The Golden Ratio for Coffee: What Experts and Reddit Users Say

We're coffee enthusiasts. We've tasted the top specialty coffees and compared them with Jamaica Blue Mountain, and honestly? The golden ratio for coffee is what helped us actually taste the unique flavor profiles of each specialty coffee bean.

To get there, we pulled from SCA standards, world-renowned coffee educators like James Hoffmann and Scott Rao, working baristas, and of course... the coffee community on Reddit!

TL;DR (What is the golden ratio for specialty coffee?)

• The best answer is: 10 grams of ground coffee per 180ml of water (1:18 ratio). This is the SCA golden cup ratio standard, and you need to buy a coffee scale for precision.
• The simple answer for home brewers: 2 tablespoons (approximately 10-15g) of ground coffee per 6 oz. of water. A standard coffee scoop equals 2 tablespoons.
• Best drip coffee golden ratio: 1:15 to 1:17 (60g coffee per liter of water)
• Best golden ratio coffee pour over / golden ratio V60: 1:16 to 1:17 (15g coffee to 250ml water)
• Best cold brew golden ratio: 1:5 to 1:8 for concentrate, 1:12 to 1:15 for ready-to-drink
• Best French press golden ratio: 1:12 to 1:16 (60-75g per liter)
• Best for cafe owners: Brew at 1:15 to 1:17 despite the SCA recommending 1:18, because customers prefer coffee with more body and presence.

What is the coffee ratio for Specialty Coffee Association?

The coffee ratio for Specialty Coffee Association is 1:18. The Specialty Coffee Association created this standard (they call it the Golden Cup Standard) to help people brew properly extracted coffee with balanced flavor.

Here’s the simpler explanation of the SCA golden cup ratio:

• 10 grams of ground coffee per 180ml of water, OR
• 55 grams of coffee per liter of water, which works out to roughly 1 gram of coffee for every 16 to 18 grams of water.

The SCA's golden cup standard goes beyond just the ratio, though. They're looking for specific measurements that define what most people recognize as balanced coffee:

• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): 1.15% to 1.35%
• Extraction percentage: 18% to 22%

TDS below 1.15% tastes watery, underdeveloped. Above 1.35%? Too heavy, muddy. 

Extraction under 18% leaves good flavors sitting in the grounds. Over 22% pulls bitter compounds nobody wants.

But what do expert baristas say?

Here's what James Hoffmann (2007 World Barista Champion) thinks about the golden ratio for coffee.

• Think in grams per liter rather than ratios
• Uses around 60 grams per liter, which works out to 1:16.67

That actually makes sense. When you're running a busy cafe, multiplying by whole numbers (60g, 120g, 180g) is faster than dividing water weight by 16 or 17. Need to brew 500ml? Just use 30g of coffee. No ratio calculations required.

But what do cafe owners on Reddit say?

The 1:18 golden ratio for coffee is perfect when evaluating bean quality. For drinks going out to customers though? 1:16 just works better. People expect coffee that has some presence.

Customers don't ask for weak coffee. Starting at 1:16 and adjusting based on the beans prevents complaints.

Why the shift from SCA standards?

• Automated equipment loses some precision, so starting stronger compensates
• Customer additions (milk, sugar) dilute the coffee, requiring stronger base ratios
• Coffee professionals typically brew between 1:15 and 1:17 in their cafes

Most users land around 1:15 for their everyday brewing. That's tighter than the SCA standard, but it's what works in real-world applications.

We tested different ratios, too.

• 1:16.67 gives more body and sweetness with Jamaica Blue Mountain beans
• 1:18 produces cleaner clarity in floral notes

Neither is wrong, just different characteristics for different preferences.

What Makes Good Coffee Beyond the Golden Ratio?

The golden ratio for coffee is just your starting point. Honestly, you can nail the perfect 1:16 ratio and still serve terrible coffee if you mess up these other variables. Here's what actually matters when you're dialing in your brew.

Grind size affects everything.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann: For espresso, the grinder is more important than the machine itself
• Finer grinds create more surface area for extraction but slow water flow through the coffee bed

Too fine creates slow, over-extracted coffee. Too coarse and water rushes through, leaving flavor behind.

What Reddit says:

Starting really coarse then slowly going finer until coffee tastes good prevents mid-range confusion. Grind size charts are useless because every grinder behaves differently. Different grinders produce different particle distributions even at the same setting.

