Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator

How to use the coffee ratio calculator

1. Pick your brew method. Each one starts at a sensible default ratio: 1:15 for French press, 1:16 for pour over, 1:17 for a drip machine and 1:5 for cold brew concentrate.
2. Choose what you know. How many mugs you want, how much water you have, or how much coffee is left in the bag.
3. Adjust the ratio to taste. A lower second number (1:12) means stronger coffee; a higher one (1:17) means lighter.

The result gives you grams of coffee and water, an approximate tablespoon count, and how much coffee actually ends up in your cup.

What “1:16” means

A coffee ratio is grams of coffee to grams of water. At 1:16, every gram of coffee gets 16 grams of water — so 20 g of coffee needs 320 g of water. Because one milliliter of water weighs one gram, you can read water in grams or milliliters interchangeably, which is why a kitchen scale makes this so easy.

Why you get less coffee than the water you pour

Coffee grounds soak up water and keep it. A common rule of thumb is about 2 grams of water per gram of coffee. Brew 30 g of coffee with 450 g of water and you’ll pour roughly 390 ml into your mug. The “Mugs I want” mode accounts for this, so you end up with full mugs instead of short ones.

Starting ratios by method

The Specialty Coffee Association’s long-standing “Golden Cup” guideline for brewed coffee is about 55 grams of coffee per liter of water — roughly 1:18. Most home recipes run a little stronger, which is why our pour over and drip defaults sit at 1:16–1:17.

When the ratio isn’t the problem

If your coffee tastes sour or thin at a normal ratio, grind finer or brew a little longer. If it tastes harsh or bitter, grind coarser. Change one thing at a time — usually grind first, ratio second.