Brewing Coffee: Basic Framework and Coffee Ratios of Coffee-to-Water

What happens when you brew coffee…

When you’re brewing coffee, hot water acts as a solvent, washing the soluble solids out of the coffee grinds and into the brew. If you dissolve table salt in water, you have a soluble solid. Soluble solids are bonded with the water molecules, and will not separate over time.

Brew methods that use paper filters have only the soluble solids in the cup. Some brew methods allow insoluble solids to enter the brew, like French PressA simple coffee brewer also called a Press Pot: grounds and hot water are added to a carafe, allowed to sit for several minutes, and then a filter... ...more, espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... ...more or Turkish coffeeA strong preparation of coffee, finely ground, and often prepared in an Ibrik over a heat source like a gas stove. Traditionally it was placed in hot sands... ...more. Insoluble solids will settle out of the brew over time if you don’t disturb the liquid, so your mug of French Press coffee might taste gritty nearing the end, and you’ll find muddy residue in the bottom of the cup. Suspended solids add a sense of bodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... ...more to the cup, but can also add bitterBitterness is one of 5 basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter and Umami (savory flavors). There are many types of bitterness, hence not one avenue to tracking down... ...more tastes.

Six main factors that can affect your brew:

1. Coffee-to-water ratio. Most people find that when 20% of soluble solids are extracted from the coffee grounds, the brew has the best flavors. Too much extractionRefers to the process of infusing coffee with hot water. Hot water releases or "extracts" the flavor from the roasted, ground coffee. The term is used mostly with... ...more — i.e. too fine grind, too long brew time, too hot water, too much ground coffee — and the brew tastes bitter. Under-extraction results in a thin, weak, and sourSour is one of four basic sapid (in the mouth) tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter (and possibly a 5th called Umami which indicates savory flavors). In coffee, sourness... ...more cup. Simply using more coffee grounds doesn’t correct under-extraction. It is a good idea to weigh your coffee or use an SCAA coffee scoop or a measuring device that you know will hold 10 grams of coffee. It is also a good idea, at least initially, to weigh or measure your water as well.
2. Coffee particle size. A finer grind means more surface area of the bean is exposed to the water. For a brew method that uses a longer infusion time such as the French Press, a coarser grind is necessary. An even grind of any size is ideal, so follow the directions on your grinder. It may take some experimentation to find the best grind for your brew method.
3. Water temperature. The ideal water temperature is 195°F–205°F because water is a better solvent at near-boiling temperatures. It is almost always better to brew a full batch on an auto-drip machine, as they are built to get a full batch of water up to the proper temperature.
4. Contact (or Infusion) time. How long the water and coffee are in contact with each other. See our brewing instructions below.
5. Agitation. Stirring the coffee and water infusion increases the extraction rate of soluble solids. Keep in mind that pouring water over the grounds causes agitation as well. In immersion brewing methods, it is important to agitate the brew by stirring it periodically during the infusion time.
6. Heat Retention. Don’t let coffee sit on a hot plate or in a French Press too long; transfer it to a thermal carafe to avoid overcooking and over-extraction.

Other factors that can have a major impact:

• The quality of the water. Bad tasting water makes for bad tasting coffee. Do not used distilled water. You need some mineral content to properly extract the good stuff from your coffee! The absence of some minerals can lead to very sharp and bitter flavor.
• The quality of the coffee you are using, obviously, and the level to which it is roasted. Speaking in broad terms, some roast levels perform better in different brew methods. Lighter roasts can taste aggressively bright in immersion brewers and some pour over methods don’t really showcase the caramelized sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly... ...more in darker roasts. Of course, brew ratios can address some of these issues.
• The cleanliness of the brewing equipment. Old sediments easily make for rancid flavors in the cup. A good rule of thumb is: if you smell an odor from your equipment, clean it. If you can’t remember the last time you cleaned your brewer, clean it!

