How to find the best coffee powder-water ratio?

Given the quality of the coffee beans, the six factors that affect the quality of a cup of coffee are ranked in order of importance:

The first priority: Water Quality

The second most important thing: powder-water ratio

The third most important thing: Grind, brewing time, water temperature

Fourthly important: stirring/turbulence (Turbulence, which is the brewing technique often discussed by coffee lovers)

The content about water quality/grinding degree/brew time/water temperature/turbulence has been introduced in detail in the article 10 practical suggestions for hand brewed coffee. If you want to review it, you can click on the blue text to view the article content. In today's article, we will focus on the topic of powder-to-water ratio. It can be said that if you want to be good at hand brewing coffee, start by properly adjusting the powder-to-water ratio !

— — The concept of powder-water ratio (Ratio) — —

In coffee brewing, the coffee powder to water ratio refers to how many grams of coffee powder is used to how many grams (or milliliters) of brewing water. 1000ml of water weighs ≈ 1000g, so in actual brewing operations, we will use an electronic scale to weigh the water so that we can accurately define the value of the coffee powder to water ratio. For example, the 1:15 coffee powder to water ratio usually mentioned means 1 gram of coffee powder is used to brew 15 grams of water. If you use 15 grams of coffee beans to grind them into powder for brewing (and there is no residue in the grinder), then as long as the amount of water injected is 225g (±1g), it will be the effect you want. Of course, a more accurate way to weigh the coffee powder is to reset the electronic scale to zero before pouring the coffee powder into the filter cup, and the total weight of the brewed coffee powder can be accurate to 0.1g.

— — The relationship between powder-water ratio and brewing time/extraction rate/concentration — —

When the beans, water quality, grinding degree, water temperature, and turbulence (brewing method) are fixed, the powder-water ratio and brewing time are positively correlated. For the same amount of powder, the more water used, the longer the brewing time required, and the less water used, the shorter the brewing time.

When the beans, water quality, grinding degree, water temperature, and turbulence (brewing method) are fixed, the powder-water ratio and extraction rate are positively correlated. For the same amount of powder, the more water used, the higher the extraction rate, and the less water used, the lower the extraction rate. (Coffee concentration increases during the brewing process)

When the beans, water quality, grinding degree, water temperature, and turbulence (brewing method) are fixed, the coffee powder-water ratio and concentration are negatively correlated. With the same amount of coffee powder, the more water used, the lower the concentration, and the less water used, the higher the concentration. (Coffee concentration decreases during the brewing process)

— — Coffee powder-water ratio and coffee flavor performance — —

In the process of coffee brewing, there is a " three-stage theory of coffee extraction flavor ". From the beginning to the end of coffee brewing, as the amount of water increases and time passes, the first stage extracts aromatic substances and acidity, the second stage extracts sweetness and caramelized substances, and the third stage extracts negative flavors such as bitterness, astringency, and miscellaneous flavors. Therefore, we can express the best flavor of coffee by controlling the coffee powder-water ratio. With the same amount of coffee powder, if less water is used (for example, a coffee powder-water ratio of 1:12), the extracted coffee flavor is close to the previous flavor (sour to sweet). If too much water is used (for example, a coffee powder-water ratio of 1:20), it is easy to extract bitterness/astringency.

How to find the best powder-to-water ratio

In general, coffee beans with extremely high quality (such as top-quality beans with a market price of more than 200 yuan per half pound, such as Geisha) are suitable for a high coffee powder to water ratio (1:16-1:18); for ordinary fine beans (half a pound with a market price of around 100 yuan), it is recommended to use a coffee powder to water ratio of 1:13-1:15; for ordinary commercial beans, if you want them to be drinkable and not bitter, it is recommended to use a coffee powder to water ratio of 1:10-1:12. For beans with very poor freshness (for example, those that have been roasted for three months), the good flavor of the coffee has almost gone, so you might as well try using a ratio of 1:8-1:10. If the original beans are of high quality, the sweetness will still be retained, and you can still drink good coffee by adding bypass water to adjust the concentration.

— — Brewing experience with different powder-water ratios — —

After reading the article, if you want to have a deeper understanding, then try brewing with different coffee powder and water ratios. Under the condition of fixed beans, water quality, grinding degree, water temperature, and turbulence (brewing method), try to cut off the flow and wait until the coffee liquid drips before removing the filter cup. Then use your senses to carefully distinguish the flavor differences of these three cups of coffee! After the brewing experience, please leave a message to share your experience 🙂

①1:10 powder to water ratio brewing: use 15g powder, add 150g water

②1:15 powder-water ratio brewing: use 15g powder, add 225g water

③1:20 powder-water ratio brewing: use 15g powder, add 300g water

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My name is Afei. I have been engaged in promoting coffee culture for more than 6 years. I have been to coffee farms in Indonesia, Yunnan, Taiwan, and coffee-consuming cities in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.

I love specialty coffee and want to make friends who love coffee as much as me. Welcome everyone to follow my Toutiao account and my new book "Fall in Love with Coffee in 3 Minutes", and share and exchange knowledge about specialty coffee, latte art and opening a shop. Love coffee, let's get together. Share wonderful life with you every day.