Quick answer
Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of water. The National Coffee Association (NCA) calls that the Golden Ratio. By weight, Wikipedia's Coffee preparation article gives 14 to 16 grams of coffee for a standard 240 ml (8.1 fl oz) cup.
| Measure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| By the spoon | 1 to 2 tablespoons per 6 oz of water | NCA |
| By weight, per cup | 14 to 16 g per 240 ml cup | Wikipedia |
| By weight, per liter | 55 g per liter (American standard) to 63 g (Norwegian) | Wikipedia |
| As a ratio | 15 to 18 parts water to 1 part coffee, by mass | Wikipedia |
| Drip grind and time | Medium, like kosher salt; about 5 minutes of contact | NCA |
What counts as a cup of coffee
The word cup means three different things, and mixing them up is an easy way to brew a weak pot.
- A measuring cup is 8 US fluid ounces, or about 237 ml, per Wikipedia's Cup (unit) article. The cup on a US nutrition label is 240 ml.
- A coffee maker's cup is smaller. The same article says a cup of coffee in the US is usually 4 fluid ounces, brewed from 5 fluid ounces of water, and that a 12-cup carafe's top mark means 60 fl oz of water or 48 fl oz of brewed coffee.
- Your mug is whatever it holds. Fill it with water and measure it once.
So "12 cups" on the machine is not 12 mugs. Measure the water in ounces or milliliters and dose to that, not to the number on the side of the pot.
How much coffee for a mug, a pot and a bag
These amounts are our arithmetic from the NCA's tablespoon ratio and Wikipedia's 55 g per liter. Round to what your scale shows.
| Water | By the spoon (NCA) | By weight (55 g per liter) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 fl oz (about 177 ml) | 1 to 2 tbsp | About 10 g |
| 8 fl oz (about 237 ml) | About 1.3 to 2.7 tbsp | About 13 g; Wikipedia gives 14 to 16 g for a 240 ml cup |
| 12 fl oz mug (about 355 ml) | 2 to 4 tbsp | About 20 g |
| 1 liter | About 6 to 11 tbsp | 55 g |
| 12-cup carafe, 60 fl oz (about 1.77 liters) | 10 to 20 tbsp | About 98 g |
And a 12 oz bag, the size of every bag in our club, weighs about 340 g. At 14 to 16 g a cup, that is about 21 to 24 cups of 240 ml, or about 3 weeks of one 8 oz cup a day.
How to measure it, step by step
- Measure the water you will brew, in ounces or milliliters, not in carafe cups.
- Weigh the coffee on a kitchen scale using 55 g per liter, or use the NCA's 1 to 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. Start at the middle and adjust.
- Grind for your brewer. The NCA says medium, like kosher salt, for drip. See grind size for the others.
- Brew. The NCA gives drip about 5 minutes of contact between coffee and water.
- Taste, then change one thing at a time: the amount of coffee first, the grind second.
Weighing beats scooping. Wikipedia's coffee article says beans lose weight and grow in volume as they roast, so they get less dense. A scoop of a dark roast weighs less than a scoop of a light one, and a scale takes that out of the question. Our glossary entry on brew ratio has more.
Using a French press? The NCA's ratio for it is 1 g of coffee to 10 to 16 g of water, stronger than the 15 to 18 parts water that Wikipedia gives for brewed coffee. Our guide on how to use a French press has the full method.
Troubleshooting a pot that tastes wrong
Too strong or bitter
Use less coffee, or move toward 18 parts water to 1. If the pot is bitter at a normal ratio, grind coarser: the NCA gives that fix for a bitter French press, and Wikipedia ties finer grounds to over-extraction.
Too weak or watery
Use more coffee, toward the NCA's 2 tablespoons per 6 oz, or toward 15 to 1 by weight. Check that you dosed for the water in the machine, not for its cup markings.
Every pot tastes different
If you scoop, change that first. Weigh the coffee and measure the water for a week and the pot will settle down.
The same scoop works with one bag and not the next
The roast changed. A dark roast is less dense, so the same scoop holds less coffee. Weigh it.
Montana coffee, measured
Montana roasters sell coffee in more sizes than the 12 oz bag. Florence Coffee Company, roasted in Butte, sells 12 oz, 2 lb and 5 lb bags, and Morning Light in Great Falls sells coffee by the pound. Rock Creek in Billings sells single serve pour over packs, which do the measuring for you. Buying from them keeps a Montana roastery at work and gets you coffee with a shorter trip to your kitchen; our support local page explains why that matters.
Last Best Coffee Club sends a 12 oz bag from a different independent Montana roaster every 2 or 4 weeks, one or two bags a box. By the arithmetic above, one bag every 2 weeks covers about one and a half 8 oz cups a day. See how the club works: your first bag is free and you pay $7.99 shipping on that first box, then $16.99 a bag.
Coffee measuring questions
How much coffee for 4 cups in a coffee maker?
About 33 grams, or about 3 to 7 tablespoons. Four machine cups is 20 fl oz of water by Wikipedia's 5 fl oz per cup, which is about 0.59 liters at 55 g per liter.
How many scoops of coffee per cup?
That depends on the scoop, since scoops come in different sizes. The NCA's measure is the tablespoon: 1 to 2 per 6 oz of water. A scale is more reliable than either.
How much coffee for a French press?
The NCA gives 1 g of coffee to 10 to 16 g of water for a French press. For a 500 ml press that is about 31 to 50 grams.
Sources
- National Coffee Association: Drip coffee and French press coffee (the NCA's consumer site)
- Wikipedia: Coffee preparation
- Wikipedia: Cup (unit)
- Wikipedia: Coffee and French press
- Montana roaster facts: our roaster profiles, written from each roaster's public pages, read September 27, 2026