Let’s say you’ve got a precious French press at your disposal. If that’s the case, you simply can’t use whatever coffee comes your way to achieve a good cup of coffee. A device like the French press delivers the most delectable results only when a particular type of coffee ground is used. Such as coarse ground coffee.
Likewise, you can’t use just about any coarse ground for your French press, percolator, AeroPress, or cold brew coffee. What you need is a list of the best brands.
Coffee aficionados like our team here at Koobies coffee as well, as the experienced baristas, strictly maintain that the best flavor of coffee beans is achieved only with the help of the French press brewing method. So, the coarse ground coffee you choose better be right!
Table of Contents
- Top-Rated Coarse Ground Coffee
- Why Does Grind Size Matter?
- What Brewing Methods Use Coarse Ground Coffee?
- Is Coarsely Ground Coffee Stronger?
- How to Grind Coffee Beans to Achieve the Coarse Grind Size at Home?
- Is It Okay to Use Coarse Ground Coffee in Coffee Makers?
- Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Coarse Ground Coffee
- Wrapping It Up
Top-Rated Coarse Ground Coffee
#1 Stone Street Coffee Cold Brew Coarsely Ground Coffee
Stone Street Coffee is a brand responsible for providing coffee aficionados with the most delicious handcrafted coffee for a decade now. The company develops all types of coffee with a full-flavored profile and unique characteristics. Their every creation contains specialty-grade coffee beans that are freshly roasted in small batches to preserve the original quality.
Therefore, it’s only natural to assume that this Cold Brew Coarsely Ground Coffee is no exception. The roast level here is dark, thus ideal for French press and cold brewing.
The flavor is well-balanced, incredibly smooth, strong, bold, and less acidic, and the beans are 100-percent Colombian Supremo.
Even those who usually don’t care for Colombian beans are highly likely to appreciate the bold, rich, and roasty flavor of this coffee. It has deep, dark chocolate notes every coffee lover is bound to keep coming back to.
The brand has made it a point to handle the packaging beautifully as well. The coarse ground coffee is contained in a pouch with a one-way degassing valve so that all the fresh aroma and flavor are preserved well.
PROS
- Low acidity
- Very consistent grind.
- Pleasantly strong and bold dark roast
CONS
- A bitter aftertaste
#2 Cold Brew Lab Organic Extra Coarse Dark Roast Coffee
Do you want the organic version of the best coffee with a coarser grind for cold brew? If you’re leaning in that direction, then do take this one into some serious consideration. Why is that? It’s because the brand here sources, roasts, and blends coffee beans keeping nothing but slow brew extraction in mind.
A low-acidic, smooth, full-bodied, and well-rounded flavor is what awaits. Plus, it’s all organic. The coffee beans used are organic, 100-percent Colombian Arabica. These are USDA-certified and free of pesticides, so you can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that Cold Brew Lab cares about quality.
The blend consists of dark and medium roasts, which is the perfect roast level for cold-brewed coffee. Your daily dose of caffeine is bound to taste extremely flavorful, bold, and smooth.
The best part is that the coffee beans are coarsely ground to the perfect size for achieving optimal extraction. Moreover, all the extra coarse grinds deliver the right amount of caffeine as well as a rich flavor without sediments. Easy, hassle-free preparation that means!
The product is also on offer as whole beans so that you can try different grinds at home.
PROS
- Specialty-grade, organic, USDA-certified coffee beans.
- Full-flavored with no bitterness.
- Infused with delicious chocolate tones.
CONS
- Lacks the usual overpowering acidic character of cold brews
#3 Bizzy Organic Cold Brew Coarse Ground Coffee
Here’s another one with a coarseness level ideal for cold brew. This smooth and sweet coffee blend is engineered for the slow extraction of the cold brewing method so that every cold brew tastes consistently delicious, and extra smooth of course.
Organic coffee beans ethically sourced from Nicaragua and Peru are used. As for the roast, it’s a blend of dark, medium, and light, which brings forth that perfectly smooth and sweet finish.
The best part about the brand Bizzy is that they offer high-quality coffee at affordable prices. Such brands are proof that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy the most palatable of coffees at home.
