The grind of the coffee is very important to the taste and aroma of the brewed drink.

First of all, the coarseness of the grind will determine how fast the water passes through during brewing. The finer the grind, the more time it takes the water to be forced through the grounds. Think of water flowing through a layer of sand as opposed to rocks.

This brew cycle time makes can make drastic differences in the taste of your coffee. It’s just like cooking and the brew cycle is the baking. You wouldn’t under or over cook a cake and expect it to taste the same.

Grinding Tip #1
Use a medium grind (similar to the consistency of granulated sugar) for drip brewed coffee and time the entire brew cycle. If it takes longer than 6 minutes, the coffee will become over-extracted and release bitter tastes. Adjust the grind to be more coarse to speed up the brew cycle. If it takes less than 4 minutes, adjust the grind to be more fine.

A good coffee grinder will grind the beans very consistently and efficiently. You want consistency for even extraction. You want the grinder to be efficient so that very little heat is generated which will alter the taste of the coffee.

Grinding Tip #2
If you are shopping for a grinder, buy one that uses conical, or flat grinding burrs. The blade type grinders are extremely inconsistent and generate so much heat that they literally burn the beans. Since coffee goes stale, if you do not regularly use your grinder, keep it clean.

Grinding Tip #3
Grind a little bit of fresh coffee and then discard. This will hopefully get any old, stale coffee you could not reach after cleaning.