Start with a 1:16 pour-over coffee ratio: 15 g of ground coffee and 240 g of water for a small single serving, or 18 g and 288 g for a larger one. These are starting recipes. Keep the ratio steady for a few brews, then adjust strength and grind separately by taste.
Jump to the gram chart · Choose a one-cup recipe · Calculate your own dose · Brewing without a scale
What does a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio mean?
It means 1 gram of dry coffee for every 16 grams of water poured over the grounds. Multiply the coffee weight by 16 to find the water weight. If you start with 20 g of coffee, use 320 g of water.
The ratio measures brew water, not finished coffee in your mug. Some water stays in the grounds and filter. A recipe with 240 g of water produces less than 240 g of coffee to drink, so allow for this when choosing a mug or server.
Pour-over coffee ratio chart in grams
Choose a row for your brewer and serving size. Read the columns as different starting strengths, rather than rules for a particular roast or brand.
| Dry coffee | Water at 1:15 | Water at 1:16 | Water at 1:17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 g | 180 g | 192 g | 204 g |
| 15 g | 225 g | 240 g | 255 g |
| 18 g | 270 g | 288 g | 306 g |
| 20 g | 300 g | 320 g | 340 g |
| 30 g | 450 g | 480 g | 510 g |
At the same coffee dose, 1:15 uses less water and usually gives a more concentrated drink; 1:17 uses more water and usually gives a lighter one. Extraction also changes with grind, pouring and brewer design, so ratio alone does not predict flavor.
Pour-over ratio for one cup or two cups
“One cup” is not a fixed recipe size. For a small serving, try 15 g coffee with 240 g water. For a larger mug, try 18 g with 288 g. For two smaller servings, 30 g with 480 g is a useful starting batch if your dripper and server have room for it. Leave headroom and follow the brewer's capacity guidance.
For comparison, Hario USA's published one-cup V60 recipe uses 15 g coffee and 250 g water, approximately 1:16.7. That is a V60 recipe, not a tested setting for every dripper. It shows why a recipe can differ slightly from a round-number ratio.
Calculate coffee for 250, 300 or 500 g of water
Water weight ÷ ratio number = coffee weight. At 1:16, divide your brew water by 16:
- 250 g water ÷ 16 = approximately 15.6 g coffee.
- 300 g water ÷ 16 = approximately 18.8 g coffee.
- 500 g water ÷ 16 = approximately 31.3 g coffee.
For a simpler dose, round the coffee weight and calculate the water from that: 16 g coffee × 16 = 256 g water. For normal kitchen measuring, 1 ml of water is close to 1 g; use the scale when you want to repeat a recipe. Fluid ounces describe volume, while ounces on a scale describe weight, so grams avoid that mix-up.
A simple first pour-over
- Weigh 15 g of coffee. Use the pour-over grind size guide to choose a starting texture; grinder click numbers do not transfer between models.
- Set a suitable brewer securely on a mug or server. If it uses paper, fit and rinse the matching filter, then discard the rinse water. A reusable metal dripper does not require a paper filter.
- Prepare enough hot water using equipment approved for heating. Place the brewing setup on a suitable scale and zero it.
- Add the grounds. Pour a small portion of the 240 g total to wet them, then continue in gentle stages. All water used for this brew, including the initial wetting, counts toward 240 g.
- Let the brewer drain, remove it safely and taste. Record the coffee, water and grind before changing one thing on the next cup.
Use a brewer-specific recipe for timing and temperature. A slow drawdown may involve fine grind, a blocked filter, fines or pouring technique; the clock alone does not diagnose the cup.
Can you measure a pour-over ratio with tablespoons?
A spoon is an estimate. Roast, grind and how you fill it change the weight, so there is no exact tablespoon-to-gram conversion for every coffee. If you have no scale, keep the same scoop, level the dose consistently and measure the same water volume each time. Adjust by taste and avoid treating an estimated scoop as a precise ratio.
A kitchen scale can be enough if it supports the weight and footprint of your brewer. Our coffee scale guide explains dose weighing and what to check before placing a full brewing setup on a small scale.
Weak, strong, sour or bitter: what should you change?
- Weak but otherwise pleasant: try a little more coffee with the same water.
- Too concentrated: try a little more water with the same dose.
- Sour or harsh: review grind and the rest of your recipe, rather than assuming ratio is the only cause. Try one small change at a time.
See our bitter-or-sour troubleshooting guide for a fuller sequence. Roast character, uneven extraction and water can also affect taste.
Choose the tools for your recipe
If you already own a kettle and grinder, a clear dripper with 50 matching paper filters adds a paper-filter brewing option. If you want the core tools together, the 6-piece pour-over kit with a carrying case includes a manual grinder, 250 ml pouring kettle and reusable metal dripper, along with a cup, bean jar and scoop. Coffee beans and a scale are separate.
Check vessel capacity before scaling up. A 250 ml kettle is not a full reservoir for a 288 g water recipe; plan a safe refill or choose a smaller recipe with headroom, and follow the kettle's instructions. Our starter-kit checklist helps you decide which pieces you need.