Brew Guides · Free Tool
Coffee-to-water ratio calculator
Enter the coffee you want to use or pick a method. The calculator does the brew math in grams and fluid ounces.
A practical starting range for filter coffee is about 1:15 to 1:17: one gram of coffee for every 15 to 17 grams of water. Use a scale when possible; one milliliter of brew water is close enough to one gram for everyday coffee brewing.
Use this much water
320 g
Approximately
10.8 fl oz
Method starting points
Quick coffee-to-water reference
The table uses a 1:16 starting ratio. Round to the nearest tenth of a gram your scale can reliably measure.
| Water | Fluid ounces | Coffee at 1:16 |
|---|---|---|
| 250 g | 8.5 fl oz | 15.6 g |
| 350 g | 11.8 fl oz | 21.9 g |
| 500 g | 16.9 fl oz | 31.3 g |
| 750 g | 25.4 fl oz | 46.9 g |
| 1000 g | 33.8 fl oz | 62.5 g |
How to adjust the ratio
- The cup tastes weak: use a little more coffee, or move from 1:17 toward 1:16.
- The cup tastes too intense: use a little more water, or move from 1:15 toward 1:16.
- The cup tastes sour or bitter: keep the dose steady and adjust grind before changing several variables at once.
For the reasoning behind these numbers, read the full coffee-to-water ratio guide.
What about espresso?
Espresso is normally tracked as dry coffee dose to liquid beverage yield, not as brew water poured into a machine. A 1:2 starting recipe means 18 grams of dry coffee produces about 36 grams of espresso. Use the separate espresso guide for dose, yield, time and grind.