The simple answer: use about 15g of coffee for a 250ml mug, or 60g per litre of water. That works for most ways of brewing at home, from a cafetière to a V60, and it's easy to adjust to taste.
The short answer
Use 60g of coffee for every litre of water, roughly one part coffee to 16 or 17 parts water. For one mug that's 15g of coffee to 250ml of water. If it tastes too strong, use a little less coffee next time; if it tastes weak, use a little more.
| Water | Coffee (beans or ground) | Without scales (ground coffee) |
|---|---|---|
| 250ml (one mug) | 15g | About 3 level tablespoons |
| 350ml | 21g | About 4 level tablespoons |
| 500ml (a small cafetière) | 30g | About 6 level tablespoons |
| 1 litre (a large cafetière) | 60g | About 12 level tablespoons |
Beans or ground coffee?
The weight is the same either way. If you grind at home, weigh out 15g of whole beans and grind them all; if you buy ground coffee, weigh out 15g of grounds. What changes is the volume: whole beans take up more room in a spoon than ground coffee, so if you measure with a spoon, beans need a little more, about three to four tablespoons for a mug.
Weighing with scales
Kitchen scales are the easiest way to make the same good cup every day, because spoons hold different amounts depending on the grind and how full you fill them. Put your brewer or cup on the scales, set them to zero, add the coffee, then zero them again and weigh the water as you pour (1ml of water weighs 1g).
Without scales
A level tablespoon of ground coffee holds roughly 5g, so 15g is about three level tablespoons. A standard coffee scoop holds about two tablespoons, so one and a half scoops makes a mug. It won't be as exact as weighing, but it's a good start, and you can adjust from there.
How much coffee for each brewing method
- Cafetière: 30g to 500ml. See how to use a cafetière.
- Hario V60: 15g to 250ml. See our V60 guide.
- Chemex: 30g to 500ml. See our Chemex guide.
- AeroPress: 15g to 200ml. See our AeroPress guide.
- Stovetop (moka pot): fill the basket level, about 15 to 17g for a 3-cup pot. See our stovetop guide.
- Cold brew: 100g to 1 litre, which makes a concentrate. See our cold brew guide.
For the grind, water temperature and brew time for every method, see how to brew coffee at home.
Why the amount matters
Too little coffee for the water makes a thin, weak or sour cup, and too much makes it heavy and bitter. Weak coffee is more often a sign of too little coffee than of the wrong beans. Once you've found an amount you like, keeping it the same means you can taste the difference between coffees, which is half the fun of trying a new one each month.
Questions
How many grams of coffee per cup?
About 15g for a 250ml mug. For a smaller 180ml cup, use about 11g.
How many tablespoons of coffee per cup?
About three level tablespoons of ground coffee for a 250ml mug, or three to four tablespoons of whole beans.
How do I make my coffee stronger?
Use a little more coffee rather than brewing for longer. Brewing for longer tends to make coffee bitter rather than stronger.
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