Enter your water or your coffee, pick a brew method and strength, and get the grams, ratio, yield, water temperature, brew time and grind size for coffee or tea.
Start from
Volume unit
1 cup = 240 ml (US cup). Coffee-maker "cups" are smaller, so measure the water you actually pour.
Brew method
Coffee
Tea
Strength
Ground coffee
18.8
g
≈ 3.5 level tbsp of ground coffee
Ratio
1:16
Medium
16 g of water for every 1 g
Brewed yield
263
ml
≈ 1.09 cups · 8.9 fl oz
Water temperature
92–96
°C
198–205 °F
Brew time
2:30–3:30 min
Grind size
Medium-fine
How this result was calculated
For 300 ml of water at a 1:16 ratio (medium), use 18.8 g of ground coffee for V60 / pour-over. Expect about 263 ml in the cup once the grounds or leaves absorb their share.
Yield assumes spent grounds or leaves hold about 2 g of water per gram, so you get a little less than you pour.
Tip for this method
Start with a bloom of about twice the coffee's weight in water, wait 30–45 seconds, then pour the rest in slow circles.
For a 240 ml (8 fl oz) cup of pour-over or drip coffee, use about 15 g of ground coffee, roughly 3 level tablespoons, which is a 1:16 coffee to water ratio. French press and AeroPress use a little more coffee, espresso and moka pot far more, and tea only 2 to 4 g of leaf per cup.
A ratio of 1:16 means 16 g of water for every 1 g of coffee. Divide the water by the ratio to get the coffee (300 ml ÷ 16 ≈ 19 g), or multiply the coffee by the ratio to get the water (20 g × 16 = 320 ml). Water weighs 1 g per ml, so grams and milliliters are interchangeable. Espresso ratios compare coffee to the drink in the cup instead.
1:1.5–1:2.5 · 90–96 °C
A concentrated shot pushed through a fine, tamped puck under pressure. The classic double is 18 g of coffee to about 36 g of espresso in the cup (1:2).
Sour or thin? Grind finer or pull a longer ratio. Bitter or harsh? Grind coarser or stop the shot sooner.
1:15–1:17 · 92–96 °C
Hot water poured by hand over coffee in a paper filter. Most recipes land between 1:15 and 1:17, giving a clean, bright cup.
Start with a bloom of about twice the coffee's weight in water, wait 30–45 seconds, then pour the rest in slow circles.
1:15–1:17 · 94–96 °C
A pour-over brewer with a thick bonded paper filter that removes most oils, making a very clean, light-bodied cup that suits 1:15 to 1:17.
Rinse the thick filter with hot water first; it removes paper taste and preheats the glass.
1:13–1:16 · 93–96 °C
A full-immersion brewer with a metal mesh filter. Coarse grounds steep in the water for about four minutes, giving a rich, full-bodied cup.
Pour all the coffee out as soon as you press, or it keeps extracting and turns bitter.
1:11–1:16 · 85–93 °C
A short immersion brew pressed through a paper filter. It works from strong, concentrate-style recipes around 1:11 to filter-style cups near 1:16.
The official recipe uses water at 85 °C and a 60-second steep; hotter water and a longer steep give a stronger cup.
1:7–1:10 · 95–100 °C
A stovetop brewer where steam pressure pushes water up through the coffee. The basket and boiler size fix the ratio at roughly 1:7 to 1:10.
Fill the boiler with hot water to just below the valve, level the coffee without tamping, and take it off the heat when it starts to sputter.
1:5–1:10 · 4–22 °C
Coarse coffee steeped in cold or room-temperature water for many hours, then strained. It tastes smooth and low in acidity.
Steep in the fridge for the cleanest flavor, then strain through a paper filter and keep it refrigerated for up to a week.
1:70–1:120 · 95–100 °C
Fully oxidized tea such as Assam, Ceylon or English breakfast. It needs water at or near a full boil to bring out its color and body.
For stronger tea, add more leaf rather than steeping longer; past 5 minutes it turns harsh.
1:80–1:120 · 70–80 °C
Unoxidized tea such as sencha or jasmine. Cooler water and short steeps keep it sweet and grassy instead of bitter.
No thermometer? Let boiled water stand uncovered for 5–10 minutes before pouring.
