Coffee Brew Yield Calculator

To calculate your coffee-to-water ratio, simply divide the total weight of water by the desired ratio number. For example, if you want to brew with a 1:16 ratio and you have 320 grams of water, divide 320 by 16 to get 20 grams of coffee. Conversely, if you have 20 grams of coffee and want a 1:16 ratio, multiply 20 by 16 to find you need 320 grams of water. Using a digital scale is the most accurate way to ensure these measurements are precise every time.

To brew 1 liter (1,000 grams) of coffee at a standard 1:16 ratio, you would need approximately 62.5 grams of coffee. If you prefer the SCA Golden Ratio of 1:17, you would use about 58.8 grams. For a stronger, more robust liter of coffee, a 1:15 ratio would require 66.7 grams. Using 60 grams per liter is a very common and easy-to-remember benchmark used by many professional baristas as a starting point for batch brewers and large French Press recipes.

Measuring by weight (grams) is significantly better than measuring by volume (spoons or scoops). Coffee beans vary wildly in density depending on their roast level and origin; dark-roasted beans are larger and less dense than light-roasted beans. This means a tablespoon of dark roast might weigh 5 grams, while a tablespoon of light roast weighs 7 grams. If you use volume, your ratio will change with every bag of beans. A digital scale ensures that 20 grams is always 20 grams, leading to consistent, repeatable, and delicious coffee.

A 1:1 ratio (equal parts coffee and water by weight) is rarely used for brewing because the coffee grounds will absorb almost all the water, leaving very little liquid to drink. In most brewing methods, coffee grounds retain about twice their weight in water. Therefore, a 1:1 'brew' would result in no yield. The strongest practical concentrates, like Ristretto espresso, use a 1:1 ratio where the high pressure 'forces' the liquid out. For cold brew or drip concentrates, the lowest practical ratio is usually 1:4 or 1:5.