— RoastWorthy · Grinders · Setting Reference

Coffee Grind Size Chart & Finder

Find the grind—not just “medium.” Match your brew method to a visual texture and real starting ranges on popular grinders, then make a small adjustment from there.

Find my grind All coffee tools

8 brew methods

6 grinder models

Model-specific ranges

Grind reference

Pour over

Target texture

Like table salt

Even, sandy grains that hold their shape.

Medium

Fine / powdery Coarse / chunky

Baratza Encore

18–22

Comandante C40

22–28

Timemore C2 / C3

15–20

Bloom · pour · drawdown

Built-in timer

Brew method
Coarseness
← FINE / POWDERYCOARSE / CHUNKY →
MEDIUM

Looks like table salt

Even, sandy grains that hold their shape between your fingers.

Settings on popular grinders

Approximate ranges for pour over. Every grinder and bean is different — start in range, then adjust to taste.

New grinder shopping? See our tested grinder reviews for the full picture on burr quality, retention and grind consistency.

A Grind Size Chart That Names the Setting on Your Actual Grinder

Grind size is the number one reason home coffee tastes wrong — and the number one thing generic charts get away with being vague about. “Medium-coarse for pour over” is true, but it does not tell you whether that is 18 clicks or 28 clicks on the grinder sitting on your counter. This grind size finder maps every brew method to a coarseness reference and to the real click settings on the grinders people actually own.

Coffee extracts through surface area. Finer grounds expose more surface, extract faster, and suit short brews like espresso; coarser grounds extract slowly and suit long immersion brews like French press and cold brew. Get the grind wrong and no ratio, temperature or technique will save the cup. That is why we treat grind as the first variable to lock in, not the last.

The grind size chart, from finest to coarsest

  • Turkish — powdery, finer than table salt. Almost flour-like.
  • Espresso — fine, like powdered sugar. Clumps slightly when pressed.
  • Moka pot — fine-to-medium, between espresso and table salt.
  • AeroPress — medium-fine, like fine sand. Flexible depending on your recipe.
  • Pour over (V60, Kalita) — medium, like table salt.
  • Chemex — medium-coarse, like kosher salt, so the thick filter drains properly.
  • French press — coarse, like sea salt or coarse sugar, to keep grounds out of the cup.
  • Cold brew — extra coarse, the chunkiest setting, for a long low-temperature steep.

Why grinder click numbers are not universal

A “20” on a Baratza Encore is not the same particle size as a “20” on a Comandante or a Timemore. Every grinder has its own burr geometry, zero point and click spacing, so a setting that nails pour over on one grinder over-extracts on another. The finder gives you a sensible starting range for each specific model — Baratza Encore and Virtuoso+, Comandante C40, 1Zpresso J-series, Timemore C2/C3 and Fellow Ode — so you skip the wasted bags of coffee spent hunting for the ballpark. Dial from the middle of the range and move a few clicks at a time.

How to fine-tune from the starting range

Once you are in the right neighborhood, taste is your instrument. A cup that is sour, thin or watery is usually under-extracted — go finer by two or three clicks to slow the water down and pull more sweetness. A cup that is bitter, dry or hollow is usually over-extracted — go coarser to speed things up. For espresso specifically, grind controls shot time: if your shot gushes in under 20 seconds, grind finer; if it drips past 35 seconds, grind coarser. Our espresso dial-in assistant turns those numbers into a single next adjustment.

Consistency matters as much as size

Two grinders set to the same “medium” can taste completely different if one produces a wide spread of particle sizes. Cheap blade grinders chop unevenly, creating both dust that over-extracts and boulders that under-extract in the same brew — muddy, unbalanced coffee no setting can fix. A decent conical or flat burr grinder is the single highest-impact upgrade most home brewers can make, ahead of a fancier brewer or a new bag of beans. If you are weighing options, our grinder reviews compare consistency, burr type, static and single-dosing across the popular models referenced in this chart.

Use this grind size chart as your reference every time you switch methods or open a new bag, then let taste guide the last few clicks. Nail the grind first and every other variable — ratio, temperature, time — finally starts behaving the way the recipe promised.