What Grind For Keurig – The Best Grind For Keurig

Last updated on October 24th, 2023 at 13:49

What grind for Keurig K-Cup is best of using reusable Keurig K-cups is the first question and thought that crosses the mind of many single serve coffee lovers when deciding to buy and use those lovely recyclable coffee pods.

If you are in a rush, medium to medium-fine grind size is what is recommended by Keurig. You can experiment to find what gets the best taste and strength for you. Don’t use too fine a grind size as you’ll end up clogging your machine.

Keep reading for more details.

What Grind For Keurig – The Best Grind For Keurig

The best grind size for a Keurig single cup coffee maker is a medium grind size. After opening various K-cup coffee pods for different types of coffee and different brands the grind size used is a medium grind size. This grind size is comparable to table salt.

The contact time that the hot water from your single-cup coffee maker has with the coffee grounds is very low.

One of the plus points of reusable K-Cups is you can have some control over the amount of coffee grounds used and the grind size, and thus you can experiment a little more and get your coffee exactly as you want it.

Just be aware that a finer grind size like that used for an espresso or Turkish coffee will result in a high probability of clogging your machine, the entry needle and exit needles too.

You will need to run a deep cleaning cycle more frequently and unclog your needles if you use a finder grind often or as your preferred grind size. You coffee will be stronger and more bitter.

Also, you can exercise with a larger grind size than a medium grind. The result will be a weaker tasting coffee. Be sure to alter the amount of coffee grounds used also.

Read: Keurig size buttons

Coffee Grinder For K Cups

A coffee grinder sounds like a simple appliance that turns coffee beans into coffee grounds. They can get complicated, very complicated.

Do you want a burr grinder or a blade grinder?

What type of burr, flat or conical?

Then there is the material, a metal, stainless steel or ceramic?

For me and based on my experience, love for coffee and deep desire to make the very best coffee, I find the best type of coffee grinder is a conical ceramic burr grinder.

The reason for the selection is due to a burr grinder getting a better and more consistent grind size than a blade grinder.

The conical shape is easier to clean and maintain. The ceramic material provides greater heat resistance than metal, which is conductive. The less heat getting to your coffee beans when grinding them results in better coffee.

The grinder I own and love is a Baratza Encore conical burr grinder. It is the best grinder you will find for all your coffee needs.

How To Grind Coffee For Keurig

Grinding your coffee is easy and uncomplicated. The best way of grinding is to first start with a clean coffee grinder. Your coffee grinder can, and will unfortunately build up and go rotten, which will lead to sub par coffee grinds.

It is very easy to maintain a clean coffee machine. Simply give your coffee grinder a good clean after every use. Keep a spare brush next to your coffee grinder to brush the burr internally after each use and use a canister of pressurized air to blow any loose grinds clear.

I give the burr a quick wipe with a damp sponge that is soaked in distilled white vinegar. I also let the grinder to “air grind” for 5 min.

Ensuring that your grinder is clean means that you won’t get any old grinds or old coffee oils in your fresh cup of coffee.

The next step is to weigh the coffee beans that you want to grind. Weighing your coffee when they are whole ensures that your coffee is slightly fresher.

This is a particular factor that counts when you are grinding your coffee immediately before you are brewing. If you are making a batch of coffee pods using reusable K-cups to be brewed later that day or the following day, you haven’t gained anything in terms of freshness.

It is still a good habit to get into grinding immediately before you brew your coffee.

Once you have the right weight of coffee beans to use, you can start ti grind them by adding them to your grinder. Select a medium grind size and grind for 30 to 45 seconds or until fully ground.

The add your coffee grounds, 9 to 12 grams (0.3 to 0.4 Oz) to each coffee pod that you want to make.

If you are making a batch of coffee pods with reusable pods, make them and store them in a professional coffee canister with an airtight lid and a one-way valve. Store your coffee canister with your coffee pods in them in your freezer to keep them in optimal condition.

Read: How to set Keurig to auto brew

Best Coffee For Reusable K-Cup

The better the coffee beans that you use, the better the results will be. You can use any coffee beans that you wish, I suggest starting with your favorite beans.

Here are some suggestions:

• Volcanica Tanzania Peaberry Coffee.
• Sumatra Mandheling Coffee.
• Hawaii Kona Coffee.
• Lifeboost Pacamara Limited Collection.
• Ethiopian Harrar Coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Grind For Keurig

What Kind Of Grind Do You Use In Keurig Reusable K-cup?

The best grind size for a reusable K-cup is a medium grind. For best results and a fresh tasting cup of coffee, grind your coffee beans immediately before brewing.

If you are new to using reusable K-cup pods, use the tried and tested TAFO technique of Test And Find Out which grind size and number on your coffee grinder is best for your personal taste. Remember too small a grind size will make your coffee too bitter and too large a grind will make your coffee weak and watery.

Also, keep in mind you might want to use a different grind size depending on the roast level of your roasted coffee beans.

What Kind Of Coffee Grounds Are In K-Cups?

The kind of coffee grounds that are in Keurig K-Cups varies from cup to cup and brand to brand. There are over 600 different Keurig K Cups from 60+ brands.

The amount of ground coffee ranges from 9 to 12 grams (0.3 to 0.4 oz).

Are K-Cups Coffee Grounds Or Instant Coffee?

Keurig K-Cups use ground coffee and not instant coffee. This is evident when you check you used K-Cup and find that there are used wet coffee grounds that are still in the coffee pod.

No instant coffee is used.

What Grind Makes Coffee Less Bitter?

A coarser grind will make your coffee taste less bitter and also weaker in flavor.

The reason why this happens is the total surface area of your coffee grounds has been reduced and there is less contact that the hot water has with your coffee grinds, which results in a weaker and less bitter cup of coffee. 

If you are already using a large grind size the largest that your grinder permits, you can try to adjust the brew time which reduced the amount of time that your hot water is in contact with your coffee. Unfortunately this is not something that you can control with a Keurig. 

Read: How to use Keurig

Why Do K-Cups And Coffee Ground Taste Different?

K-cups and other coffee grounds taste different due to the simple fact that Keurig coffee machines are not set to brew at the optimal extraction temperature and is set at 88C (192) which is short of the 195F (92C) minimum range of what is considered the ideal brewing temperature.

What this means is that despite only being a few degrees short of the perfect brewing temperature, Keurig K Cup coffee makers are in the sour temperature range and extracting more of the sour notes than they need to.

This is how important the water temperature is. If they were a few degrees too high, and brewing above 96C (105F), their machines would be brewing coffee that is extracting too much of the bitter compounds.

Can You Use Regular Coffee Grounds For Reusable K-Cup?

Yes, be sure to use metal reusable K-cups with a screw-in cap as they are best, and easiest to use. They are also better for the environment due to no need for sticker caps. You can use any coffee grounds, be it regular coffee grounds or even high quality premium single origin coffee. It is your choice.

The better your coffee grounds, the better the results will be.

Final Thoughts – What Grind For Keurig

Now that you know what grind for Keurig works best and what grinder and type of grinder is better for grinding coffee beans and getting a high quality even and consistent grind size.

Using reusable coffee pods is cheaper and allows you to enjoy using your specialty grade beans in your Keurig machine!

Join our fun, active and informative online coffee community on Facebook/Meta and share your Keurig creations!