Taking a relaxed approach: The NMR relaxation behavior of imbibed solvent has been used to estimate the surface area of a variety of microporous metal-organic frameworks and zeolites. This NMR technique is amenable to automation and can expedite the characterization of microporous materials by identifying any nonporous or low-surface-area structures. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.