What is the best coffee-water ratio for brewing coffee?

What is the best coffee-water ratio for brewing coffee?

Our favorite drink is just ground coffee beans mixed with water. How good this drink tastes (whether we get a sweet, complex, balanced, aromatic coffee or sour or bitter) depends on the quality of the coffee beans and water and how we decide to mix them. That last element can be pervasive: the size of the grind, preparation time, water temperature, the device used, and many more things that will impact your final drink.

And then there is, of course, the coffee-water ratio. This is the ratio of ground coffee to the amount of water, which affects the strength, feel, and more of your drink. So let's look at how vital the coffee-to-water ratio is to making a great coffee.

Why is the coffee-water ratio so important?

The taste of the coffee will depend on the recipe. Yes, you read that right, the recipe, because making coffee is like baking a cake. The amount of each ingredient you use matters. By simply adjusting the amount of water or coffee, you can adjust the taste, firmness, and more.

For this reason, many baristas and coffee lovers use a scale and clock/stopwatch when brewing coffee.

For so many cups, some baristas use recipes like 50 grams of coffee per liter of water. But others will talk about proportions, such as 1:14 (14 ml of water for every gram of coffee) or 1:16.

Regardless of the ratio, most baristas try to keep it consistent. This means that they can work more effectively and efficiently. They also know that when they like the taste of a coffee, they can make that exact drink again.

Different cooking methods, different proportions

Suppose you have a quality specialty coffee that has been masterfully roasted to highlight all its characteristics (maybe it's the jasmine aroma or red apple flavors, the rounded 'body,' or the honey sweetness). So, how are you going to prepare these?

You have a few options. For many people, filtering methods are the ideal way to taste the nuances of your coffee. With a longer and more diluted drink, the flavors are clean. In contrast, espresso is a shorter, more intense drink that excels at explaining two or three primary flavors. And with this comes another ideal ratio, grind, extraction time, and more.

For espresso, you will use a fine grind, short preparation time (usually around 25 to 30 seconds), and very little water. Your coffee-to-water ratio is probably somewhere between 1:1 and 1:3.

You usually want a coarser grind and a longer preparation time for an 'empathic' coffee (such as cafetière or AeroPress ). There are variations of ideal grinds and preparation times for dripping or pouring. However, both methods (both empathic and pour-over) require much more water and much more coffee. You may see ratios of 1:15 or 1:18. Generally, you need less coffee with the empathetic preparation methods than with pouring.

However, these are all guidelines. They're good starting points for developing your recipe, but you need to experiment to know what's best for you. Try different proportions with different types of coffee.

Is there an ideal ratio?

Yes and no. First, it's a good idea to learn more about how different cultures like to prepare their coffee. In some countries, they prefer soft drinks, while in others, they want something that is intense. Second, people will recommend different proportions, but it depends on the coffee.

So how do you know which ratio to use? Well, filter coffee with a ratio of 1:20 will be very weak, while 1:10 is extremely strong. These are the extreme ends of the proportions, and your goal is to find the right balance for each cup. You want to perceive the scents, aromas, flavors, sourness, and all the highlights that a refined palate can taste. And of course, you want to enjoy it.

Some people choose to make their coffee with a relatively small amount of water for the intensity, and then to avoid the heavy mouthfeel, they dilute the coffee with water after brewing.

However, the ratio is not the only thing to look out for…

The coffee-to-water ratio of your drink is essential, but there are other things to consider. Think, for example, of the type of water, the grinding profile, the temperature, how you pour the water over the coffee, and so on. There are so many variables.

If your coffee doesn't taste good, you should start adjusting one thing at a time and keep everything else the same. The easiest one to start with is the size of your grind:

• If your coffee is sour or salty or lacks fullness, grind finer. This will increase the contact area, increase the extraction speed, and allow you to add more sweet flavors to your cup.
• If your coffee is too bitter, grind coarser. This will reduce the contact area and the extraction rate and prevent too much bitterness from entering your cup.

Note: Extraction time (the speed at which the components of the ground coffee enter your drink) and brew time (how long the water and ground coffee contact each other) may sound similar, but they are very different. Be careful not to confuse them.

Conclusion

It's not always easy to make great coffee, especially with the filter method, because there are many different variables. But when you finally get the hang of it, you'll find that all the effort was worth it. You will taste all those subtle flavors on the bag, like jasmine, raspberry, or honey.

And when you've prepared this delicate drink to perfection (you've found the right proportion, grind, and more), you'll never want anything else.