Coffee Ratio Calculator
Coffee and water for any brew method and strength, plus a step-by-step brew timer.
Recipe
Brew guide
- Grind
- Water
- Time
Brew timer
About the Coffee Ratio Calculator
Good coffee starts with the ratio: grams of water for every gram of coffee. Choose your method and how strong you like it, then enter the coffee you have, the water you want to use or the number of cups to make. You get the other amounts in grams and ml, the coffee that actually reaches your cup once the grounds have soaked up their share, and roughly how many level tablespoons that is if you have no scale.
Each method comes with a common starting ratio, grind, water temperature and brew time, and a step-by-step brew timer with the scale reading for each pour: the bloom and pours of a pour-over, the four minutes of a French press, the 25–30 seconds of an espresso shot or the decoction of South Indian filter coffee. Treat all of it as a starting point and change the ratio until the cup tastes right to you.
How to use it
- Choose your brew method and strength. The ratio fills in; type your own (1 : 15, or just 15) if you have a favourite.
- Choose what you start from: the coffee you have (g), the water you will use (ml) or the cups you want to drink, and enter the amount.
- Weigh out the coffee and water shown, and check the grind, water temperature and brew time below them.
- Press Start on the brew timer as you begin to pour: it shows what to do now, what comes next and the scale reading to pour to, with an optional beep at each step.
Examples
20 g of coffee at 1 : 16
320 g of water; about 280 ml reaches the cup (the grounds keep about 40 g)
2 cups of 250 ml at 1 : 15
About 38 g of coffee (38.46 g) and 577 g of water; the grounds keep about 77 g, so 500 ml reaches the mugs
18 g of coffee at 1 : 2
36 g of espresso in the cup, in about 25–30 seconds
4 cups of 120 ml at 1 : 8, with 3 parts milk
20 g of powder and 160 ml of water → 120 ml of decoction + 360 ml of hot milk
100 g of coffee at 1 : 5
500 g of water → about 300 ml of concentrate; dilute about 1 : 1
Common uses
- Scaling your usual pour-over or French press recipe up for guests or down for one cup.
- Working out how much coffee to buy or grind for a week of cold brew.
- Dialling in espresso: dose, target weight and shot time on one screen.
- Making South Indian filter coffee for the family, with the decoction and milk worked out per cup.
What the ratio means
1 : 16 means 16 g of water for each gram of coffee; a smaller second number makes stronger coffee. Water is counted in grams because 1 ml of water weighs about 1 g, so a kitchen scale does everything. Weighing is better than measuring spoonfuls: how much a level tablespoon of ground coffee weighs depends on the grind and roast, so the tablespoon figure here is only a guide (set the grams per tablespoon to match your own spoon).
For espresso the ratio compares the drink with the coffee: 18 g of coffee making 36 g of espresso is 1 : 2.
Common starting ratios
- Pour-over (V60, Chemex, Kalita): 1 : 15 to 1 : 17.
- French press: 1 : 13 to 1 : 16.
- AeroPress: 1 : 12 to 1 : 16 (stronger as a concentrate to top up with water).
- Moka pot: 1 : 7 to 1 : 10.
- Espresso: 1 : 1.5 to 1 : 3, drink to coffee.
- Cold brew: about 1 : 5 for a concentrate, up to 1 : 10 to drink as it is.
- South Indian filter coffee: a strong decoction of 1 : 6 to 1 : 10, mixed with two to four parts of hot milk.
These are typical home recipes. Coffee guides and cafés differ, and your beans, grinder and taste decide in the end.
Why you get less coffee than water
Spent grounds stay wet. In drip and immersion brewing they hold back roughly twice their dry weight in water — an often-quoted rule of thumb. The calculator subtracts it to show what reaches your cup and allows for it when you start from cups, so two 250 ml mugs really fill two mugs. If you weigh your brews, set your own figure under More settings.
Limitations
- Ratios, grind, temperatures and times are starting points, not rules: beans, roast, grinder and water all change the result.
- The water held back by the grounds and the weight of a tablespoon are estimates; a scale gives the most consistent coffee.
- Moka pots and espresso baskets are made for a fixed dose: use the ratio to choose the size, not to overfill them.
- Caffeine is not worked out here; see the Caffeine Calculator.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How much coffee do I need per cup?
For one 250 ml mug of pour-over at 1 : 16, about 18 g of coffee and 286 g of water, because the grounds keep some of the water. Choose Cups and enter your own mug size for your amounts.
What is a good coffee to water ratio?
Most brewed coffee is made between 1 : 15 and 1 : 17, that is 15 to 17 g of water per gram of coffee. French press and AeroPress often go a little stronger, moka pots and espresso much stronger. Start in the middle and change one step at a time.
How many tablespoons of coffee per cup?
At about 6 g per level tablespoon, 18 g of coffee is 3 tablespoons. A spoonful weighs more or less depending on the grind, so set the grams per tablespoon under More settings to your own spoon, or use a scale.
What ratio is used for espresso?
Espresso ratios compare the drink with the coffee: 18 g of coffee making 36 g of espresso is 1 : 2. About 1 : 1 to 1 : 1.5 is a ristretto and about 1 : 3 a lungo.
How do I make South Indian filter coffee?
Put the powder in the perforated top chamber, press it lightly, pour boiling water over it and let the decoction drip through, which takes about 15 minutes. Mix one part decoction with about three parts hot milk, sweeten and froth it. Choose South Indian filter coffee to get the powder, water and milk for the cups you want.