Let me also bring to your attention that this fine coffee is 67-percent less acidic in comparison to traditional coffee. Isn’t that great news if your tummy doesn’t react to caffeine all that well?
PROS
- Exceptionally smooth and sweet flavor profile
- Sustainably produced and ethically sourced coffee beans
- Very strong, non-bitter, and less acidic cold brew concentrate
CONS
- Not suitable for French press due to size
#4 Illy Intenso Bold Roast Ground Drip Coffee
The Intenso Dark Roast Coffee by Illy contains the finest Arabica coffee beans. This bold roast, no doubt, is full-flavored and robust with hints of rich, deep cocoa. 100-percent Arabica coffee beans hand out nothing but high-quality coffee.
The pressurized packaging of Illy is also much appreciated. It helps in preserving the original and delicious complexity and flavor of the blend while also enhancing the aroma and preserving freshness.
Illy believes in sustainability. They have spent over 30 years trying to perfect every coffee-growing method to achieve an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable harvest.
The strong coffee flavor has no amount of bitterness, which is great news. I mean, there’s no denying the fact that the Intenso Bold Roast flavor is incredibly smooth, rich, strong, and perfect for slow extraction brewing methods.
PROS
- Enticing aroma
- Fresh due to pressurized can
- Consistent grind size
CONS
- Weak-flavored for some
#5 Primos Coffee Co. French Press Specialty Coffee
Allow me to start with where it all begins.
Primos Coffee Co. naturally dries premium Arabica coffee beans in the strong sun and fresh air. These dried green beans are then drum roasted in limited batches using a carefully developed profile for medium-bodied coffee. The medium roast is packed with all-natural and original flavors that are delightfully aromatic.
Once the roasting is done, the coffee is coarsely ground to make it suitable for longer or slower brewing methods.
Every cup of this coffee is full of a subtle yet pleasant flavor. You get a medium body, smoothness, sweetness, citrusy notes, low acidity, and consistency.
There’s no denying this is mild coffee that appeals to caffeine lovers who don’t appreciate the loud punch of hard-hitting coffee. So if you fall into that category, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go for this one.
PROS
- The best choice for percolators
- Pleasantly strong, low-acid coffee
CONS
- Mild coffee, thus it lacks a very strong flavor
Why Does Grind Size Matter?
Does grind size really matter? Well, the answer is YES. The size of the grind has a direct impact on the taste of your freshly prepared brew at home.
You can make do with a fine or medium-fine grind in place of coarse ground coffee, but brewing them is not going to be easy. Even the taste is not going to be likable. So how about choosing the right grind size!
More often than not, even the most basic coffee grinders are equipped with at least 16 settings. That means the space for experimentation is quite wide. Even so, don’t use a coffee grind size that has a texture like that of table salt. Go for coarse or extra coarse coffee grounds.
When you use fine grind size, extraction takes place quickly because of the smaller surface area of each granule and the increased overall surface area. The outcome of this, no doubt, is over-extracted, bitter coffee.
Along the same lines, you cannot use coarsely ground coffee in espresso machines. Espresso demands an extremely fine and even grind. Otherwise, with coarse grounds, you end up drinking weak, flavorless, and under-extracted coffee.
Coarse ground coffee consists of chunky bits as opposed to the salt-like, smooth texture of fine ground coffee. In the middle lies a medium grind that has visible granules instead of whole chunks with a slightly gritty texture.
What Brewing Methods Use Coarse Ground Coffee?
Coarse ground coffee is the best for slow or long extraction. This means immersion style brewing methods – such as slow drip or pour over – work best with this particular grind size. Whatever you do, though, don’t use a moka pot or another stovetop method because you’ll not get enough extraction with those.
A lower overall surface area and larger surface area of each granule imply a longer extraction time. So it only makes sense to use chunky coarse grounds for methods that require steeping the coffee for long before filtering. Those methods are as follows:
French Press
You place the coffee grounds inside the chamber of the French press and pour hot water over them. After that, wait for a while to let the grounds and water interact and steep, thus creating a delicious coffee brew.
