Top
Browse > Home / Caffeine / Brewing Coffee by the Numbers

Brewing Coffee by the Numbers

October 13, 2005

coffee spoons
One common mistake in brewing coffee is to not use enough ground coffee. This is no real surprise, as often coffee brewers and even coffee packaging itself has incorrect or misleading advice.

When we brew coffee, we want to extract roughly the “first two-thirds” of the flavor of the bean — that’s where all of the “good flavor” is. The “last third” is where all of the bitterness and nasty flavors lie, and we’d prefer to just leave that right in the grounds, instead of in our cup.

Unfortunately, when you “underdose” the amount of coffee, you “overextract” and end up with a nasty, bitter cup of coffee. Some people mistake this bitterness for “overly strong” coffee, and dose even less to try to get rid of it — making a weaker but even more bitter brew.

The standard measure is to use 10.6 grams (.38 ounces) of coffee per 6 oz. (177 cc) of water. While weighing our coffee on a gram scale would probably be a great idea (since bean density varies with variety, roast and humidity), most of us aren’t going to bother.

Fortunately, using a rough approximation of 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. of water is “close enough”.

Remember that coffee makers vary on what they consider a cup (usually between 4.5 oz and 6 oz — never 8 oz), so be sure how much water you’re really brewing with in your 8 or 10 cup coffee maker (you only have to measure it once).

Some handy approximations — 1 cup is about right for most “8 cup” brewers, and 1 1/4 cups is likewise for most “10 cup” brewers.

If you want to get more exact, or the math is bogging you down, you can always use this handy Brewing Ratio Chart from Black Bear Coffee.

Rate this:
2.8
Like this article? Share it!
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon

Written by User ImageChuck Lawson · Filed Under Caffeine 
Tags: • • •

Comments

Got something to say? [privacy policy]





Possibly Related


It’s all in the grindIf you undertake to learn a bit about coffee, you'll soon find that most serious coffee aficionados will tell you that the single most critical piece of equipment you own is a grinder. A grinder is often a person's first "step up" into the world of better coffee -- once you grind coffee, the flavor begins to dissipate within seconds, so buying whole bean coffee and grinding it yourself just before you brew gives you much better flavor. Unfortunately, many people stop there, and never realize that the type of grinder, and how it works, makes a vast amount of difference to the final result in the cup. This is true regardless of the type of coffee you are drinking...


Coffee Pot Beer BrewingIf you're tired of making coffee in your coffee pot... Wait... Let's not get all crazy here... Okay... If you've bought a great new drip coffee maker, and are looking for something interesting to do with your old one (there, that's better), you could try your hand at brewing beer in it. AllAboutBeer has the instructions in "How to Brew Beer in a Coffee Pot". The process of brewing coffee, I discovered, was a good way to relate the brewing process to people who do not understand zymurgy, the technical term for making beer. This became more than a useful analogy: with familiar kitchen equipment, you can repeat the steps of the process that goes on in breweries large and...


Clean that nasty machine!There's nothing worse than a funky coffee maker. Coffee is filled with essential oils. While these are superb in the cup, when they're left to dry on equipment, they turn into nasty, rancid, bitter oils that can render even the most finely ground, sublime bean into a hidious tasting cup of hot nastiness. Sure, you wash out your carafe, and all of the other removable pieces, but there are still places lurking in your coffee maker where the crud builds up, and awaits its opportunity to spoil your morning cuppa. What to do? Clean that nasty machine! The easiest way to deal with a case of the coffee crud is by using an off-the-shelf coffee machine cleaner. I personally like...


Bitter Coffee? Adjust your grind! I've written previously about the importance of using the proper amount of coffee (hint - most instructions you see tell you to use too little), the proper temperature and the proper grind to avoid a bitter (or sour or burnt-tasting) cup of coffee. But where do you go when you're doing it right and it still isn't good? The other day I was in Starbucks, and decided to take home a pound of their Pike Place Roast -- one of the few brewed coffees from Starbucks that I've ever liked. I'd had it brewed in the store many times and enjoyed it, but this time I was out of beans at home and wasn't in the mood to roast,...


Presto Scandinavian Coffee Maker - ReviewThere's a lot to be said for a device that does one thing, and does it well -- and even more to be said for one that does it cheaply -- plus it's even somewhat attractive. The Presto Scandinavian Coffee Maker falls right smack into the middle of this definition. It's not fancy, and it doesn't have a lot of features, but it brews coffee well, and the price (under $50, most places) is tough to beat. Pros Temperature - The Presto Scandinavian is one of the very few consumer coffee makers that actually brews at the right temperature. At a measured 200 degrees F, the Presto extracts coffee from the grinds without the bitter burnt taste of overcooked coffee,...

Bottom