The ratio is the single number that decides whether your pour-over tastes thin, balanced or heavy. Get it roughly right and the rest (grind, pouring, timing) becomes easy to fine-tune. Here is a chart you can save, then a short explanation of how to use it.
What "ratio" means
A pour-over ratio is grams of coffee to grams of water. A 1:16 ratio means 1 g of coffee for every 16 g of water. Because 1 g of water is 1 ml, you can also read it as 1 g of coffee per 16 ml of water.
Most people enjoy something between 1:15 (stronger) and 1:17 (lighter). If you have never brewed pour-over before, start at 1:16.
Pour-over ratio chart (1:16)
| Cups | Brewed coffee | Ground coffee | Approx. level tablespoons | Water to pour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 small cup | 6 oz (180 ml) | 11 g | 2 | 180 g |
| 1 mug | 8 oz (240 ml) | 15 g | 2½–3 | 240 g |
| 1 large mug | 12 oz (360 ml) | 22 g | 4 | 360 g |
| 2 mugs | 16 oz (480 ml) | 30 g | 5–6 | 480 g |
| 3 mugs | 24 oz (720 ml) | 45 g | 8–9 | 720 g |
| 4 mugs | 32 oz (960 ml) | 60 g | 11–12 | 960 g |
A few grams of water stay in the wet grounds, so you will end up with slightly less in the cup than you poured. That is normal.
Stronger or lighter: the same mug at three ratios
| Ratio | Coffee for 240 g of water | Taste |
|---|---|---|
| 1:15 | 16 g | Fuller, stronger |
| 1:16 | 15 g | Balanced, a good starting point |
| 1:17 | 14 g | Lighter, more tea-like |
Moving from 1:16 to 1:15 is a small change on paper, but you will taste it. Change the ratio in one-step jumps and try it for a couple of mornings before you change again.
About tablespoons
One level tablespoon of ground coffee usually weighs about 5–6 g, but it depends on the beans, the roast and how fine you grind. That is why the tablespoon column is a range. If you brew with a scoop, weigh one level scoop of your usual coffee once, write the number down, and use it from then on. Our measuring scoop with a bag clip makes the same scoop every morning easy. No scale at all? See pour-over without a scale.
Weighing makes it repeatable
A small kitchen scale is the easiest way to brew the same good cup twice. Weigh your coffee dose before you grind or pour. Our pocket coffee scale reads to 0.01 g, which is handy for the dose; it weighs up to 300 g, so use it for the coffee rather than for a full server of water. To weigh the water as you pour, put your dripper and mug on a larger kitchen scale, or use a scale with a built-in timer like our drip-timer coffee scale.
Adjust by taste, not only by the chart
- Weak or watery: try 1:15, or grind a little finer.
- Bitter or heavy: try 1:17, or grind a little coarser.
- Sour and it drained fast: the ratio may be fine; grind finer first.
Ratio sets the strength; grind and brew time shape the flavor. If you change both at once, it is hard to know which one helped.
Iced pour-over ratio
For iced coffee, brew stronger and let the ice make up part of the water. A simple split for one glass: 20 g of coffee and 160–180 g of hot water, brewed into an empty server or mug, then poured straight over about 140–160 g of ice in your glass. The ice chills and dilutes the hot coffee, so the final drink lands close to a normal strength. Brewing hot first and pouring over ice is also kinder to thin glassware than dripping very hot coffee straight onto ice. Our iced pour-over recipe has the full steps, and a clear glass server with pour lines makes it easy to see how much you have brewed.
Common questions
What ratio does a 1-cup pour-over use?
About 15 g of coffee to 240 g of water (1:16) for an 8 oz mug.
How much coffee for 2 cups of pour-over?
About 30 g of coffee to 480 g of water. Our guide to pour-over coffee for two walks through the full method.
Is the ratio the same for a Vietnamese phin?
No. A phin brews a small, strong coffee, usually around 2 tablespoons of coffee for a short cup, often finished with condensed milk. See our guide on using a scale and timer with a phin.
Save the chart, brew tomorrow
Screenshot the chart above or print this page and keep it by your kettle. Start at 1:16, taste, and move one step at a time. New to ceramic? Read how to use a ceramic pour-over dripper before your first brew. If you are building a setup, our rustic ceramic pour-over dripper has set options with a glass server and stand.
Let it drip.
— Tran Vu Doan, Phin & Clay