Then you use the stainless-steel filter plunger that pushes the grounds to the chamber bottom. While this is happening, the brew flows through.
A coarse grind is essential for long steeping. On top of that, with coarse grind size, the grounds will not be able to seep through the plunger and into your cup.
Cold Brew
Here’s another common brewing method for coarse ground coffee. Even the cold brewing technique holds room temperature or cold water with coffee grounds inside a large chamber. This means a long or slow steeping process. No wonder the coarse grind size is also the best choice for cold brew.
The process takes anywhere between 14 hours and 20 hours for brewing. And the filtration levels can vary; single-application paper, metal, or reusable fabric. Do not use finer grind size as that leads to over-extraction.
Percolator
For a percolator, medium-coarse or coarse grind size works best, and that’s because water passes through these grounds multiple times.
If the coffee grounds are too fine, over-extraction occurs and bitterness takes over. Also, if the grounds aren’t chunky enough during the filtration process, you might end up having silt in your coffee.
Is Coarsely Ground Coffee Stronger?
Generally speaking, no. The beauty of it is that it offers a mellower and richer flavor. As for finer grounds, they have a pretty intense flavor. So in comparison to that, coarse ground coffee is milder and softer in terms of flavor.
As for the content of caffeine, the coarse grind size is packed with slightly less caffeine, While the fine grind size has comparatively more caffeine.
How to Grind Coffee Beans to Achieve the Coarse Grind Size at Home?
If you want to grind your beans right before brewing to make the most of the fresh flavor, quality, and aroma, then use a burr grinder.
Keep away from blade grinders as they are not suitable for producing an enjoyable coarse or extra coarse grind size.
Also, take into account the quality of the grinder. Only when water passes through all the coffee granules at a consistent rate does the process of proper extraction take place. Make sure this happens.
Is It Okay to Use Coarse Ground Coffee in Coffee Makers?
It’s best to use it with brewing methods that involve slow extraction in which the grounds are kept in the water for a long time. That is, if you’d like a complete flavor extraction, and we think that you do.
In the case of automatic coffee makers, coarse ground coffee doesn’t get the opportunity to reach its full potential. For these machines, go for medium grind size.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Coarse Ground Coffee
Now that you have the best beans or pre-ground coffee at your disposal, you might think that you’re in for nothing but utter deliciousness in the form of a rich, bold, freshly prepared cold brew. Well, that’s where you might be wrong.
Occasional caffeinating goof-ups happen all the time. On top of that, the brewing methods of coarse ground coffee are trickier than you can imagine. So how about I tell you how to avoid coffee disasters!
Use the right amount of coffee grounds
By right, I mean following the ratio of 1:10 (coffee to water). Too many grounds equal to a very strong brew and a lot of jitter-causing caffeine. Too little grounds and you end up drinking a watery beverage. So, stick to a single gram of coarsely ground coffee for every 10 grams of water.
If you prefer your coffee to be stronger, then increase the grounds part of the ratio. Likewise, decrease it for a lighter-tasting cold brew.
Don’t stew your brew
This is a very common error coffee lovers make when using the French press. Leaving the coffee in the device means that the coffee is continuously brewing in the hot water, and that, in turn, causes bitterness and over-extraction.
Don’t forget to transfer your freshly brewed coffee into a carafe or thermos. Or better yet, drink it all.
Buy High-Quality, Coarse Ground Coffee
With a poor grind quality, don’t expect your cold brew to taste delicious or even decent. The same applies when you use finely ground coffee instead of a medium to coarse grind size.
A fine grind doesn’t allow the plunger to press down properly. Even the chances of tiny grinds passing through the filter and invading your coffee are pretty high.
Wrapping It Up
So now you understand why coarse ground coffee is a better choice for cold brew. I have tried to cover all the important aspects related to the topic. So you can make wiser decisions when it comes to coffee. Grind size matters because it is directly related to the taste, strength, and flavor of your coffee.
Whatever you decide to choose or go with, just keep away from finely ground coffee for brewing methods that demand slower or longer steeping. That’s the gist of it.
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