If you want to make great coffee at home, following the coffee golden ratio is your best bet. This ratio is more important for some brewing methods than others, but it’s essential to know for making the perfect cup of coffee. Just like you need to know the ratio of fat to flour when making gravy for biscuits.
When you’ve brewed your coffee with the perfect coffee to water ratio, you’ll be able to taste it.
The acidity in the coffee wakes up your taste buds, allowing you to enjoy all the rich flavors and aromas. The coffee’s mouthfeel is smooth and satisfying. The flavor is strong enough that you can sense all its nuances across your 10,000 taste buds, but not so strong that it’s uncomfortable.
It’s an incredible experience, but it’s often hard to come by.
You might have had a weak cup of coffee before if you’ve been brewing it for a while. When this happens, it’s easy to think that adding more coffee will make it stronger.
Here’s why. Coffee brewing occurs over a series of stages:
- First come the tangy acids
- Then come the rich coffee flavors and aromas
- Then arrive the sweet sugars and smooth deep notes (stop brewing here)
- Then the extra bitterness shows up
If your coffee tastes thin or weak, there are two possibilities:
Your coffee is under extracted
This coffee does not taste good because each coffee ground did not receive enough water to produce a full extraction. If you add more coffee, each ground will receive even less water, making the coffee taste worse.
Your coffee is over extracted
The dark and bitter compounds are overpowering the sugars and aromas, so the coffee tastes dull. Adding more coffee will make each ground get less water, which will make the extraction slightly better for each ground.
The golden ratios of coffee brewing
The ideal ratio of water to coffee is 1:15 to 1:18, which is commonly referred to as the “golden ratio.” This means that for every 1 gram of coffee, you should use 15-18 grams of water. This ratio is an industry standard that is used by both baristas and at-home coffee drinkers alike.
The goal of achieving this golden ratio is to get the most precise extraction of flavor from your beans in the water that makes up the final brewed cup of coffee. Achieving the golden ratio will result in a more flavorful cup of coffee. Other factors that play into an excellent cup of coffee are using the correct grind on your beans, using fresh coffee, and using a quality bean variety.
The perfect extraction of coffee bean flavor occurs when the ratio of coffee to water is 1:15 or 1:18. You can make your coffee stronger or weaker by adjusting this ratio.
The golden ratio for coffee also applies to French press coffee, drip coffee, or just about any other coffee brewing application.
If the proportion of coffee to water is too high, the coffee will be very strong and bitter. If the proportion is too low, the coffee will be weak and not worth drinking.
A milliliter of water equals one gram, so people often just use ‘grams’ when discussing ratios to make things simpler.
You should use between 15 and 18 grams of water for every 1 gram of coffee. Here’s how the ratios differ in taste:
- 1:15 tastes concentrated and bright (more coffee per water)
- 1:16 tastes smooth and bright
- 1:17 tastes smooth and rounded
- 1:18 tastes lighter and rounded (more water per coffee)
How to brew with golden ratios
We can make a regular 8-ounce cup of coffee by using the Golden Ratios.
There are two ways to do it.
If you have a kitchen scale, brewing coffee using grams is very precise and easy.
While less precise, volume measurements like tablespoons and ounces can still be used effectively if you don’t have a kitchen scale.
We will explain both methods, each of which takes no more than 30 seconds.
Measuring coffee by weight
. Find the total grams of coffee you’re brewing. Step 2: Use 35-40 grams of coffee per liter of water. Use 35-40 grams of coffee per liter of water. Step 3: Invert your French press so the plunger is facing up. To brew French press coffee, start by finding the total grams of coffee you’re brewing. Then, use 35-40 grams of coffee per liter of water. Finally, invert your French press so the plunger is facing up.
Multiplying 30 by the number of ounces you want to brew (8 ounces) will give you your total liquid weight in milliliters / grams.
You would need 8 ounces, or 240 grams, of coffee beans to make 30 grams of coffee.
. Divide your total liquid weight by your target ratio to get the amount of liquid you need for each ingredient.
To make coffee, you’ll need to decide on a ratio of coffee to water. The ratio can be anywhere from 1:15 to 1:18. To find out how much coffee you need, divide the total amount of coffee by the amount of water in the ratio.
240 grams of coffee beans will yield approximately 16 grams of coffee.
240 grams of coffee to 16 grams of water.
If you have 240 grams of coffee and a 17 water ratio, you will have 14.1 grams of coffee.
This means that for every 18 grams of water, you will need 13.3 grams of coffee.
Step 3: Use your Golden Ratio!
You have everything you need! Just use the total amount of liquid and the total amount of coffee, and you will have successfully used the Golden Ratio.
Measuring coffee by volume
. To find the total volume of coffee you’re brewing, you’ll need to know the size of your coffee mug and the brew ratio you’re using. Step 2: Find the total volume of water you need. The total volume of water you’ll need for your coffee will depend on the size of your mug and the brew ratio you’re using. First, you’ll need to find the total volume of coffee you’re brewing. To do this, you’ll need to know the size of your coffee mug and the brew ratio you’re using. Once you have this information, you can calculate the total volume of water you’ll need for your coffee.
If you want to make a single cup of coffee, measure out 8 ounces of water to brew with.
To make a measuring cup of coffee, you will need 8 ounces of coffee.
Step 2: Measure out your coffee beans
To make one cup of coffee, use 3-4 tablespoons of coffee beans.
. I would recommend using 3-4 tablespoons of coffee beans per 8 ounces of liquid coffee.
