Coffee Grind Size Guide: V60, Moka Pot, AeroPress and Espresso

Grind size is the lever that decides how fast water pulls flavor out of coffee. Get it right and everything else gets easier. Get it wrong and the best beans in the world taste sour or bitter.

Not following what we are writing about? Start here: Pour-Over Quick Start Guide.

The Simple Rule: Faster Brew, Finer Grind

Water needs time to dissolve flavor from the coffee. The shorter the contact time, the finer the grind has to be. Espresso takes about half a minute, so it needs the finest grind. A V60 takes around three minutes and wants something medium-fine. The moka pot and the AeroPress sit in between. Finer grounds slow the water down and extract more. Coarser grounds let it through faster and extract less.

Starting Points by Method

Charts disagree on exact numbers, so treat these as starting points. Microns (a thousandth of a millimeter) describe particle size, and the texture comparisons are easier to use in the kitchen.

• Espresso: fine, about 200 to 400 microns, close to table salt. The water gets roughly 25 to 30 seconds.
• Moka pot: medium-fine, coarser than espresso and finer than a V60, about 350 to 600 microns. James Hoffmann suggests a grind similar to the one you would use for AeroPress. Pre-ground espresso coffee is usually too fine and can block the pot. Our Moka Pot Quick Start Guide covers the rest.
• AeroPress: medium-fine to medium, depending on the recipe. Hoffmann's Ultimate AeroPress recipe uses the finer end of medium. Short, espresso-style recipes go finer, and long steeps go coarser.
• V60: medium-fine to medium, about 500 to 900 microns, like sand. Larger batches and thicker filters such as the Chemex go slightly coarser.

Starting Clicks on Hand Grinders

Hand grinders count clicks from fully closed. These starting points come from grinder guides and vary between sources, so adjust them by taste.

• Comandante C40: V60 about 20 to 28 clicks (start around 24), AeroPress 14 to 24, moka around 16, espresso 8 to 13.
• Timemore C3S Pro: V60 16 to 17, AeroPress 13 to 14, moka around 12, espresso 5 to 9.

The C3S Pro is built for filter, and its steps are coarse in the espresso range, so it suits occasional espresso better than daily dialing in. The Comandante can do espresso too, but each click makes a big difference there.

Let Your Cup Tell You Where to Go

• Sour, thin, drains too fast: grind finer.
• Bitter, dry, drains too slowly: grind coarser.
• Moka pot sputters, stalls or tastes burnt: go coarser and keep the heat low.
• Espresso: change the yield first and the grind second, as in our espresso troubleshooting guide.

Change one thing at a time, so you know what worked.

Roast Level Nudges the Grind

Lighter roasts are denser and harder to extract, so they usually need a slightly finer grind than darker roasts. Hoffmann suggests this for the moka pot, and one Comandante guide recommends adding a click or two for darker roasts.

Why the Grinder Matters More Than the Chart

A chart only helps if your grinder makes particles of similar size. A burr grinder crushes beans between two rough surfaces for an even result, while a blade grinder chops them into dust and boulders. Uneven particles extract unevenly, which is where sour and bitter in the same cup come from. A hand grinder with good burrs is one of the cheapest ways to get consistent grounds.

The Verdict

Start with the texture for your method, count your clicks, taste, and move one step at a time. Within a few brews you will know your own numbers.

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Find Your Grinder

Browse our hand grinders, from the compact Hario Mini Mill to the Timemore C3S Pro and the Comandante C40, and match one to the way you brew.