How Much Coffee Per Cup? A Simple Ratio Chart
By Hugo Coffee · · 4 min read
For filter coffee, start with 14 g of ground coffee for 250 mL of water, then adjust to taste. That is the starting recipe in Hugo's coffee FAQ. Measuring both ingredients makes your morning cup easier to repeat—even if the morning itself is a little unpredictable.
Hugo handles the unpredictability. The grown-ups handle the scale.
What counts as a cup
A mug, a measuring cup and a coffee maker's marked “cup” can hold different amounts. Use the water volume you actually put into the brewer instead of assuming every cup marking means 250 mL. Check your machine's instructions for its capacity and required minimum batch.
The numbers below describe brewing water, not the final amount in your mug. Some water stays in the grounds.
A simple coffee ratio chart
This chart scales our 14 g to 250 mL starting point. Coffee amounts are rounded to the nearest gram.
| Water going into the brewer | Ground coffee |
|---|---|
| 250 mL | 14 g |
| 350 mL | 20 g |
| 500 mL | 28 g |
| 750 mL | 42 g |
| 1 litre | 56 g |
For another batch size, multiply the water volume in millilitres by 0.056 to calculate the coffee in grams. For example, 600 mL × 0.056 gives 33.6 g, which you can round to 34 g.
You may also see this written as roughly 1:18: one part coffee to eighteen parts water by weight. This is a practical starting point for filter brewing. Espresso and cold-brew concentrate need their own recipes.
Make the next cup repeatable
Weigh your beans, grind them, and measure the water before brewing. Keep a note of the amounts and the setting you used. If you want a stronger cup, try a little more coffee with the same water amount. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what worked.
If you measure with a spoon, use it consistently, but expect less precision: a scoop measures volume and the weight can vary. A small kitchen scale lets you repeat the dose without guessing how full the scoop was.
Start with a roast you enjoy
Tummy Time is our organic medium-dark roast with dark-chocolate notes and a sweet, floral finish. 4:40 AM is our full-bodied organic dark roast with low acidity and a rich aroma. Both come as whole beans in 340 g bags, so you'll need a grinder.
At 14 g per brew, a 340 g bag provides about 24 doses. At 28 g, it provides about 12. Those are dose calculations, not a promise about your mug size or household's monthly needs.
Choose your beans, jot down your starting recipe, and make tomorrow's cup a little easier. Meet both Hugo roasts.
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