Since not all coffee beans are the same density or size, measuring by spoons or scoops isn’t quite as precise. That’s why, when it comes to volume measurements, you can’t precisely choose between a 1:15 and 1:18 ratio—but you can get somewhere in-between. Trust your taste buds to decide if 3 or 4 tablespoons produces a better flavor.
Step 3: Start brewing
Now you know the precise amount of ingredients you need to brew! Increase the amount of ingredients as necessary.
This is how much coffee you need to make one cup of coffee.
To make 12 ounces of coffee, you will need 1.5 cups of liquid and 4-6 tablespoons of coffee beans.
To make 16 ounces of coffee, you will need to add 2 cups of liquid and 6-8 tablespoons of coffee beans.
. In the next section, we’ll show you how to use the Golden Ratios to make a cup of coffee.
How does the ratio vary with different coffee brew methods
The ratio of coffee to water can vary depending on the brewing method. There is no hard and fast rule for the perfect ratio, but a good starting point is the golden ratio. Once you know what you like, you can adjust as needed.
I said that the ideal ratio of coffee to water is between 1:15 and 1:18 earlier because different users prefer different strengths.
Here’s a quick list of coffee golden ratios for different brewing methods. I’ve included the most popular brewing methods:
Drip coffee: 1:15
To make a cup of coffee, you will need 8 ounces of water for every 15 grams of coffee.
French press coffee: 1:17.5
To make a full brew for one person, you will need 80 grams of coffee and 1400 grams of water. For two small cups worth, you will need half as much of each ingredient.
Espresso: 1:2 or 1:3
This is the highest possible ratio of coffee to water, and it will vary depending on how much coffee is used. For a double shot, you’ll need 18-21 grams of coffee and 56.25 grams of water.
Pour over or chemex: 1:16.6
To make Chemex style pour over coffee, use 42 grams of coffee for every 700 grams of water.
V-60 (single serve pour over/ Melitta brewer): 1:14
For one cup of coffee, you should use 20-25 grams of coffee and 281.25 grams of water.
Immersion brewers: 1:18
You’ll need 22 grams of coffee for 400 grams of water to brew 1 cup of coffee using the AeroPress immersion brewing method.
Turkish coffee: 1:12
This brewing method requires 30 grams of coffee for 350 grams of water. This coffee-to-water ratio makes around 1 serving of strong coffee or 2 small servings of coffee.
Cold brew coffee: 1:18
This is a disclaimer for the final, diluted cold brew coffee. I brew mine as a finished product. For cold brew coffee, you should use a ratio of 100 grams of coffee to 1792 grams of water. If you want to learn more about how to make cold brew coffee at home, read this post.
Secondly, cold brew coffee is entirely different from iced coffee.
How to measure the golden ratio without a scale
Coffeemakers that come with digital scales built in make it easy to get the perfect coffee to water ratio without any fuss.
Here’s a guide to achieving the perfect coffee to water ratio without using a digital kitchen scale.
This means measuring the amount of coffee using tablespoons, teaspoons, and cups. Most people use this method to determine the ratio of coffee to water. The instructions on the side of a bag of coffee usually use volume rather than weight.
Here’s how that works:
1 tablespoon of ground coffee is equivalent to 5 grams of coffee.
An ounce of water is 29.5 grams of water.
This conversion can be used with any of the ratios.
Here’s an example using French press coffee.
If you are making coffee for one person using a French press, you will want to use a 1:17.5 coffee to water ratio.
How to make French Press coffee using the golden ratio
- 1 cup of finished coffee: 1 cup water (8 fluid oz) — 2 tablespoons ground coffee
- 2 cups finished coffee: 2 cups water (16 fluid oz) — 1/4 cup ground coffee
- 4 cups finished coffee: 4 cups water (32 fluid oz) — 1/2 cup ground coffee
- 8 cups of finished coffee: 8 cups water (64 fluid oz) — 1 cup ground coffee
That’s easy enough, right?
You don’t need a kitchen digital scale or extra time to use the coffee golden ratio.
Forget daily Math: Here’s how to automate your ratios
You don’t want to spend every morning doing math, it sounds exhausing, especially before you’ve had your coffee. Instead, try this.
Make a list of 2-3 ratios you like and keep it near your coffee station.
We recommend making recipes for 1, 2, or 3 cups of coffee for most people. However, if you’re brewing larger pots, you can easily make ratio recipes for 2, 4, or 6 cups.
You no longer have to do any math when you have your favorite recipes because you can just use them over and over again.
Home Ground has developed a Coffee To Water Ratio Calculator to help you figure out how much coffee to use to make the perfect cup!
You might never again have to calculate coffee ratios once you start using the Golden Ratios, which will help you brew balanced coffee.
When in doubt, use a coffee maker that is not finicky
There are a lot of coffee makers out there that make it difficult to create a cup of coffee with a balanced flavor. If you make one mistake, your cup of coffee will be ruined!
Our coffee makers are designed toEnhance, not mask, the natural flavors of your coffee.
ESPRO brewers are inspired by the classic coffee makers that we all know and love, such as the French press, pour over, and cold brew. However, they have integrated modern design practices to encourage a balanced brew, even when you don’t get everything perfect while brewing.
Conclusion
The perfect amount of coffee to use in order to make a delicious cup is referred to as the “golden ratio”. This can be determined by either weight or volume, but using weight is more accurate. Even though making coffee is partly an art, there is no need to stress over making it perfect to the tenth decimal point because it is unnecessary.