If your coffee tastes different every morning, the easiest place to start is not a new grinder, a new brewer or a more complicated recipe. Start by measuring the coffee and the water.
Coffee-to-water ratio at a glance: A practical Common Friends starting point is 1:16 for light roast, 1:17 for medium roast, 1:18 for dark roast, and about 1:19–1:20 for very dark or oily coffee. With 30 g of coffee, that means roughly 480 g, 510 g, 540 g, or 570–600 g of water respectively.
A coffee-to-water ratio gives you a repeatable starting point. Once the ratio is consistent, you can make useful adjustments instead of guessing.
A Good Starting Coffee Ratio
Coffee ratio is simply the amount of coffee compared with the amount of water, by weight.
A good starting point for drip and pour-over depends on how the coffee is roasted:
-
Light roast — 1:16
1 part coffee to 16 parts water -
Medium roast — 1:17
1 part coffee to 17 parts water -
Dark roast — 1:18
1 part coffee to 18 parts water -
Very dark or oily coffee — 1:19–1:20
If the beans have a lot of visible surface oil or look especially shiny, try using a little more water. Darker coffees are generally easier to extract, and a longer ratio can help keep the cup from tasting overly heavy, bitter, or roasty.
For example, using 30 g of coffee:
- Light roast, 1:16 → 480 g water
- Medium roast, 1:17 → 510 g water
- Dark roast, 1:18 → 540 g water
- Very dark/oily, 1:20 → 600 g water
These are starting points—not rules. Your grinder, brewer, water, and personal taste all matter. Make one small adjustment at a time until the coffee tastes right to you.
Why Does Roast Level Change the Ratio?
As coffee is roasted darker, the beans become more porous and easier for water to extract. Light-roasted coffees are denser and often benefit from a little more coffee relative to the water, while darker coffees can taste more balanced with a longer ratio.
The goal isn’t to follow a number perfectly. The goal is to make coffee you want to drink.
What If I Want Stronger Coffee?
Use slightly more coffee relative to the water. For example, if you normally brew a light roast at 1:16, try 1:15. If you normally brew a medium roast at 1:17, try 1:16.
Small changes make a surprisingly noticeable difference.
What If My Coffee Tastes Weak?
Weak coffee is not always caused by too little coffee. If the cup tastes both weak and sour or hollow, the brewing problem may actually be extraction. Try adjusting the grind finer before dramatically increasing the dose.
What If My Coffee Tastes Bitter or Dry?
Bitterness and dryness can come from several places: roast level, water temperature, brew time or a grind that is too fine. If the coffee is unpleasantly drying, try a slightly coarser grind before changing the ratio.
Drip Coffee Ratio
Use the roast-level guide above as your starting point: around 1:16 for light, 1:17 for medium, and 1:18 for dark. For a large batch brewer, weighing both coffee and water is especially useful because small measuring errors become much bigger over a full pot.
Our Adults Only medium roast is a forgiving coffee for dialing in a basic drip recipe.
Pour-Over Coffee Ratio
Use the roast-level guide above as your starting point. For a light roast, a 20 g dose with roughly 320 g of water is a strong first recipe; medium and darker roasts may taste more balanced with a little more water. Grind and pouring technique will matter just as much as ratio once you get close.
For brighter coffees, browse our light roast coffees and single-origin coffees.
French Press Ratio
A similar range works for French press. Start around 1:15 to 1:16 and adjust based on the body you prefer. Because the metal filter allows more oils and fine particles into the cup, French press often tastes fuller even at the same ratio.
Do I Really Need a Scale?
You can make coffee without one, but a small digital scale removes a surprising amount of uncertainty. Scoops vary. Coffee bean density varies. Water volume is easier to repeat when weighed. If you are trying to improve your coffee, measuring by weight is one of the least expensive upgrades you can make.
Change One Thing at a Time
When dialing in a brew, keep your dose and water consistent while changing grind. Then, once extraction tastes good, change ratio if you want the finished drink stronger or lighter. That simple order of operations makes troubleshooting much easier.
Next, read our coffee grind size guide or browse all fresh roasted coffee.