Grinding is an important factor in espresso coffee preparation and the optimal grinding level is needed to improve its characteristics. However, a problem arises where ground cocoa nibs change from solid to fluid mass at finer level due to high fat content (52%) in the cocoa bean. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of fat in Ivory Coast cocoa nibs and grinding level on particle size and the physicochemical characteristics including viscosity (mPa), pH, foam index (%), density (g/mL), total solid (mg/mL) and extraction (%) of espresso cocoa (ECOC). Solvent extraction was used to produce defatted cocoa nibs (40%, 34% and 20%) and was ground at four different grinding levels (i.e., 10, 30, 50 and 70) to extract a cup of ECOC using espresso machine. The grinding level 70 (1665.0±28.30 μm) contributed to significantly (p