Registered: Apr 2003
Location: Midland, Virginia
Posts: 1322

How much coffee grounds do you use?

I am having a bad morning already, but this time I get to "blame" Alton Brown. Before you get all riled up, I really like AB and it is rare that a week goes by that I don't cook something from/inspired by his recipes. But. . .

I just watched his show on making coffee. He recommended 2 Tbsp of grounds per 6oz water. He poured hot water through a basket filter into a thermal carafe and all was well. This morning I wanted to give his ratio a shot, determined that my auto drip machine indeed held 12 6oz servings - meaning 24 Tbsp of grounds. Knowing that that was *A LOT* more than I normally use, I measured it out into a new container then scooped it into the basket with my normal scoop. I stopped at *12* scoops vs my normal 5. I have no idea how much was left from my original measure but no more would fit into my basket.

10 minutes later I had the most bitter brew I have ever made as an adult. Seriously, *NOT* Good Eats.

I imagine that his ratio works best with the method he demonstrated on the show, but damn was that some bad brew.

How many scoops ("standard" coffee scoop from the store) do you use in your coffee? I guess while I am at it, what kind of machine do you use?

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Capital of the Free World
Posts: 4522

1 scoop beans per two "cups" water. Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla beans, grind 'em, put grounds in Krups coffeemaker.

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Sun Valley, ID
Posts: 2145

My scoop is just an 1/8 cup measuring cup. I use 1 scoop per 4 cups of water (coffee pot cups, not 8oz cups). But I tend to like it a little weaker than most.

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Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 522

Being a true follower of Alton I have tried the 2 tablespoon method with several different types of coffee, and each and every time I have been rewarded with a acid brew that could chew through unobtanium.

It's just too much. And I like strong coffee. I go 1 tablespoon per cup.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Dover, NH
Posts: 1654

We use a Gevalia coffee scoop, I don't know how much it holds. We fill up the grinder with beans from the local roasting place, grind em up, and then put 1 scoop per 8oz of coffee. I have also tried the 2 scoop method, and ended up with coffee that was very acidic.

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Registered: Apr 2003
Location: Midland, Virginia
Posts: 1322

quote:

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I have tried the 2 tablespoon method with several different types of coffee, and each and every time I have been rewarded with a acid brew that could chew through unobtanium.

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Man, I hear ya, I am seriously wondering if I can stay at work as my stomach is *killing* me - yes, I am a dumbass and drank about 12 oz or so, half my "cup". Does anyone actually drink a 6oz serving? I doubt a single cup in my house holds that little aside from the china set that never leaves the hutch.

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Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 2869

I recently saw that "2 tbsp per 6 oz" instruction in a magazine article, and I honestly thought it was a typo.

I like my coffee strong, but I use about 2 1/2 tablespoons and 30 ounces (5 "cup" mark on the coffeemaker) of water for my morning pot of coffee. That works out to one tablespoon for every 12 ounces of water.

I use Gevalia coffee. Maybe the instructions are for Maxwell House or a similar weak brew?

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Registered: Jun 2002
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 1968

quote:

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Originally posted by pyrite504
Being a true follower of Alton I have tried the 2 tablespoon method with several different types of coffee, and each and every time I have been rewarded with a acid brew that could chew through unobtanium.

It's just too much. And I like strong coffee. I go 1 tablespoon per cup.

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Registered: Mar 2003
Location: Naper-thrill, IL
Posts: 297

Now, I like mine STRONG, and find that I am limited by my grinder. We have a Bunn coffemaker, makes a pot in 30 seconds (que Homer: 30 seconds? But I want it nooooowwwwww!?!?!!!!!!). I would think this would adversely affect the strength of the coffee, but it doesn't seem to. Anyway, I grind the beans, I've never been able to find ground coffee that can compare, not even close, and I prefer straight up Colombian Supremo. I basically squeeze as many beans into the grinder as it will take, then grind them to confectioners sugar type consistency just to get the most flavor out of each nano-ounce of actual bean matter. I have found that to be more important than the amount of beans. If I double the grain size, it would take more twice the beans for the same result.

Oh, and it's an eight cup pot, not 10-12. I have no idea how many actual tablespoons of ground beans it ends up being. But it makes an even pile about an inch deep in the basket. Seems to be just about about right.

