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Coffee Brew Ratio Calculator

Work out brew ratio, yield, cups and extraction from your dose, water and TDS. Press Calculate.

Written and reviewed by SM Arijul Islam · Last reviewed 27 October 2026 · Editorial standards · Report an error

About the Coffee Brew Ratio Calculator

Brew ratio is the weight of water divided by the weight of dry coffee. A 1:16 ratio with 18 g of coffee uses 288 g of water. The brewed yield is lower because the spent grounds retain water — roughly twice their dry weight — so 18 g of coffee might retain 36 g, leaving 252 g in the cup.

Extraction yield puts TDS and yield together: EY = TDS × brewed yield ÷ dose. A 1.35% TDS with 252 g of coffee from an 18 g dose is 18.9% extraction, in the usual filter range. This calculator reports all of those numbers so you can adjust one variable at a time.

How the calculation works

Brew ratio = water ÷ dose.
Brewed yield = water − (dose × retained water factor).
Extraction yield = TDS × brewed yield ÷ dose.
Cups = brewed yield ÷ cup size.

Reference values

Typical filter-coffee batches
Dose	Water at 1:16	Approx. yield	Cups (240 mL)
12 g	192 g	168 g	0.70
15 g	240 g	210 g	0.88
18 g	288 g	252 g	1.05
20 g	320 g	280 g	1.17
30 g	480 g	420 g	1.75

Worked example: an 18 g dose at 1:16

An 18 g dose at 1:16 uses 288 g of water. If the grounds retain about 2 g of water per gram of coffee, the cup holds 288 − 36 = 252 g. At 1.35% TDS, extraction is 0.0135 × 252 ÷ 18 = 18.9%. To reach 20%, either grind finer or increase the yield slightly.

Change one variable at a time. Grind affects extraction speed; ratio affects strength and yield; temperature and agitation affect both. If the cup is weak but extraction is already high, tighten the ratio rather than grinding finer, or you may extract bitter compounds while chasing strength.

Immersion, pour-over and contact time

The same ratio tastes different depending on how the water meets the coffee. A French press immerses all the grounds for the full brew time, which extracts evenly but leaves silt. A pour-over passes water through the bed once, so grind size and pour pattern control extraction more tightly, and a finer grind can turn bitter quickly.

Espresso is a different regime: a very short, pressurised extraction at a ratio near 1:2, where a few seconds change the result. That is why espresso recipes are quoted in grams and seconds rather than in cups. When adapting a ratio between methods, change one variable at a time and taste before adjusting the next.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good extraction yield?

For filter coffee, roughly 18–22%. Below 18% often tastes sour and thin; above 22% can taste bitter and dry.

Why is my brewed yield lower than my water?

The grounds retain water. A typical figure is 2 g of water per gram of dry coffee, though it varies with grind and brew method.

Does TDS measure strength or extraction?

TDS measures strength — how concentrated the dissolved coffee is. Extraction yield combines TDS with how much liquid you got out.

Is 1:16 the same as 16:1?

Brew ratio is usually written water:coffee, so 1:16 means 1 part coffee to 16 parts water. A 16:1 ratio written the other way is the same thing; always check the order.

Dose by ratio and cup size

The ratio is water to coffee by weight. It is not the same as brew strength in the cup, because extraction matters too, but it is the number that makes a recipe repeatable.

Coffee dose for common brew volumes
Ratio	250 ml	350 ml	500 ml	1 L
1:15	16.7 g	23.3 g	33.3 g	66.7 g
1:16	15.6 g	21.9 g	31.2 g	62.5 g
1:17	14.7 g	20.6 g	29.4 g	58.8 g
1:18	13.9 g	19.4 g	27.8 g	55.6 g

1:15 is a strong filter or immersion brew, 1:16 to 1:17 is the usual starting point for pour-over, and 1:18 is light and tea-like. Espresso sits far outside this range at roughly 1:2, because the water is forced through under pressure rather than steeped.