The ideal ratio of coffee to water is not easy to achieve. In this article, let us have a closer look at how to measure coffee beans and how many coffee beans per cup are needed to come up with the perfect brew.
How many coffee beans per cup?
You need around 0.38 ounces or 10.6 grams of coffee beans per cup. This translates to about two tablespoons of ground coffee which is more or less the standard amount to make a cup of coffee.
You should only use filtered water. Filtered water does not have mineral flavors which is usually the case if you use tap water. The right temperature is essential, ideally, around 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit since too hot water can scorch the beans. Too hot temperature results in a bitter, acidic and brunt flavor.
How to measure coffee beans?
The digital kitchen scale is the gold standard when it comes to measuring coffee beans. Place the coffee beans on the scale minus the container that held the beans. Most scales feature a button named “tare” which is sometimes labeled as “zero” which you can use to measure the beans minus the weight of the container.
Steps on how to measure coffee beans with a digital kitchen scale:
- First, place a small plastic or glass bowl or cup on top of the scale.
- Press the tare or zero buttons to eliminate the bowl’s or cup’s weight from the scale’s display.
- Next, slowly pour the coffee beans into the bowl or cup and check the scale display number.
- Upon reaching the right number of ounces depending on how the scale is programmed, stop pouring the beans.
- Finally, toss the beans into the grinder until they are a medium grind then brew in the coffee maker. The smaller the size of the coffee grounds, the stronger your brew will be.
If there is no available digital scale, you may opt to grind the beans until you have at least two full tablespoons of ground coffee. Make a mental note of the number of tablespoons of whole beans used to produce the ground beans.
Steps on how to measure coffee beans without a digital kitchen scale:
- Add four tablespoons of coffee beans to the coffee bean grinder.
- Measure two even tablespoons for each cup of coffee.
- Finally, add more beans until you get the right amount and take note of how many tablespoons of beans were placed in the grinder. It enables you to replicate the same amount without the need to remeasure the tablespoons of beans to tablespoons of ground coffee ratio.
Also, the coffee grounds needed in each cup are measured in weight in the same way that bags of coffee are measured by weight and not by the number of beans in each bag.
The so-called golden ratio when measuring the perfect coffee is one gram or .035 ounces of coffee grounds for every 18 ml or .608 ounces of water. You may adjust either way to get the taste that you like. Most coffee connoisseurs agree that the standard measurement for coffee is six ounces of water to two tablespoons of ground coffee or three tablespoons for 12 fluid ounces.
Coffee beans per cup per pour-over
If you are making pour-over coffee you can tweak your coffee since you are in total control of the grind and water temperature. It is ideal to use the coffee cup you plan to drink from to measure the water. Large coffee mugs hold around nine ounces of water so put at least three tablespoons of ground coffee which equals to .57 ounces.
Coffee beans per cup using a French press
If you are using a French press, be aware of how many cups it can hold. A four-cup French press makes around two small cups of coffee. This requires around one and one-half cups of water and four tablespoons of coffee. Be sure to grind the coffee beans until the coffee grounds are the size of flakes of salt so that they can seep through the strainer.
Conclusion
It is essential to have an accurate measurement of coffee beans per cup to be able to achieve the perfect cup of coffee. You need at least 0.38 ounces or 10.6 grams of coffee beans per cup and this equates to two tablespoons of ground coffee. Measure the coffee beans with a digital kitchen scale, use filtered water and ensure that the water temperature is just right since too hot water can scorch the beans and affect the flavor of your coffee.
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