Do You Weigh Your Coffee Beans?


  • coffee beans on scale


    I was reading an article last week called “Why Weight?” from a new blog called BrewCasa.

    The article answers a very good question of why it is important to weigh your coffee beans as well as the water. The answer? Consistency.

    What drew me to the article was how the article talked about light to dark roasts differing in weight. Quite drastically too, which makes my way of brewing all over the place. Here I am trying to make a good cup of coffee in the French press, but I am neglecting the fact that every time I make a cup of coffee I need to take several factors into account:

    1. The weight difference for the different roast types. (i.e. light, medium, dark roasts)

    2. Weighing the coffee out before hand.

    This leads me to an article I wrote recently on “4 Lessons For People Entering The Coffee World” where I mentioned the number one priority:

    Do not take shortcuts when it comes to coffee.

    As I mentioned in the article, you will save a few extra minutes out of each day, but you are not benefiting from it in the end.

    There are numerous coffee companies who post on their coffee bags: “1-2 scoops per 6-8oz of water,” but it is really not something you want to follow if you are trying to make a great cup of coffee every time.

    To make great coffee we need to take the time to do things right. Between fresh beans and fresh water, we need to weigh the beans as well. We need to experiment to find the right amount of beans to fit our taste buds. We need to measure the beans instead of just the “how many scoops” method that I am sure some people do.

    I’ll admit that I did fall victim of using the “how many scoops” method, and I also admit I had been taking a shortcut by not measuring out the beans on a scale.

    Although, for the past few weeks I have been weighing my coffee out each time for each brew method and have adjusted to my taste buds. It’s one extra step in the morning, but I have noticed my coffee has been a lot more consistent each time.

    A scale such as this one here will help you find the right amount of beans for your cup of joe without hurting your budget.

    Great coffee is just around the corner. Seek it out.


    QOTD: Do you weigh your coffee beans? If not, why?



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    January 14th, 2011 | Jamie | 9 Comments | Tags: ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...

  • http://presso.us Jase

    Great article, Jamie. Weighing makes life so much easier.

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Thanks Jase. Yes it does. I really don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. Maybe I thought I didn’t need to, but I am glad I am doing it now.

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  • http://twitter.com/coffee_couple The Coffee Couple

    So what weight should I start with per cup/pot?

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Depends on the brewing method and what size cup…

      For me…

      For the French press: 35grams per 16oz
      Hario V60/Other Pour Over: 20-22grams per 8oz

      Experiment with my ratios or you can go to http://www.BrewMethods.com which will help you out as well depending on your brewing method of choice.

  • http://twitter.com/1villagecoffee One Village Coffee

    agreed, always weigh your coffee, if you don’t you cant get consistency, if you are serious about coffee and you already put out money for a brewer and a hot water pot, go the extra mile your taste-buds will thank you!

    BTW we always start with a 2 grams of coffee to 1 oz of water when making coffee, then adjust from there, for immersion methods it can be too much, but for drip it usually turns out right.

    thanks for the article!!

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Thanks!! I will try your 2 grams of coffee to 1 oz of water and see how it turns out.

  • http://coffeefolk.wordpress.com/ Matt C. Reynolds

    Scales are insanely important.

    For most drip/ pour-over/ presspot methods require accuracy of ~1-2grams, espresso is even more intense.
    I have a good set of scales coming in sometime this month accurate down to 0.1grams for really dialling in a great shot, and then relaying that answer to the public (and roasters).

    Good article. I think I will build on this in an espresso related post over at Coffee Folk.

    Cheers!
    - Matt @ Coffee Folk

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Yes they are. I just bought all new scales to help me be more accurate. Salter scale for brewing equipment and an American Weigh scale for beans.