’s flavor. A blade grinder will yield inconsistently sized grounds, while a burr grinder offers greater particle uniformity for a more consistent brew.
Grind Size — It’s All About Extraction
You might be surprised to learn that different grind sizes are suitable for different ways of brewing your coffee. For example, a coarse grind (like the size of ground peppercorns) is best for a French press or flat bottom filter (like you’d find in a common 12 cup coffee maker), while a fine grind (just a bit finer than table salt) is ideal for espresso or a Moka pot.
The reason to use different grind sizes depending on the brew method is to gain the best extraction. For example, if you use coarse coffee grounds to make espresso, you won’t be able to extract enough flavor out of your coffee. The resulting cup of coffee may taste thin, sour, acidic, or salty. Conversely, if you use very fine grinds in something like a French press, you’ll likely wind up with over-extracted coffee that tastes quite bitter.
The Single-Serve Sweet Spot
If you’ve ever had a cup of single-serve coffee that didn’t meet your expectations, you’re not alone. Many of the coffee pods on the market today do a terrible job of extracting flavor from coffee grounds. Common single-serve pods generally feature a coarse grind because they are unable to brew correctly from finely ground coffee. That’s where iFillCup™ pods offer a huge advantage — our pods are designed with a much stronger pleated polypropylene filter that allows you to add more coffee at a finer grind, delivering a perfect cup of coffee every time.