Finding the Right Coffee Grind

At Coffee-Direct, we offer a choice of whole beans or pre-ground coffee, so that you can find the perfect grind, for your favourite brewing method.

You might not know what grind will work best for your brewing method, or which coffee maker is for you, so we’ve put together a short guide on our selection of grind types and the various brewing methods that are covered by our range of delicious, freshly roasted coffees.

For each of the below brewing methods, you can view our range of recommended coffee bean varieties that are best suited to the particular method and grind size.

Whole Bean
Brewing Methods: Bean-to-Cup Machines

Bean-to-Cup Machines
Offering speed and convenience, Bean-to-Cup coffee machines take on the entire brewing process, allowing users to make delicious coffees at the touch of a button. As Bean-to-Cup machines take care of the grinding of beans, users will want to buy our whole beans to make their favourite coffees.

Espresso Grind
Brewing Methods: Espresso Machines, AeroPress, Moka Pots

Espresso Machine
When using an espresso machine, ground coffee is placed into a small metal basket that is held in a handle. Containing tiny holes, the basket allows liquid to pass through into the cup, while preventing any of the ground coffee pieces to pass. Once the handle is locked into the machine, near-boiling water is pumped through the coffee before dripping into the cup, creating a rich and complex espresso.

AeroPress
Invented in 2005 by Alan Adler, the AeroPress is a portable, very durable coffee brewer that is favoured by travelling coffee-lovers and combines two different brewing methods: water and coffee are steeped together in a tubular container, similar to the French Press/cafetière method; to complete the process, a piston is used to push the water through the coffee grounds and a paper filter, similar to an espresso maker or a filter coffee maker.

Moka Pot
This stove-top coffee maker, invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, brews coffee by passing pressurised boiling water through ground coffee. The water is pressurised through a build-up of steam in the lower chamber of the pot. Once this steam pressure becomes high enough, the water is forced up the funnel through the coffee grinds, and brewed coffee will pour into the upper chamber.

Cafetière Grind
Brewing Methods: Cafetière / French Press

Cafetière or French Press
This very popular brewing method was perhaps surprisingly invented and patented by an Italian inventor, Attilio Calimani, in 1929, although a similar design was patented in 1852. The French Press, or cafetière, is an infusion brewer; where most brewing methods involve water passing through ground coffee, here water and coffee steep together to produce a more uniform extraction.

Percolator Grind
Brewing Methods: Percolator

Percolator
Consisting of a pot with a small chamber at the bottom that is placed close to a heat source, and a top chamber containing ground coffee, percolators are a variety of stove-top brewing equipment that brew coffee via a cyclical process.

As the bottom chamber is heated the water begins to boil, creating bubbles that move towards a vertical tube inside the percolator, pushing water up the tube into the top chamber. The water then covers the ground coffee in the top chamber and drips the extracted coffee back into the bottom chamber. This cycle continues until the liquid reaches boiling point and the coffee is ready to drink.

Filter Grind
Brewing Methods: Filter / Pour-Over Brewers
This method involves passing water over a bed of ground coffee to extract flavour, often using some sort of material to filter grounds from the finished drink. This filter may be made from metal or cloth, but paper filters are likely the most popular choice as they tend to produce the cleanest cup of coffee.

Turkish Grind
Brewing Methods: Turkish Method
The Turkish method of brewing requires a very fine grind, one even finer than an espresso grind, which is powdery in texture. The method involves brewing this ground coffee with water in a container known as an ibrik. Once brewed, the whole of the ibrik contents, including the powdery coffee grinds, is poured into the cup to drink.

Vacuum or Siphon Grind
Brewing Methods: Vacuum Pot / Siphon Brewers
The vacuum pot, or siphon brewer, first appeared in Germany in the 1830s, with a patent issued to Jeanne Richard in 1838. The pot comprises of two chambers: the lower chamber is filled with water that is heated to boiling point; the upper chamber contains ground coffee.

When the upper chamber is placed on top of the heated lower chamber, a seal is created that allows steam to build up in the lower chamber, which in turn pushes water upwards through a tube into the upper chamber and ground coffee, at which point the brew is left to steep.

Once brewed, the pot is removed from the heat, cooling and condensing the steam into water and creating a vacuum, which sucks the coffee back from the upper chamber, through a filter, into the bottom chamber, from where it can then be poured.

Take a look at our Coffee Finder Tool to find the perfect grind or whole bean variety for your chosen brewing method.