Static electricity trick: A few drops of water on beans before grinding prevents clumping.

Temperature matters more than you think.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann: Use boiling water for most methods because it cools to 90-95°C anyway during brewing
• The preheat of your brewer, ambient temperature, and pour itself all drop the temp
• Scott Rao (author of "The Coffee Roaster's Companion" and "Everything But Espresso"): Darker roasted coffee is more porous and easier to extract
• For espresso, temperature stability matters more than exact temp

What Reddit says:

Water heated to 175°F drops nearly 10°F in slurry temperature right after pouring. Another 13-degree drop happens during 30 seconds of agitation.

Light roasts: 96-100°C, Medium roasts: 93-96°C, Dark roasts: 86-89°C.

One take stands out: 212°F doesn't burn beans since they roast at 400-460°F.

Roast level changes everything.

What experts say:

• Light roasts: Stay dense, need 1:17 to 1:18 or extended extraction times
• Shorter roast times and lower drop temperatures preserve delicate aromatics
• Medium roasts: Most forgiving, extract evenly from 1:15 to 1:18
• Medium roasts balance melanoidin formation (body) and chlorogenic acid retention (acidity)
• Dark roasts: Extract quickly due to porous structure, need a tighter golden ratio for coffee (1:14 or 1:15)

What Reddit says:

Ethiopian naturals at light roast work beautifully at 1:17 or 1:18. Brazilian naturals at the same roast need 1:15 or they taste thin.

Medium roasts allow brand new baristas to pull decent cups because they're that forgiving. Dark roasts work better with coarser grinds at 1:16 ratios instead of tightening past 1:15.

Agitation controls extraction speed.

What experts say:

• Scott Rao's tea bag experiment: Dunk a tea bag and watch extraction speed up. Same principle with coffee
• More movement equals more extraction opportunity
• Lance Hedrick (coffee educator and YouTube creator with 382K+ subscribers): High-agitation methods (pour from height, aggressive swirling) vs. low-agitation osmotic flow techniques
• Hoffmann's V60: Controlled agitation through staged pours with gentle swirls without creating channels

What Reddit says:

The most agitating part of pourovers is the pour itself coupled with time. More pours = more agitation through sinking and lifting of grounds.

Increase agitation when brewing harder-to-extract beans, especially when grinding finer. Dial back agitation when you're working with highly soluble beans or darker roasts. They extract fast enough already.

If your grinder produces a lot of fines, more stirring actually makes things worse. The fines over-extract while you're trying to help the bigger particles catch up.

Water chemistry affects extraction.

What experts say:

Your tap water's mineral content matters more than most people think. High mineral water pulls flavor faster, so you might need to back off to 1:17 or 1:18. 

Soft water takes longer to extract, which means going tighter on ratio or finer on grind.

What Reddit says:

Municipal water changes with the seasons. Test your ratios when that happens or you'll wonder why last month's dialed-in recipe suddenly tastes off. Cold brew brewers notice room temp water extracts way faster than refrigerated.

Filter type changes your cup.

What experts say:

• Paper filters catch oils and fine particles. Clean cup, bright clarity.
• Metal filters let everything through. More body, less brightness.
• Hoffmann's tip: Always rinse paper filters. Gets rid of paper taste and preheats your brewer.

What Reddit says:

Want clarity? Paper. Want body? Metal. That's really it. Most Reddit discussions focus on adjusting grind for each filter type rather than which one's better.

Measurement is non-negotiable.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann and Scott Rao: Weight, not volume
• Get a scale measuring to 0.1 grams
• Tablespoons and scoops vary wildly depending on grind size and bean density

What Reddit says:

A tablespoon of fine grounds weighs completely different from a tablespoon of coarse grounds. Scales are essential, not optional. Weighing everything is the only path to repeatable results.

Coffee quality sets your ceiling.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann's cupping videos show systematic coffee evaluation methods
• Scott Rao's "The Coffee Roaster's Companion" explains how roasting affects bean structure and solubility
• Fresh beans (roasted within 2-4 weeks) extract differently than stale beans
• The roast level, development time, and cooling process all impact extraction

What Reddit says:

Bean freshness assumption underlies all technique discussions. Experimenting with grind size helps when coffee tastes bland or bitter, but only with fresh beans.

Jamaica Blue Mountain's delicate honey and floral notes only appear with proper handling and fresh roasting.

