How Much Coffee Do You Put in a Coffee Maker

Making the perfect cup of coffee is about creating the right balance between ratios and proportions. Coffee grounds and water are the only two components that determine whether your cup of coffee is great or not. Therefore, achieving the right balance between the two is necessary to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

More About Coffee Maker Measuring Instruments

Coffee drinkers notice the first thing, which is the ratio of coffee to water in a cup of coffee also known as the brew ratio. A person can easily tell from the very first sip of coffee which category the strength belongs to. Weak coffee is defined as being too watery and flat when brewed and making use of too few coffee grounds. Strong coffee is not brewed with much water, and its flavor is muddy and ashy. A balanced cup of coffee gives off the most flavor with just the right balance of water and coffee.

The brew ratio can drastically alter the taste of coffee, even if you’re using the same coffee and grind size. This is one of the few things you can do to control the quality of coffee you brew. Brew ratios can be set in many ways. The scoop method involves estimating the ground coffee amount by the number of scoops. Scales are the most accurate way to measure coffee and water since they eliminate all the guesswork. A third option is eyeballing, but it’s the least accurate.

Selecting The Right Method for Measuring Your Coffee And Water

Whatever method you choose for measuring your coffee and water, you should always aim for a 16:1 ratio. This means that for every 1 part of coffee, there should be 16 parts of water. It may seem like there is too much water and not enough coffee here. It is considered the “Golden Ratio” for the brewing of coffee. All you need is some basic math skills to brew a balanced coffee in your coffee maker and achieve the perfect ratio. 

A Scale For Measuring Coffee

We will make six cups in this example. Most coffee makers indicate that a cup of coffee is 6 ounces of liquid. However, there is no universally agreed-upon definition to weigh a cup of coffee. A 6-cup of coffee is equivalent to 36 ounces of liquid coffee. Convert  36 ounces of liquid coffee to milliliters. The equivalent of 36 liquid ounces is about 1020 ml or slightly more than one liter of coffee (27.3 ml = oz).

We can now determine how much ground coffee to use for brewing based on the total amount of water. We use the 16:1 ratio of water to coffee to make this happen. Divide the total water’s weight in milliliters by 16. By dividing 1020 ml of water by 16, we get 64 g (1 ml = 1 g). You should use this amount of ground coffee to brew a 6-cup of coffee.

If you want to know how much water and coffee to brew, the following equation will help you determine the amount of water and coffee to use:

Water (oz): (# of cups) x 6

Coffee (g): (# of cups) x 6 x 28.35) / 16

The Scoop Method for Measuring Coffee

A ‘scoop’ of coffee is not a standard unit of measurement, just as a ‘cup’ of coffee is not either. The scoop of ground coffee is roughly 10 g, depending on its grind size. The weight will differ depending on whether the coffee is finely or coarsely ground: the finer the ground coffee, the more it will weigh in a ‘scoop’. The finer ground can fit in the scoop because the smaller particles will pack together more tightly. Also, not every scoop has the same weight.

By contrast, if we assume that every 10 g of ground coffee is equal to one scoop, the math is quite simple. Use an equal number of scoops for every cup of coffee you want to brew. For instance, if you’d like to make six cups of coffee, you’ll require six scoops.

To verify this math equation, we can use the same equation we used for the scale method to measure the water and coffee. A 6-cup pot of coffee requires 64 g of coffee. Based on that math, we will need about 10.7 g of ground coffee per cup (64 divided by 6). Which roughly equals the amount of coffee that can be scooped.

Conclusion

You can use any method to achieve the right balance of your coffee. However, note that the amount of coffee you scoop will change based on how much coffee you make. To make an exact and consistent cup of coffee, consider investing in a scale so that you can ensure a great tasting batch of coffee when you brew your own coffee at home. It is well worth the money.