The barista at a shop in Austin told me I was ruining my pour over by grinding too fine

She said I was making mud not coffee but going coarser felt wrong after years of thinking fine was better. Which side are you on - fine grind for max extraction or coarse for cleaner cups?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.stella26d ago

OH MY GOD that barista is totally right! Look, I've been on BOTH sides of this grinder debate and let me tell you, going fine is NOT the way for pour over. You're basically making sludge, not coffee. Think about it - when you grind that fine, all those tiny particles just clog up the filter and your water sits there forever getting bitter and over-extracted. The whole "max extraction" thing is just fancy talk for making mud that tastes like dirt. I used to do the same thing because SOME internet person told me fine was better for flavor. But then I actually tried a medium-coarse grind and it was like night and day. Clean cup, clear flavors, and actually drinkable without letting it cool for ten minutes. Your water needs to flow through the coffee, not fight its way out. If your pour over takes more than 3-4 minutes, you've already messed up. That barista was doing you a SOLID by calling you out. Don't let stubborn pride ruin your morning coffee.

spencerm4626d ago

Bruh same thing happened to me at a shop in Portland, I was grinding on like a 6 and the barista straight up told me I was making espresso not pour over. Switched to a 10 on my Baratza and my cups went from bitter mud to actually tasting the fruity notes in my beans.