How to measure coffee to make the perfect brew.

It isn't always easy to measure coffee and get the proportion of coffee to water exactly right.

For a start, there are some variables. For instance, how finely ground is the coffee? The same measure of finely ground coffee will deliver a stronger cup of coffee than a measure of coarse ground coffee.

To further complicate things, some of the instructions provided by coffee experts go something like this:

"Add .36 oz or 10 grams of ground coffee per 6 oz cup."

And what, one might ask, does .36 oz of ground coffee look like? And what is a 6 oz cup?

A coffee CUP (same size as a tea cup) is about 6 fluid ounces.

A coffee MUG contains closer to 8 or 9 fluid ounces.

As for measuring 0.36 oz of coffee, there are a couple of ways to do that.

The first is to use a coffee scoop. A level coffee scoop should hold two tablespoons of coffee, which is approximately 10 grams or 0.36 ounces.

So you should use two tablespoons or one coffee scoop of ground coffee for every 6 fluid ounces of water.

However...a lot of coffee scoop makers are a bit sloppy with their designs. So start by using a 1 tbs kitchen measuring spoon, and make sure your scoop contains 2 tbs of ground coffee. If it doesn’t, use the measuring spoon instead.

Secondly, if you want to be really precise, you can get some digital scales that are precise enough to weigh your coffee to the nearest gram, or better.

So you add...

1 coffee scoop of ground coffee for every 6 fluid ounces of water (for cups)

Or

1 1/3 coffee scoops for every 8-9 ounces of water (for mugs)

This means that if you have an 8-cup coffee maker, you want to pour 8 x 6 ounce cups of water in the reservoir and 8 level scoops of coffee to the filter basket.

And so on.

If you like your coffee a little stronger, you'll soon figure out how much more coffee to add for each brew.

For instance, if you like strong coffee and make enough for 8 x 6 ounce cups, you might end up using ten 10 or 12 scoops instead of 8.

Experiment a little and see what suits your taste the best.

Just keep that coffee scoop close by. It makes it a lot easier to measure coffee, whether you are making one cup or a whole pot.

And when you do measure the ground coffee and water precisely, you'll probably be amazed by the quality of the coffee. A lot of the time people use too much water for too little coffee. The result is a weak brew that always disappoints.

More on measuring and making coffee:

3 Ways to measure coffee, starting with the simplest...

Using digital scales to weigh your ground coffee.

This coffee grinder can be set to make the exact amount of ground coffee for your next brew.

Tips on how to make great coffee.