Ground Coffee: The Ultimate Guide 2024
We've been grind-ing coffee for over a decade. We've learnt a lot. From grind size, brewing, and storing, this is your ground coffee 101.
Not all ground coffee is created equal. If you’re looking to get the best brew for your morning, then you’ll need to know which is the best ground coffee, why grind size matters, and how to keep your coffee fresh. So, this is your ultimate guide.
What is Ground Coffee?
Ground coffee is simply roasted coffee beans that have been ground down to be brewed for coffee, which extracts as much flavour as possible from the beans. Grinding can be done using a variety of tools, including electric coffee grinders, blenders, food processors, or mortar and pestles (although this requires an impressive amount of elbow grease).
After being ground in one of these devices, whole coffee beans become ‘ground coffee’. You can find out the difference between ground and instant coffee here.
Coffee Grind Sizes
The more you grind, the finer the coffee particles will become. The brewing method you plan to use to make your coffee will dictate which size you’ll need to grind your beans to.
Coarse Ground coffee
A coarse coffee grind means that the particles are larger than medium or finely grind sizes. Coarse ground coffee works best with brewing methods like the French Press (or Cafetière). If your ground is too fine, using a French press to brew can result in a bitter-tasting coffee due to over extraction.
Medium Ground Coffee
A medium coffee grind means particles that are about the size of coarse sand. This grind type matches brew methods that use gravity to extract the coffee through water: V60, Chemex, Aeropress, and Cold Brew.
Fine Ground Coffee
Finely ground coffee is roughly the same size as granules of sugar. This type of grind is made for espresso coffee, with brewing methods where water is heated and pushed through ground coffee at a high pressure. This suits Moka pots and espresso machines.
Extra Fine Ground Coffee
Even smaller than granules of table salt or sugar—literally extra fine.
Turkish Ground Coffee
A fine coffee powder that resembles the texture of flour, brewed by boiling.
Grind Ground Coffee
Our ground coffee is what we call an omni-grind, meaning it's suitable for cafetière, stovetop, and filter coffees.
How to Make Ground Coffee
Ground coffee can be brewed in a number of different ways. Our favourites are the classic cafetière, Moka pot, Aeropress, or V60. Check out our how-to guides for step-by-step instruction on all these brewing methods, making sure you get the very best from your ground coffee.
How Much Ground Coffee to Use Per Cup
In general, a tablespoon of coffee weighs around 10.5 grams. So, for one cup of coffee, you’ll want to use 1½ to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee.
This is a good starting point, and can be adjusted to suit your individual taste preferences once you’ve drunk enough ground coffee to become your own personal expert.
How Long Does Ground Coffee Last?
Once coffee has been roasted it begins to oxidise quite quickly. Oxidation occurs when oxygen molecules come into contact with compounds in coffee, changing their structure.This then affects the acids, aromas, and oils in the coffee, altering how the coffee tastes and smells.
When coffee has been ground it will oxidise even faster because there is more surface area exposed to air. That means that the finer the grind, the faster it will oxidise, so if you’re brewing espresso at home, we recommend grinding your whole beans and using the ground coffee immediately. Whole beans can remain fresh for a month when kept in a sealed container (you can read more about how to store your coffee beans here).
Medium or coarsely ground coffee will be at its most fresh for a few days, but if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, away from light, heat, and moisture, it will stay fresh for 1-2 weeks. Don’t panic, though: your coffee will still be enjoyable in the weeks that follow, it just may not taste as fresh.
How to Store Ground Coffee
Storing coffee is actually one of the most important elements if you want to maximise the taste of your morning brew. Storing ground coffee properly will keep it fresh for longer, and when it’s fresh, it’s at its best.
The best way to store ground coffee is to keep it away from air, moisture, heat, and light. Ideally, you’d store your coffee in an airtight container inside a cool, dark cupboard, in as small a container as possible so that the amount of air it comes into contact with is limited.
If you have a vacuum-sealed container, then you’re onto a winner.
Please, please, just do not put your coffee in the fridge or freezer.
Grind Ground Coffee
Feeling confident about your ground coffee expertise now? You should be. We’re pretty confident about ours: Grind ground coffee comes in five different blends, including our signature House Blend, a heavy-bodied Dark Blend, a bright Light Blend, a rich single-origin edition, and a decaf ground coffee.
The coffee you get on our website is the same coffee that we serve in all of our Grind cafés and coffee shops. Our range of blends has been carefully created by experts who know that great coffee comes in many, many different forms: whether you're after a flat white, an iced latte, or a long black, we have a blend for that.
All of our coffee is speciality-grade and ethically sourced from sustainable farms around the world. It's then roasted by us in London and shipped directly to you while it's fresh and at its best. Our whole bean and ground coffee comes in pink (obviously) compostable bags, available in 227g pouches or 1kg bulk bags. Read more about Grind's commitment to sustainability.
Plus, when you sign up to regular deliveries of our café-quality bean or ground coffee, you'll save up to 34% on your first order, get a FREE Grind tin (including limited-editions), and free shipping with every delivery. Get started here.
We also do our own Cafetière and our very own edition of Sage Appliance's Barista Touch™ Impress Bean-to-cup Machine, which we (evidently) recommend as the ideal brewing methods for ground and whole bean coffee. If you love a cold brew, we've also got our Cold Brew Bottle for making smoother, richer iced coffees at home.
Go put your newfound knowledge to the test.
