Do you know that it is important to know how to measure coffee? Are you wondering why your coffee tastes off? There is a chance your coffee is not measured properly. How exactly do you measure the perfect coffee to water ratio? Keep an eye out for more information.
Measure Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator
Before we get into 17:1 vs. 15:1 ratio, how to measure coffee for French press vs. drip coffee, and so much more, here’s a quick calculator we created to simplify the process. Because most people use a standard drip coffee maker and aren’t great at coffee math, we created a tool to help you out. If you want to make more than one cup of coffee, please specify what you will use to measure:
Eliminating Tablespoon Confusion
My eyes glaze over when we start talking about milliliters and grams as Americans.
I’d appreciate it if you gave me a tablespoon. There is a problem with using grams instead of tablespoons when weighing coffee. In fact, I found the answer to my google search of grams to tablespoons as follows:
It just didn’t seem right to me when talking about measuring coffee. To find out how much coffee you get from a tablespoon, I grabbed my handy tablespoon and my coffee scale.
As an experiment in science, here’s what I’ve done:
- Using a heaping tablespoon – a bit bumpier than a leveled tablespoon – I began my experiment.
- The weight was exactly 5.0 grams when I put it on the scale. However, I swear the reading was exactly 5.0 (after checking my camera, I realized the digital reading didn’t come out well).
- My sugar content dropped to 4.3 grams after experimenting a couple more times and having the tablespoon really level off.
As you’ll see later in this article, I’m not an expert enough to understand all the different conversion calculators or to say that they are “wrong”, I just know that in the world of coffee grounds, a tablespoon of coffee is equal to about 5 grams of coffee.
You’ll see in our table below and our calculator above that 10.6 grams of coffee is about 2 tablespoons.
Why Measuring Matters
It is important to develop the habit of measuring accurately so you can make a consistent cup of coffee every time. A small kitchen scale with a gram display is necessary to accomplish that. A water, bean, or even ground can be measured with it.
In our experience, it is most effective to use 500 grams (or milliliters) of water to 30 grams of whole coffee beans. The following combination produces the closest thing to a universally acceptable coffee strength. In this blog, we also have an article about how big is coffee scoop that you might want to see.
Measure the Water
Place your empty, cool kettle on the scale and press the tare button. This will reset the scale to zero so that you will only measure what you put into the kettle.
Once the kettle reaches 355 grams of water, you can slowly add more water. As soon as you hit the mark, put the kettle aside. To compensate for water evaporation, you can add a little bit more water if you plan to boil it.
Measure the Beans
Set your scale back to zero and find a clean bowl or container to place your grounds in. Reset the tare value by pressing the tare button. You can either scoop beans into your container until you reach 21 grams. If you are using whole beans and grinding them fresh, you can weigh the beans before grinding them.
Brew Time!
It’s time to start brewing after you’ve got the right amount of water and coffee. Pour your water into your drip brewer’s reservoir after adding your grounds to the filter.
Adjusting the Servings
You didn’t find that bad, did you? Choosing how much coffee and water to use based on desired servings intimidates most people.
Due to this, brewing without an automatic drip can be challenging. The ratio of coffee to water can be surprisingly tough for those of us who don’t have a lot of mathematics experience. However, you don’t have to guess and use mediocre coffee anymore.
To get you started, you can check out this great chart, and you can adjust the ratios to suit your taste as you go. For brewing this one, you can use more or less grounds to achieve greater or lesser intensities to roughly follow the 1:17 rule.
You should not, however, decrease or increase the water component as you adjust. Stick with the appropriate amount of water for your brew size and change the amount of coffee instead. Rather than affecting the amount of coffee that is brewed, you affect the flavor of it.
Need More Power!
The addition of extra grounds to your drip brewer will help to increase the strength of your brew to some extent. In the industry, 1:15 to 1:18 is considered the “golden ratio;” however, we used about a 1:17 ratio because this is a nice mid-range ratio. However, we would not recommend going past 1:15 because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
If you add too many grounds for the amount of water you use, your coffee will feel heavy or muddy. Additionally, it probably won’t taste any stronger than a more appropriate amount. Thus, save your lawn and your money by not overdoing it.
You may want to invest in a darker roast or a different brewing tool if you have reached your upper limit. A drip brewer can only do so much, so if you want a straight shot of espresso, you’re out of luck.
Trying to Avoid Heart Palpitations
It is possible to go as far as a 1:18 and perhaps slightly beyond; however, it is not terribly far. With minimal additions, you will make a coffee that is lighter, weaker, and better enjoyed.
Having too little grounds can be just as problematic as overstimulating your brew at the lower end of the ratio spectrum. In addition to tasting weak, your coffee may also be overextracted. That would result in an incredibly bitter cup of coffee. That is no one’s idea of fun! Looking for best coffee scoop recommendation? we have a list you can check.
Was this helpful?
Hi there! I’m a food enthusiast and journalist, and I have a real passion for food that goes beyond the kitchen. I love my dream job and I’m lucky enough to be able to share my knowledge with readers of several large media outlets. My specialty is writing engaging food-related content, and I take pride in being able to connect with my audience. I’m known for my creativity in the kitchen, and I’m confident that I can be the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their culinary journey to the next level.
