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Less astringency: Grind finer (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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A lot of people already know this, I'm sure, but it's a bit counterintuitive, and here's hoping it helps any beginners scrolling through.

This is particularly the case for pour over and drip coffee. I long assumed that an astringent flavor/feeling, sorta mouth-drying and unpleasantly mouth-watering at the same time, with a biting aftertaste, was a result of over-extraction, since it can feel sorta similar to bitterness. With that, it seemed to make sense to grind coarser, which obviously didn't help.

In the end, going significantly finer brought a much fuller and sweeter extraction, minimizing the astringency without increasing bitterness at all.

A caveat, of course, astringency can indeed come from over-extraction, so this isn't a guarantee. If you're already coarse, try finer. But if you're grinding super fine, the opposite might go for you/those beans.

TL;DR: if you are having issues with astringency, it might be intuitive to go for a lighter extraction with a coarser grind, but try going finer for richer flavor instead.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That's interesting. I'm starting down the road of pour overs with a next level. I've previously been exclusively an espresso drinker.

The latest beans were feeling over extracted to me, so I've gone courser. The result has been pretty good, but maybe a bit light.

Would you try finer in this case, or would you stick to the pleasant, but lighter extraction?