How To Craft Amazing Coffee—Golden Ratio Calculator

Clint Doerfler
Clint Doerfler
 | 
Updated: August 11, 2022
       
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The water to coffee ratio is a crucial factor in making delicious coffee but it can be hard to remember how much ground coffee you should use with how much water.

Our coffee golden ratio calculator will help you find the perfect coffee for any drip coffee method with ease!

While it’s always best to use a coffee scale for measuring your coffee, our calculator also allows measurement by volume (in tablespoons).

It will provide you with the “golden ratio” for automatic drip coffee, which lies between 1:18 (weaker) to 1:15 (stronger), depending on how strong you prefer your coffee.

Using the Coffee Golden Ratio Calculator

How to use this coffee to water ratio calculator for the perfect cup!
  1. First select how you'll measure your water. By volume (fluid ounces or milliliters) or by weight (grams).
  2. Then select how you want to measure your ground coffee.
  3. Select your desired brew strength. "1" for weak coffee and up to "5" for strong coffee.
  4. Choose the number of servings you'll be preparing. The amount of ground coffee needed will be calculated based on your settings.
Note: Keep in mind that coffee manufacturers consider a "cup" to be 5 oz. — not the standard 8 oz. in a conventional measuring cup.

So, for 6 "cups" in a coffee maker, you're only talking about 30 oz. (6 "cups" x 5 oz. each = 30 oz.).
Some additional conversions that may also assist you.
Std. Measure Equiv. Conv.
1 tbsp 3 tsp 15 mL
1 fl oz 2 tbsp 30 mL
1 cup 8 fl oz 237 mL
1 pint 2 cups 473 mL
1 pint 16 fl oz 473 mL
1 quart 2 pints 946 mL
1 gal 4 quarts 3.8 L
1 gal 128 fl oz 3.8 L

Common Questions

What is the perfect coffee to water ratio?

The answer depends on the type of brewing method (drip coffee, Moka pot, French press, etc.) and how strong you prefer your cup.

In this example, the ideal coffee to water ratio for a drip machine should be roughly 2 tbsp of coffee (or 14.3g / 0.5oz) for every 8oz of water. This will get you halfway between the golden ratio of 1:15 to 1:18 coffee to water ratio. You can then make adjustments to suit your personal taste.
Clint Doerfler
From a very young "growth-stunting" age, Clint Doerfler has had a deep-rooted love for coffee. As a result, he founded Coffee Gear Gurus® to share his passion for incredible home brewed coffee with others. When he's not watching true crime shows with family or playing music, he's devoted to helping fellow coffee feins make amazing coffee at home - regardless of their experience.
This article was last updated: August 11, 2022

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