Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee With These Brewing Ratio Charts
A great cup of coffee is one of life’s simple pleasures. But as common as coffee is, it is surprisingly difficult to find ( or make ) really good coffee. Of course, this is partly to do with the beans , but what’s more, the coffee to water ratio is the key to making a great cup of joe . In other words, even if you use the most expensive handcrafted roasted beans, it can taste bad if the ratio is wrong.
Fortunately, coffee lovers at The Black Bear Micro Roastery have compiled a table for convenience showing how much water should be used with freshly ground coffee . Here:
Decide how many cups of coffee you need to make, see how many coffee you need to use (ounces, grams, teaspoons, tablespoons, or cups), and add the appropriate amount of water. Most people will use teaspoons or tablespoons to measure coffee, so they are written in whole numbers and ounces and grams are divided by fractions. If you are so serious about your coffee, grab a scale and use a connoisseur table.
If you’re unsure, it’s best to make a mistake and make a stronger coffee . You can always cut it off with water if you want to loosen it up, but it’s harder to go the other way. (Although not impossible: one quick (but probably not the best-tasting) way is to add a scoop of instant coffee to weak brewed coffee.) And remember, as with most things, the way you like your coffee is can be quite personal, so don’t be afraid to experiment with proportions if something isn’t to your liking.
Of course, the ratio of coffee to water is just one part of making great coffee. You can explore the fine art in more detail with our complete guide to making the perfect cup .
This story was originally published on 10/13/14 and was updated on 6/14/19 to provide more complete and up-to-date information.