Similar to another post I saw earlier, I was gifted a bag of coarse-ground coffee which sadly comes out too weak for my cone pour-over preparation. I know there are risks with using a burr grinder when regrinding, I'm just asking about the setting I should use. Do I use the coarsest setting, since it is already partially ground, or go straight for the grind I usually prefer (medium)? Thanks!
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I've never had this (interesting) problem, so I can offer mostly encouragement for you to experiment with a small amount of the coffee. My intuition is that you should go for the grind (medium) that you prefer. (I make espresso grind that is not the finest, so in that small respect I feel we have a common goal.)– hardmathCommented Mar 26, 2023 at 4:29
1 Answer
The burrs in a burr grinder are held at a fixed distance. This distance is determined by the grind selector mechanism. In theory, this distance determines the size of grind particles, regardless of the size of input particles (whole beans, half beans, broken beans, pre-ground beans). That's why burr grinders are superior to propeller-type coffee mills which makes all particles ever smaller by bashing everything.
So (in theory) you should be able to set the grind you want and run the course "gift" grind through.
I've done this, regrinding "French Press" into espresso. It worked well. It came out a bit finer than I'd planned, but perfectly usable.