Coffee Grind Size Guide & Chart
Pick your brew method to see an indicative grind micron range, a coarseness word, and (optional) grinder clicks — then dial it in by taste.
Calculator
How to dial it in
Pour over brews well around 400–700 µm — a medium-fine grind. These numbers are indicative: grinders, beans and roast all shift the real setting. Dial by taste: if the cup is sour or weak, go finer; if it's bitter or slow to drain, go coarser. Change one step at a time.
About this calculator
Grind size is the single biggest lever you have over how coffee tastes. Too fine and the water moves slowly, over-extracting into bitterness; too coarse and it rushes through, leaving a thin, sour cup. This guide maps each brew method to an indicative micron range and a plain coarseness word, and — if you tell it your grinder's microns-per-click — turns that into a rough number of clicks to start from.
How to read your results
Pick your brew method. The hero shows the indicative micron range (for example espresso 180–380 µm, "fine"; cold brew 800–1400 µm, "extra-coarse") and a midpoint to start from. If you choose a hand grinder (or enter your own µm-per-click), you also get an indicative click count for the finest, midpoint and coarsest settings. Treat every number as a starting point — grinder burrs, the bean and the roast all move the real setting — and dial in by taste.
How it's calculated
Each brew method maps to a published micron band and a coarseness word (fine → extra-coarse). The midpoint is the average of the band edges, a sensible single starting point. Indicative clicks divide the target microns by your grinder's microns-per-click and round to the nearest whole click — so 390 µm on a 30 µm/click grinder is about 13 clicks. Ranges combine common grind charts and are deliberately labelled indicative.
Worked example
Espresso on a Comandante C40 (about 30 µm per click).
Espresso wants roughly 180–380 µm — a fine grind. At 30 µm/click that is about 6 clicks (fine end) to 13 clicks (coarse end), starting near 9 clicks at the ~280 µm midpoint. Then adjust: a sour or fast shot wants finer, a bitter or choked shot wants coarser.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the numbers only "indicative"?
There is no single official grind chart. Burr geometry, grinder wear, bean density and roast level all change the particle size at a given setting, so two grinders on the "same" number can pour very differently. Use the range to get close, then taste and adjust.
My grinder uses clicks, not microns. How do I use this?
Pick your grinder from the list (Comandante C40 ≈ 30 µm/click, 1Zpresso JX-Pro ≈ 12.5, J-Max ≈ 8.8) or enter your own microns-per-click, and the calculator estimates clicks for the band. These are starting points from a 0 (burrs-touching) reference — your zero point may differ.
Sour or weak vs bitter or slow — which way do I move?
Sour, thin or fast-draining usually means under-extraction: grind finer. Bitter, harsh or slow-draining usually means over-extraction: grind coarser. Change one step at a time and keep the dose and water the same so you can tell what the grind did.
Does a finer grind make stronger coffee?
It extracts more from the same dose, so it tastes more intense and can raise strength, but past a point it just turns bitter. For real strength changes, adjust the coffee-to-water ratio; use grind to fine-tune extraction and balance.
Sources
Reviewed by the YouCalc Team · Last reviewed
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