And a little hint for those who don't know. Keep a spray bottle with water near the coffee maker. Before putting the basket with grounds into the maker, soak the grounds evenly. You'll find this helps avoid a lot of the bitterness. If you put the dry grounds in what happens is the grounds clump in the middle and then the acids float up into the water that sits on top of the clumped up grounds and flow around the grounds producing a much more acidic cup. By soaking the grounds evenly prior to starting the drip you avoid this clumping and the acid is less concentrated versus the amount of actual coffee in the cup. You're actually getting the same acids, but more coffee flavor so it's got a much better balance and improved taste.

Oh, and I like coffee.
-DPF

Last edited by DPF on 12-04-2003 at 03:35 PM

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Registered: Feb 2002
Location: 19th hole
Posts: 7680

1 tablespoon of whole beans per 6 oz cup.

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Dallas (or L.A.)
Posts: 15821

the two tablespoon per cup seems to be the "standard" that the experts tell you yo use.. I tried it long before I saw the Good Eats coffee show, and I thought it was too much...

The thought is that using so little coffee is that you wind up over extracting the beans. Use more coffee, and you won't over extract as there is a lot more coffee to go around. Anyway, from what see see in this thread, it seems that the 2 tablespoons per serving is a bunch of hooey.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Dover, NH
Posts: 1654

quote:

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Originally posted by mshiu
Those who are claiming that 2 tablespoons per cup is too strong, are you talking cup or mug?

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Morton Grove, IL, US
Posts: 1256

For "crappy" coffee (read: folgers, maxwell house, basically anything cheap in a can) I use about 2tblsp per 3 cups, so that'd be 8tblsp for a 12 cup carafe.

For the good stuff, which is darker/stronger, I use 1 extremely heaping teaspoon per cup. That probably works out to about 6 tablespoons per carafe.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 8396

I don't think it's proportional. You need more per ounce if you're just brewing a cup than if you're brewing 12 cups.

I use mugs, not cups, which I believe are about 2 cups (not measuring style cups but coffee cups). I use about 2x the amount of coffee to make 4 mugs that I would use to make 1 mug.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Dover, NH
Posts: 1654

Our coffee maker has this little floating thing on the side of it that goes up as you pour in water so you know how many "real" cups are in there...I don't drink just 8oz of coffee. My mug holds more like 2.5 cups, or 24 oz.

Edit: Math is hard. 20 oz.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Posts: 2893

I used to use 2 scoops (the scoop that comes with grocery store canned coffee) for the first cup, and then one for every cup thereafter. I do this for *real world* cups, not the teeny 8oz cups that only appear in fine china. On our coffee maker, 2 cups is about at the "3" mark on the carafe, and 4 is at the "5 mark".

Since watching the Good Eats episode (and using a 14oz tumbler in the morning), I'm aiming for the "3" mark of coffee and using 2-1/2 scoops. This fills my tumbler and gives me 1/2 cup to sip as I putter about the house.

And since I love my new tumbler, here's a picture.

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Registered: Sep 2001
Location: The Pancake Circus
Posts: 6447

DPF stole my post!

I like my coffee strong, so the 2 table spoon per cup is about what I do. I grind my own Starbucks espresso beans.

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Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 522

Holy Frijole!

Is there anything left of your stomach after 10AM, or do you have Wolverine's mutant healing factor?

quote:

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Originally posted by justapixel
DPF stole my post!

I like my coffee strong, so the 2 table spoon per cup is about what I do. I grind my own Starbucks espresso beans.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 417

I weigh my beans before grinding & brewing. I'll usually go with 7-10 grams per 6oz. Try finding a local roaster who doesn't turn everything black a la Charbucks. Using the freshes beans possible will make a difference.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 8396

quote:

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Originally posted by JPinAZ
I weigh my beans before grinding & brewing. I'll usually go with 7-10 grams per 6oz. Try finding a local roaster who doesn't turn everything black a la Charbucks. Using the freshes beans possible will make a difference.

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Starbucks roast per the European method, to bring out the flavor of the coffee beans. American style roasting is lighter because it produces more product (roasting lightens the beans) and because inferior beans cannot withstand the more intense roasting.

Before Starbucks, most Americans thought Yuban and/or Columbian coffee was high quality coffee.

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