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c CTI Class
3

Boulders Might Just Be Structural

Lots of Baristas are frustrated with the non-
linear relationship between grind size and extrac-
tion in espresso. eg. Medium grind = low extraction,
Fine grind = high extraction, Finest grind = low
extraction. It is assumed that this effect is caused
by the grinds becoming so fine that they form
pockets impervious to water flow, causing micro-
channeling and a lower extraction.
Maybe the larger grinds are also there to
provide a structural matrix that prevents the
smaller grinds from gumming everything up? I’d
be keen to see/do an experiment where fines are
mixed amongst larger insoluble particles to see if
this carries any weight.

Alignment is one of those things

that’s (kind of) free.

4 Bean Temperature Matters

I’ve been involved in a soon-to-be-published paper on
grinding alongside many others. Christopher Hendon and
Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood (the authors of Water for Cof-
fee) were the primary masterminds for it, and I’m confident
we’ll shed some light on this situation.
Once published, I’ll be posting a version of the paper
in regular human English. The ramifications for grinding
tech are super interesting.

About Barista Hustle Barista Hustle is an online blog, community for baristas founded by
Matt Perger, World Brewers Cup Champion 2012. It is well known amongst Baristas worldwide as a source
of advanced information and equipment for coffee making, and for the ultra premium coffee bean subscrip-
tion.BaristaHustle.com

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