Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator

About this calculator

The coffee-to-water ratio is the single biggest lever over how your coffee tastes: it is simply the weight of dry coffee grounds divided by the weight of water used to brew it, usually written like 1:16. A stronger ratio like 1:15 produces a bolder, more concentrated cup, while a gentler ratio like 1:17 or 1:18 gives a lighter, more tea-like brew — most pour-over recipes (V60, Chemex, Kalita Wave) land somewhere in the 1:15 to 1:17 range, while French press and cold brew typically go stronger, closer to 1:12 to 1:15.

Because scales measure grams far more precisely than scoops or tablespoons, specialty coffee guides — from the Specialty Coffee Association’s brewing standards to home-barista forums — always describe recipes by ratio rather than by “two scoops per cup”, which varies wildly with grind size and bean density. Once you know your water volume, working backward to the correct coffee dose (and a rough tablespoon equivalent) removes the guesswork of a new bag or a new brewer.

Enter your water amount and pick a brew ratio, and this calculator gives you the exact grams of coffee to weigh out, plus an approximate tablespoon measurement for when a scale is not handy.