# Getting the grind right: Hario Mini (for Aeropress, French Press and Mokka Pot)



## Doi Chang (Mar 15, 2016)

Hoping you can help me out here. Currently use one of the three methods above for coffee at home. Am contemplating a Gaggia Classic BUT I'm not really an espresso fan to be honest. For me, 1-2 cups of filter style coffee with milk in the morning and I'm done. I'd just like it to taste more like coffee that most of the drips I've tried, or indeed, Nescafe Gold!!

Am also contemplating a Macap M2M grinder as a better investment for me than a Gaggia Classic (which seems overkill to make a glorified americano with milk) but meantime I'm using a Hario Mini. Trouble is, when you use the Aeropress, most recipes seem to call for a grind between drip and espresso , maybe leaning more towards drip. So if espresso was '0' on the grind scale, and drip '10', I guess 6-7? I guess if you wanted a French Press style coffee you could even grind course and steep for 2-3 mins but get a cleaner cup. Not sure that's what I'm after though.

To set the Hario Mini there is a click wheel and I'm trying to get my head round a better way to set it than trying to remember how it looks, at least for now. The picture below shows 5 levels of grind. I started by closing the Mill all the way down until the adjuster stopped then counted 20 clicks out (I tried 30 but that spits the beans out almost cracked in two - waaaaaay too big) then notched it down by 5 each time. So, clockwise from the 12 O'clock we have 20, 15 (not much difference between 20 and 15!! - very inconsistent at the larger grind settings I think), 10, 5 and 0.

Would I be correct in assuming that the correct grind for an aero press would be the 5? French Press 15? Espresso 0 I guess. And Filter? 10?

I played with the image a bit to extract the grind detail so the colour is a bit out.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Might depend on the tolerance from grinder to grinder, but I used to do French press & Aeropress at 5-6 clicks from lock up, same grind works for both. Basically I'd go as fine as I could before the small burr gap at the pre-breaker area slowed the feed into the grinder. Should be in the ball park for moka pot too.

Drip grind will vary depending on filter medium & brewer, but maybe around a turn (8 clicks) out for V60 to 1.5 turns (12 clicks) out?

The right espresso grind will be the one that gives you a good flavour at your chosen brew ratio, hard to predict without trying it, you may not have a choice of settings & may have to adjust brew ratio to suit.

Coarse grinds always look inconsistent because they have much larger particles, but still the tiniest particles too, but the weight of the tiny particles becomes a smaller proportion of the total grind.


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## Doi Chang (Mar 15, 2016)

Hmmm. Cheers. Will have to play some more. By 5-6 from lock up I take it you mean the number of clicks out from the point where the selector won't let you turn (close it) any more?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

From the point where you can't easily turn the grinder's handle any more (if you're strong enough you can keep tightening & getting more clicks after this).


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I think you are over-thinking this. I also wouldn't buy an espresso machine if you prefer the taste of filter! Maybe a clever or some other brew method to go with the aeropress?

Id try using the same recipe with the same coffee for each of this grinds, and see which one tastes best to you. For the Chemex using a Hario Skerton I very rarely have to adjust more than one notch when I change coffee, so once you find the spot that works for you dialling in a new coffee shouldn't be too problematic.


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## Vieux Clou (Oct 22, 2014)

FP grind will be less consistent because when the beans are first caught by the burrs they'll fracture into large and small pieces, and a good few of the latter will be small enough to go through without further grinding.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Vieux Clou said:


> FP grind will be less consistent because when the beans are first caught by the burrs they'll fracture into large and small pieces, and a good few of the latter will be small enough to go through without further grinding.


You've lost me? How will the smaller particles refrain from getting smaller with further grinding? "Go through" what? FP's have no holes other than the spout, you shouldn't be trying to use the mesh to force filter the brew, just to strain it once all the grinds have sunk at the end of the brew. "FP grind" isn't a thing, you can grind over a huge range depending on pot size & steep time, with a Hario Mini I'd aim at the finer end.


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