Why Don't We Recommend Beginners Use Coffee-to-Liquid Ratio? What Does Coffee-to-Water Ratio Mean? What's the Difference Between Coffee-to-Liquid Ratio and Coffee-to-Water Ratio?

Understanding Coffee Ratios: Why FrontStreet Coffee Recommends Powder-Water Ratio for Beginners

Previously, FrontStreet Coffee shared an article about how to brew coffee more consistently, which mentioned a point that confused many friends: compared to the powder-liquid ratio, FrontStreet Coffee more strongly recommends using the powder-water ratio as a measurement method. Many friends are confused about why the powder-liquid ratio isn't suitable as a measurement method for pour-over coffee.

Wait, we can't make such blanket statements. It's not that the powder-liquid ratio is unsuitable for brewing coffee, but rather that it's not suitable for beginners as a measurement method for pour-over coffee. The reason, as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned before, is that using the powder-liquid ratio is not as stable as using the powder-water ratio.

Why Beginners Shouldn't Use Powder-Liquid Ratio for Coffee Brewing

Let's first review the differences between powder-water ratio and powder-liquid ratio. Both are measurement methods used when brewing coffee. The difference lies in that the powder-water ratio calculates the amount of water we pour when brewing coffee, while the powder-liquid ratio calculates the weight of the coffee liquid we obtain when brewing coffee.

The reason for the distinction between powder-liquid ratio and powder-water ratio is mainly because small electronic scales were not widely available in earlier times, making it difficult for people to calculate exactly how much water was being poured. However, coffee making requires an appropriate amount of water, so people at that time came up with the idea of estimating the brewed coffee liquid volume based on the size of the container or measurement lines on the container. How much coffee powder to use to obtain how much coffee liquid weight—this became the mainstream measurement method for coffee making at that time. (Not just liquid weight, even bean weight needed to be measured using container capacity.) As times evolved, the emergence and popularization of small electronic scales allowed people to obtain water pour information in real-time, so the powder-water ratio measurement method emerged accordingly. However, the powder-liquid ratio measurement method didn't decline in popularity; instead, it's more commonly used for brewing methods where the amount of water poured cannot be measured, such as espresso making. So, going back to our question, why doesn't FrontStreet Coffee recommend using the powder-liquid ratio as a measurement method for beginners brewing coffee?

The reason is simple: because the powder-liquid ratio calculates the weight of the resulting coffee liquid, we cannot know exactly how much water was poured each time. This means that the amount of water poured each time needs to be estimated based on your experience and visual observation. For beginners just starting out, this can very easily lead to pouring too much hot water during important stages, thereby affecting the quality of the brewed coffee.

Take blooming, for example. The purpose of blooming is to wet the coffee powder, allowing the carbon dioxide inside to escape and paving the way for subsequent hot water extraction. In other words, the substances dissolved by the hot water you use when blooming coffee powder are definitely not as abundant as those dissolved after blooming. Therefore, to allow the target amount of water to dissolve the maximum amount of coffee substances, we try to control the amount of water used when brewing coffee, using the minimum amount of hot water to wet the coffee powder for blooming. Generally, this is twice the amount of the powder, as this is the amount of water needed for dry coffee powder to absorb.

If we use more than this amount of hot water for blooming, it means that what this excess hot water can extract will be relatively reduced, and the extraction won't be as sufficient. For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee specifically conducted an experiment to see whether different blooming water amounts would affect the taste of coffee when the powder amount and powder-water ratio were the same! This experiment used Panama Boquete Geisha beans, with 15g of powder, a powder-water ratio of 1:15, ground at EK43 setting 10, with 92°C water temperature—these are extraction parameters that FrontStreet Coffee often uses. The only difference between the two brews was the amount of water used during blooming: one pot used twice the powder amount (30ml), while the other used 40ml. To minimize human interference as much as possible, FrontStreet Coffee used a single-pour method for this brew. Let's skip the brewing process and go straight to the results~

The first pot, which used 30ml of blooming water, had an extraction time of 1 minute 58 seconds, and the brewed coffee had prominent flavors with white floral notes, citrus, and honey. In terms of taste, it was very balanced with high sweetness. Measured with a concentration meter, the coffee's concentration was 1.40%, and the extraction rate was 19.25%. The other pot had an extraction time of 1 minute 52 seconds and also produced excellent flavor characteristics, but in terms of taste, it was somewhat inferior, more acidic, with a slightly thinner mouthfeel. Measured with a concentration meter, the coffee's concentration was 1.32%, and the extraction rate was 16.88%. As you can see, the difference between the two is not insignificant.

Of course, this might also be due to brewing technique, but everyone should know that besides blooming, other stages can also affect the final coffee quality due to the amount of water used, such as the final stage. Therefore, when beginners are just starting out and haven't yet mastered water control, it's best to use the powder-water ratio as the measurement method for pour-over coffee. This way, you can consistently brew delicious coffee~

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