# Adjusting grind setting for different beans



## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I wonder how much you adjust grind settings based on different beans. It seems to me that you don't gain much benefit using a refractometer to hit a certain EY on different beans. For example, using same grind setting & brewing method a Kenya might hit 21.5% EY where as a Costa Rica Natural will barely hit 19%, but taste just as sweet. Furthermore, given the same grinder / brew method, pushing EY to 20% with the Costa Rican by making the grind finer doesn't seem to make the coffee taste any better. It seems fruitless to try to "match" EY between different beans with different origins.

So I've settled pretty much using a fixed grind setting per different brew method and dose, and not bother changing it based on the bean. I suppose this limits the usefulness of a refractometer but it's still useful for measuring how consistent you are between brews. It also removes the frustration of continuously trying to find an optimal grind setting as the optimal EY for each bean seems to be different. There might be cases where you have very dark roasts where you might need to adjust the setting, but I think most of the beans I buy have similar roast profiles.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Yes this was mentioned the other day in a thread, plus everyone tastes things differently, so I do agree mouth taste over refractometer. But what do I know


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Different beans and roasts are more soluble , Kenyans especially so.

Would the Costa Rican taste better at 21.5 % Ey though ???









In the end if you are enjoying your coffee that all that matters and I got to the point where i was using my VST to problem solve brews/beand occasionally not to measure the tasty ones.

VST are great though of understanding the tasty map where it is and knowing where ball park brew recipes and grinds will get you .


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I don't change grind setting for brews of the same weights & method. It's just not necessary for brewed, with a good recipe & reasonably similar roast levels. You can tweak EY by pour method/steep time if you want to explore other regions of the box. In fact, wherever possible, I dial in methods to use the same grind setting.

An exception for me is large Chemex brews, these are coarser than any other method I use. Likewise, espresso finer than most manual methods.

Beans are different, sure, but not that greatly different. So rather than 2nd guess what grind effect setting is going to do, I brew & adjust if necessary (rare), let the brews fall where they do. If bean solubility varies by say +/-10%, then if you have a good average EY target (I usually aim just over 20%) you're only looking at +/-1.8%EY for 95/100 brews.

If you need (rather than choose) to adjust grind & brew for each bean, are you realising the differences & distinctiveness of each bean, or are you making the difference between each bean?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Jony said:


> Yes this was mentioned the other day in a thread, plus everyone tastes things differently, so I do agree mouth taste over refractometer. But what do I know


Refractometers don't taste (you need to taste with/without), but thy do let you measure brew efficiency & consistency.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

Mrboots2u said:


> Different beans and roasts are more soluble , Kenyans especially so.
> 
> Would the Costa Rican taste better at 21.5 % Ey though ???
> 
> ...


These are two beans I have now and pretty much they hit either extreme of EY with same grind setting and brew method







Making the grind finer for Costa Rica just made it heavier and more muddled, and making it coarser for Kenya just seems to make it less sweet.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

MWJB said:


> I don't change grind setting for brews of the same weights & method. It's just not necessary for brewed, with a good recipe & reasonably similar roast levels. You can tweak EY by pour method/steep time if you want to explore other regions of the box. In fact, wherever possible, I dial in methods to use the same grind setting.
> 
> An exception for me is large Chemex brews, these are coarser than any other method I use. Likewise, espresso finer than most manual methods.
> 
> ...


You are right that it's only +/- 2% EY, but I think this is actually a quite broad range, I would need change something like 1 macro setting on my Vario to hit 20%+ for a bean which at my typical setting would end up at 18.5-19%. I just think this fact seems rather understated and some roasters even give you a specific EY to aim for ALL their beans.

TDS measures all solids, not only the "tasty" ones, and various beans have different amounts of soluble compounds. I think it could relieving for most people that if they find a recipe and grind setting that works well for one bean, they could pretty much trust it to work well for other beans too.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

This thread going way over my head! So that I can learn, can someone please define EY and TDS?

Ta.

All I can contribute is that I find definite differences between some beans and others. Roast levels of different beans would be more or less the same, ie stopped just before second crack as a rule of thumb.

But what the Bialetti filter funnel needs is so different for Monsooned Malabar and say a Kenyan AA size.

The same setting on the grinder that is good for the Kenyan leaves the MM like talc with marked differences in extraction times and subsequent flavours results.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Batian said:


> This thread going way over my head! So that I can learn, can someone please define EY and TDS?
> 
> Ta.
> 
> ...


EY = extraction yield, the % of your dose that is dissolved into the drink. So 10g of dry coffee dose with 2g of that dissolved into the drink is a 20% extraction.

TDS = It's just the concentration of the drink, you use this to calculate EY.

Yes, there are differences between beans, they taste different based on what they pick up at origin, process & roast...but grind setting is the mechanical mechanism we use when brewing & most beans roasted from 1st & into 2nd crack don't usually need changes in grind setting to extract nominally, with a consistent recipe.

Not really measured enough moka pots to see how that compares to drip & steep, haven't had MM in an age.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> Different beans and roasts are more soluble , Kenyans especially so.
> 
> Would the Costa Rican taste better at 21.5 % Ey though ???
> 
> ...


This LSOL is the first time I've used the VST for ages. I find that with fixed grind settings and fixed dose/water/temperature for brew methods I don't need to change anything and it is very consistent.

I have a finish setting for immersion and hybrid drip/immersion with the Bonavita and a coarser one for drip. The different drip methods can produce +/- 2% but pretty much every brew falls in 19 - 21% and you get to taste subtle differences in the bean and establish a preference for what method tastes best for me with the bean.


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## StusBrews (May 4, 2016)

After a couple of years dabbling with brewed coffee, I have found that (amongst a couple of other things) keeping the same grind size and changing extraction through the number of pours gives me the most consistent brews.


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