1:60–1:80 · 85–90 °C
Partly oxidized tea between green and black. Rolled leaves weigh more per spoon, so oolong uses a little more leaf per cup.
Good oolong can be steeped 3 or 4 times; add 30–60 seconds to each new infusion.
1:60–1:96 · 100 °C
Infusions of herbs, flowers or fruit such as chamomile, mint or hibiscus. They are naturally caffeine-free and need longer, hotter steeps.
Use water at a full boil and cover the cup while it steeps; food-safety agencies advise boiling water for herbal teas.
Medium-strength starting points for one 240 ml cup and for one liter of water, with temperature, brew time and grind.
| Method | Ratio | Per 240 ml cup | Per liter | Water temp | Brew time | Grind / leaf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 1:2 | 18 g → 36 g shot | — | 90–96 °C194–205 °F | 25–30 s | Fine |
| V60 / pour-over | 1:16 | 15 g | 63 g | 92–96 °C198–205 °F | 2:30–3:30 min | Medium-fine |
| Chemex | 1:16 | 15 g | 63 g | 94–96 °C201–205 °F | 4–5 min | Medium-coarse |
| French press | 1:15 | 16 g | 67 g | 93–96 °C199–205 °F | 4 min | Coarse |
| AeroPress | 1:13 | 18.5 g | 77 g | 85–93 °C185–199 °F | 1–2 min | Medium-fine |
| Moka pot | 1:8 | 30 g | 125 g | 95–100 °C203–212 °F | 4–5 min | Fine to medium-fine |
| Cold brew | 1:8 | 30 g | 125 g | 4–22 °C39–72 °F | 12–18 h | Coarse |
| Black tea | 1:96 | 2.5 g | 10 g | 95–100 °C203–212 °F | 3–5 min | 1 tsp loose leaf or 1 bag |
| Green tea | 1:96 | 2.5 g | 10 g | 70–80 °C158–176 °F | 1–3 min | Loose leaf, about 1 tsp |
| Oolong | 1:70 | 3.4 g | 14 g | 85–90 °C185–194 °F | 2–3 min | Rolled or twisted leaf |
| Herbal tea | 1:80 | 3 g | 13 g | 100 °C212 °F | 5–10 min | Dried leaves or flowers |
Ratios are by weight. A level tablespoon of ground coffee weighs about 5 g and a teaspoon of loose tea about 2 to 3 g, but a scale is far more accurate.
Use the calculator to get your amounts, then weigh, heat, brew and adjust until the cup tastes right to you.
Pick your method and strength, enter your water or coffee, and weigh out the grams shown. Grind coffee just before brewing to the size listed.
Heat the water to the temperature shown: about 92–96 °C for most coffee, 70–80 °C for green tea and a full boil for black and herbal tea.
Pour or steep for the brew time shown. For pour-over, bloom first with about twice the coffee's weight in water, then pour the rest slowly.
Too weak or sour? Use a stronger ratio or a finer grind. Too strong or bitter? Use more water, a coarser grind or a shorter brew.
For a 240 ml (8 fl oz) cup at the common 1:16 ratio, use about 15 g of ground coffee, roughly 3 level tablespoons. Use 1:15 (16 g) for a stronger cup or 1:17 (14 g) for a lighter one.
The Specialty Coffee Association's Golden Cup standard is about 55 g of coffee per liter of water, close to 1:18. Most home and café recipes brew a little stronger, between 1:15 and 1:17, which is why this calculator defaults to 1:16 for pour-over.
Start at 1:15, about 30 g of coarsely ground coffee for 450 ml of water. Steep for 4 minutes with water at 93–96 °C, then press and pour right away. Use 1:13 for a bolder cup or 1:16 for a lighter one.
Ready-to-drink cold brew uses about 1:8, or 125 g of coarse coffee per liter of water, steeped 12 to 18 hours. For concentrate, use 1:5 (200 g per liter) and dilute it about 1:1 with water or milk before drinking.
Use about 2 to 3 g of loose-leaf tea per 240 ml cup, or 3 to 4 g for rolled oolong. Brew black tea at 95–100 °C for 3–5 minutes, green tea at 70–80 °C for 1–3 minutes, oolong at 85–90 °C for 2–3 minutes and herbal tea at a full boil for 5–10 minutes.