Brewing Proportions For The Perfect Cup Of Coffee
These are the ratios of ground coffee to water that we find make the best brewed coffee. They apply to any filtering method, using paper or gold filters. (For vacuum pots, follow the manufacturer's suggestions.)
The following table refers to scoops of coffee. Be sure your scoop holds a full 2 tablespoons, because it's the most important measurement in an electric drip machine, the method most people use. Many scoops today hold just one. The chart ends with the maximum amount of ground coffee most machines can handle. Ground coffee retains a good deal of water, so the yield is surprisingly lower than the water you start with.
Because the cup lines on the carafes of electric drip machines vary; our advice is to use standard kitchen measuring cups to fill the carafe or reservoir, depending on your habit, and to note for the future the level that the water reaches.
| GROUND COFFEE | WATER | BREWED COFFEE |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ cup (2 scoops) | 1 cup (8 oz.) | ¾ cup (6 oz.) |
| ¼ cup + 2 tbs (3 scoops) | 2 cups (16 oz.) | 1½ cups (12 oz.) |
| ½ cup (4 scoops) | 3 cups (24 oz.) | 2¼ cups (18 oz.) |
| ½ cup + 2 tbs (5 scoops) | 3½ cups (28 oz.) | 2¾ cups (22 oz.) |
| ¾ cup (6 scoops) | 4 cups (32 oz.) | 3 cups (24 oz.) |
| ¾ cup + 2 tbs (7 scoops) | 4½ cups (36 oz.) | 3½ cups (28 oz.) |
| 1 cup (8 scoops) | 5½ cups (44 oz.) | 4½ cups (36 oz.) |
| 1 cup + 2 tbs (9 scoops) | 6¼ cups (50 oz.) | 4¾ cups (38 oz.) |