Just realized my coffee shop routine was all wrong after a trip to Seattle

I was at a small roaster in Capitol Hill last month and watched the barista weigh the beans for each cup, even for drip coffee. She said they aim for 18 grams per 6-ounce cup, which was way more exact than my usual scoop. I started doing the same at home with a cheap scale I had. The flavor difference in my morning cup is honestly huge. Has anyone else switched to weighing and found a sweet spot for a standard mug?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_cooper2mo ago

My buddy in Portland got a scale for his birthday and now he's obsessed with 20 grams for his big travel mug. He says it's like a totally different drink now, way less bitter.

leet322mo ago

That scale probably showed him his old scoop was 30 grams easy. Over-extraction from too much coffee is a classic cause of bitterness. He just fixed his biggest brew variable without knowing it.

martin.jamie13d ago

Wait, isn't 20 grams for a big travel mug actually pretty normal? Standard ratio is usually 1:15 or so, so 20 grams would be around 300ml of water which is about 10oz. Most travel mugs are at least 12-16oz though, so you'd actually need closer to 25-30 grams to get the right strength for a bigger cup. Tbh if he's only using 20g in a big mug he's probably still under-extracting a bit, just from the opposite direction.