Grinder quality matters as much as technique.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann: Burr grinders (flat burrs for espresso, conical burrs for filter) create uniform particle sizes
• Lance Hedrick: Cheap blade grinders produce uneven particles, some dust and some boulders

What Reddit says:

Uneven particles extract at different rates, creating muddled flavors. A $3,000 grinder isn't necessary, but consistent particle sizes for your brewing method are.

Blade grinders create muddled flavors because water extracts each particle size differently.

Consistency beats perfection.

What experts say:

• Hoffmann: Technique consistency matters more than chasing perfection on single variables
• Scott Rao: Find a sensible foundational recipe and stick with it for all coffees of a given roast level, adjusting only the grind

This prevents the endless tweaking cycle where constant changes make it impossible to identify improvements.

What Reddit says:

Writing down every detail matters: grind setting, water temp, pour technique, timing. Keeping notes on previous grind settings along with altitude and roast level prevents starting from scratch with new beans.

For lighter roasts, go finer on the grind. For darker roasts, go coarser.

How to Do the Coffee Golden Ratio for Different Brewing Methods

Different brewing methods need different ratios because extraction works completely differently in each one. Immersion brewing? Nothing like percolation methods.

What's the best drip coffee golden ratio?

What experts say:

• Drip machines work best with 1:15 to 1:17 ratios, slightly tighter than the SCA’s golden ratio for coffee
• Automated brewers give less control over technique, so starting stronger compensates for extraction inefficiencies
• Medium to medium-coarse grind works best for even extraction

What Reddit says:

60g of medium to medium-coarse grind coffee to 950ml of water produces about 26 ounces of brewed coffee. An 8-cup pot with 8 tablespoons of coffee (roughly 1:16) delivers satisfactory taste for most palates. Ground coffee weight varies depending on bean type, grind, and roast.

Scaling by weight is essential for accuracy. If you're batch brewing for a cafe, check extraction with a refractometer every few batches. Extraction drifts throughout the day as equipment heats up and coffee ages.

What's the best golden ratio for V60 and pour over?

What experts say:

• Hoffmann uses 15g coffee to 250g water (1:16.67). Bloom for 45 seconds, then multiple controlled pours.
• Scott Rao stays between 1:16 and 1:18, always pushing for high extraction
• Your grind walks a line: coarse enough to avoid choking the filter, fine enough to pull everything good before bitterness shows up

What Reddit says:

1:18 with 15g coffee and 270g water gets brought up constantly. Bloom with 60g for 45 seconds, aim for total drawdown between 3:00-3:15. Light roasts do better at 1:17-1:18 with a slightly finer grind.

Some people run 1:20, especially with really light roasts. V60 gets messy during rushes when you're juggling five orders. Flow restrictors or simpler single-pour methods keep quality consistent when things get busy.

What's the best cold brew golden ratio?

What experts say:

• Concentrate: 1:5 to 1:8, then cut it 50/50 before serving
• Ready-to-drink straight from the brewer: 1:12 to 1:15
• Shorter steeps (12-16 hours) need tighter ratios around 1:5 to compensate

What Reddit says:

1:5.5 concentrate holds up against ice, syrups, cream, everything. Go weaker than 1:7 and your concentrate tastes watery even before dilution.

Room temp brewing pulls flavor faster than cold. Some cafes switch ratios when summer hits and the prep area temperature changes.

What's the best French press golden ratio?

What experts say:

• Hoffmann recommends: 60-75g per liter (approximately 1:13 to 1:16) for immersion methods
• Blue Bottle's method: 30g coffee to 350g water (1:11.67) with 4-minute steep
• Hoffmann's alternative: Similar ratio but 7-9 minute steep with no plunging

What Reddit says:

32g medium grind with 500ml of water produces consistent results. Pouring finished French press into a thermos stops extraction and keeps coffee exactly how you want it.

That 32g to 500ml works out to 1:15.6.

Finding What Works for Your Beans

The golden ratio for coffee isn't a one-size-fits-all formula. Professional roasters and cafe owners consistently adjust these standards based on their specific beans, equipment, and customer preferences.

But it always starts with quality beans. We make good coffee each time by using Jamaica Blue Mountain beans from Fus Light at 1:16.5. The natural sweetness and complexity of Genuine Blue Mountain Coffee rewards that kind of careful ratio work. Experience the best flavors of JBM coffee, and buy Fus Light! Order here or go to Amazon.