Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator

Brewing method

What you know

Water, ml

Your own ratio 1 : X

Leave at 0 to use the method's typical ratio.

Result

Coffee, g18.8
Water, ml300
Ratio1 : 16
In the cup, ml263
MethodV60 pour-over
Cups of 200 ml1.5

A different ratio for every method

Works out how much ground coffee to use for a given volume of water in a pour-over, French press, cezve, AeroPress or espresso.

The 'golden ratio' of 1:16 was written for filter coffee and has nothing to say about anything else. Espresso runs at 1:2, a cezve at about 1:10, cold brew at 1:8 — and that last one is a concentrate meant to be diluted afterwards.

One more thing rarely accounted for: the grounds keep some of the water. Coffee holds roughly two grams of water per gram of itself, so 300 ml poured leaves about 263 ml in the cup. Trivial for one brew, litres a day in a café.

What this calculator shows

The coffee weight and water volume for the method you chose
How much drink actually reaches the cup after the grounds take their share
Your own ratio, if the standard one tastes thin or heavy

What to keep in mind

Grounds retain about 2 ml of water per gram of coffee. Espresso is excluded, since its ratio is measured as yield in the cup.
The ratios given are middle-of-the-road; a couple of points either way is preference, not error.

FAQs

How much coffee for 300 ml of water?

About 19 g for filter and pour-over, 20 g for a French press, 30 g for a cezve. There is no single number: it depends on the method.

What is the golden ratio?

1:16 to 1:18 by weight for filter coffee, roughly 60 g of coffee per litre. It comes from the American speciality coffee association and does not apply to espresso.

Why is there less in the cup than I poured?

The grounds hold about two millilitres per gram. Twenty grams in a filter keeps roughly 40 ml back — a real dent in a small serving.

How do I make coffee stronger?

Change the ratio, not the grind. A finer grind raises extraction and adds bitterness; more coffee to the same water is what gives you body.

Worked example

A single V60 brew

Input: 300 ml water at 1:16

Output: 18.8 g coffee, 263 ml in the cup

Note: The classic single serving. If it tastes watery, move the ratio towards 1:14 rather than grinding finer — grind affects bitterness more than it affects strength.

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Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator

Result

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