How Much Coffee Extract from 15g of Ground Coffee? How to Calculate Brew Ratio for Pour-Over?

The Year Without Coffee Freedom

Last year, in pursuit of coffee freedom in the village, FrontStreet Coffee made sure to prepare ample "supplies" before returning home. However, after countless calculations, they overlooked one crucial detail—they ran out of filter paper. In a moment of inspiration, they turned to the tea sets in the elders' hands, resulting in the following scene:

This year, however, FrontStreet Coffee received an SOS message from a friend in their hometown: the electronic scale had malfunctioned from lack of use, and no other alternative tools could be found at home, forcing them to make coffee blind. So for this kind of extraction that leaves everything to fate, are there any techniques that can make it as delicious as possible?

The Role of Electronic Scales in Pour-Over Coffee

When equipped with complete tools, a full pour-over process generally includes: weighing beans, grinding, placing filter paper, boiling water, measuring temperature, adding grounds, timing the water injection, and removing the filter cup. Each step involves numerous subtle parameters and details that cause varying degrees of change in the coffee flavor.

To achieve precise control over the above process and thus realize stable brewing, an electronic scale is undoubtedly one of the indispensable tools. After all, it's a "model worker" wearing multiple hats—responsible for measuring the initial amount of coffee grounds, providing feedback on extraction time for each stage, and simultaneously monitoring real-time water usage. Therefore, when pour-over brewing lacks the participation of an electronic scale, yet we still want to produce excellent coffee, we must find corresponding alternative measurement solutions for each aspect.

Besides the beans themselves, coffee flavor expression highly depends on the coffee-to-water ratio and extraction rate (mainly influenced by grind size, extraction time, and filtering equipment). Regarding timing methods, FrontStreet Coffee finds them relatively easy to master—everyone just needs a mobile phone. Therefore, when making good pour-over coffee without a scale, the amount of coffee grounds and water become our primary focus.

Addressing the Coffee Grounds Amount Issue

Observant readers should know that under the influence of different origins, green bean grade classifications, and varieties, coffee beans present different forms. Particle sizes vary between light and dark roasts, so when dealing with different types of coffee beans, we need specialized tools to help grasp the correct weight. Without a scale, we can only rely on experience to judge the actual amount of beans (grounds) used.

In response, FrontStreet Coffee created a topic two years ago titled "Clever Trick! Count Out 15g of Coffee Beans Without a Scale!!" At that time, to find the answer, a determined young man meticulously counted the number of particles contained in 15g for several major coffee categories through sheer perseverance. Friends in need can refer to this based on the coffee they have on hand.

Compared to buying whole coffee beans, some friends prefer the time-saving convenience of pre-ground coffee. In this case, judging the actual amount of grounds can only rely on visual estimation.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's habit, when brewing a single serving, we typically weigh 15g of coffee beans and pair them with a #01 conical filter cup (V60 or KOKO). For light-to-medium roasted fruity acidic coffee, the height of the coffee grounds layer is 3-3.5cm, approximately at the 2/5 mark of the filter cup; for medium-dark roasted coffee, the height of 15g of grounds ranges from 4-4.5cm, close to half the height of the entire filter cup.

When brewing multiple servings, FrontStreet Coffee uses 20g of grounds per pot, paired with the larger #02 filter cup. The grounds layer height for light roast beans is 3.5-4cm, while for dark roast beans it's 4.5-5cm. (Coffee represented by anaerobic fermentation mostly uses medium roast, so the grounds layer form generally falls between the previous two.)

Determining Water Amount

Life experience tells us: if you like it stronger, use less water; if you prefer it milder, add more water. The same applies to pour-over coffee. For those pursuing a robust, mellow口感, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a 1:14 coffee-to-water ratio; for those who enjoy balanced, rich coffee, 1:15 is recommended; if you lean toward gentle, sweet notes, you can use 1:16 for extraction.

How to measure water amount without an electronic scale? It's not a major issue. Although filter cups don't have measurement markings, if you frequently make pour-over coffee, muscle memory will actually tell you the approximate water usage during the brewing process.

Here, FrontStreet Coffee demonstrates with medium-roasted Flora as an example, paired with a #01 V60 filter cup, using 15g of coffee grounds and a 1:16 ratio. This requires injecting 240g of hot water. Subtracting the bloom amount (approximately 30g), we can divide the remaining hot water (210g) into three portions for segmented injection.

Beginning Blind Brewing

Step one: First, use a small amount of water for blooming. FrontStreet Coffee has tested that as long as all grounds are thoroughly wetted and no repeated injection occurs, the water amount will generally fall within the 20-30g range.

After 30 seconds of blooming, use a small water stream to inject the second segment (70g) in a circular motion, finishing the water injection between 40-45 seconds. The grounds layer will settle at about 2/3 of the filter cup's height, then wait for filtration. Try to maintain a steady water stream in this step, being careful not to pull the grounds layer too high.

When the water in the filter cup is almost finished dripping, begin injecting the third segment (70g) using the same technique, finishing the water injection between 1 minute 15 seconds and 1 minute 20 seconds, with the water level aligned with the height of the grounds wall.

When the coffee liquid is nearly fully filtered, we repeat the injection for the final segment (70g), finishing at 1 minute 50 seconds. Wait quietly for all coffee liquid to fall into the sharing pot. At this point, the total water amount will be approximately 230-240g.

Subtracting the hot water absorbed by the coffee grounds, we can easily obtain a pot of approximately 210ml of pour-over coffee.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473