What Is The Golden Ratio For Coffee And How Do You Use It?

Let's face it, convenience is a huge factor in most people's daily lives. Unimaginable amounts are spent on producing and procuring goods and services that make each twenty-four hours fast and more grab-and-go. So, it's no wonder that when it comes to making coffee, some of us may be so locked in on single-serve, pre-portioned coffee delivery (we see you Keurig double pod, double caffeine hack) that we may not even remember how to brew a real pot.

Rather than settling for a quick fast food coffee fix, here's a reminder of how to brew a consistently tasty pot each and every time. Learned helplessness, step aside. The answer is the golden ratio, essentially the industry ideal golden standard amount of water to ground coffee set by the Specialty Coffee Association. For the ultimate cup, the magic numbers are 15 to 20 grams of water for every one gram of coffee (regardless of the way your beans are ground). To get the most precise gram measurements, considering investing in a digital kitchen scale or aim for 1 tablespoon of coffee for every 4 ounces of water.

The golden ratio is definitely the most important hurdle between you and a palatable morning brew, landing you with a rich, craveable elixir rather than tepid coffee-flavored water or sludge that is too heavy-handed on the beans, which can make it bitter and undrinkable. You can certainly experiment with top cost-effective coffee brands or best-in-class coffee beans to find your favorite flavor profile, but the water-to-coffee balance should always remain the same. Celebrity food scientist Alton Brown also has some helpful tips to keep you buzzing, like buying a small bag of coffee beans weekly for the freshest cup, grinding beans just before brewing them, and using filtered water.

Waking up armed with your new coffee prowess may even inspire you to whip up some fall breakfast treats like three-ingredient egg bites or lemon ricotta pancakes. You may still opt for a single-serve approach, but at least if someone asks you to put on a fresh pot of coffee at the office, you'll remember how (and you may even score some sweet compliments on your barista skills).