Best practices for brewing:

• Grind your coffee immediately before you brew.
• Use a grinder that produces a consistent grind. Adjust it depending on your brewing method of the day.
• Use fresh, clean water. If your water does not taste good, your coffee won’t either!
• Pre-rinse your paper filter with hot water to remove any loose paper fibers that can end up in your brew and make your coffee taste papery.
• Heat retention is an issue in many manual-brewing devices, so soak or rinse your filter-cones and presses in hot water to pre-heat it as well!
• Don’t let your coffee sit. Coffee is freshest in the first 10 minutes after extraction. Aim to make the appropriate amount of coffee for yourself, so you’re drinking fresh brewed coffeeBrewed Coffee refers to all coffee preparations produced by adding non-pressurized water to coffee grounds. Contrasted with espresso coffee, which is produced under pressure, brewed coffee is primarily... ...more more often.

Here are some ideal coffee-water-time ratios for different brewing methods.

Coffee brewingThe process of making an infusion of water and roasted, ground coffee. In the most basic sense, hot water is added to coffee ground to produce a drink.... ...more ratios	Amount of water by weight	Amount of coffee	Infusion time
Drip brewing
#1 Drip filterconeFiltercones, as the name implies, are simply cones that hold a coffee filter. The cone fits on to the top of a coffee cup, grounds and a filter... ...more	5 oz (150 ml)	8 g	2 min. 30 sec.
#2 Drip filtercone	10 oz (300 ml)	16 g	2 min. 30 sec.
#4 Drip filtercone	20 oz (590 ml)	32 g	2 min. 30 sec.
Clever Coffee Dripper	12 oz (360 ml)	22 g	4 min.
Chemex 6 cup	30 oz (890 ml)	50 g	2 min. 30 sec.
Chemex 8 cup	40 oz (1180 ml)	65 g	2 min. 30 sec.
Chemex 13 cup	50 oz (1480 ml)	81 g	2 min. 30 sec.
French press
4T	16 oz (470 ml)	28 g	4–6 min.
8T	32 oz (950 ml)	56 g	4–6 min.
12T	48 oz (1420 ml)	84 g	4–6 min.
Vacuum pot
Yama 5 cup	20 oz (590 ml)	32 g	45 sec.
Cona C	25 oz (740 ml)	40.3 g	45 sec.
Cona D / Yama 8 cup	32 oz (950 ml)	51.7 g	45 sec.
TechnivormThe Technivorm is a Dutch-made electric drip brewer for the home that is known for it's good design, and good results. You can find them for sale on... ...more
8 cup	34 oz (1000 ml)	57 g	6 min.
10 cup	42 oz (1240 ml)	68 g	6 min.
AeropressA portable coffee brewer that makes a unique dense brew, somewhat similar to an Americano.: The Aeropress looks like a giant syringe: coffee grounds are in the bottom,... ...more
1 cup	10 oz (300 ml)	18 g	1 min.
2 cup	18 oz (532 ml)	30 g	1 min.

Some tips…

Vacuum Brew: Infusion time can be measured once water is up in the coffee. There is a range of techniques — from adding hot water to the bottom bowl, to letting the water rise to the top, and then adding the coffee. You may want to check out a varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies... ...more of techniques and find the one that works for you.

Technivorm: We close the drip stop switch on the brew basket (KBT-741 & KBTS models), wait for the brew basket to fill, stir and then let it flow.

French Press: Plunge after the total infusion time, then pour slowly. After plunging, I actually like to wait 2–4 minutes more for fines to further settle. Try it!

Water temperature… for all brewing is 195°F to 205°F. Typically, this means water just off the boil. We greatly prefer 205°F because the brewer or device itself usually becomes a heat sink.

On weighing ground coffee… It is much more accurate to measure roasted coffee by weight, since dark roasted coffee takes up more room than light roast. A “standard coffee scoop” (which in reality can vary widely) ought to be equal to two level tablespoons, which is 8–9 grams of dark roast or 10–11 grams of light roast coffee.

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