Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer | Coffee Dose, Water and Brew Ratio, 4:6 Method Pour Amounts, Japanese Iced Coffee Ice Ratio, French Press and Cold Brew Ratios, Extraction Yield (TDS) and Cost per Cup
The Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer answers the questions you have at the kettle: how many grams of coffee, and how far to pour. It supports standard pour-over (bloom plus three pours), Tetsu Kasuya's 4:6 method (the first 40% of the water sets the taste, the remaining 60% sets the strength, with a pour every 45 seconds), Japanese-style iced coffee brewed straight onto ice, a 4-minute French press, and cold brew steeped in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Choose a finished volume (a 150 ml cup, a 240 ml mug and so on) or a bean dose, and a brew ratio from 1:13 (strong) to 1:17 (light), and it calculates the beans, water and ice, including the water the grounds soak up (about twice their weight), plus the grind size and a water temperature that suits the roast. The pour timer lists every step from the bloom to the last pour with the total the scale should show, and beeps and vibrates 3 seconds before and at each step. For the 4:6 method you can switch the taste (sweeter, balanced or brighter) and the strength (finishing in 2 to 4 pours). There is also a dose chart by ratio and volume, an extraction yield calculator that plots your TDS reading on a brew control chart, and a cost calculator that shows the price per cup, cups per bag and how much you save compared with a café.
Method and amount
Choose a brew method and how much you want to make (or your bean dose) to get the beans, water and ice, and what the scale should read at each pour.
Brew method
Start from
Pour-over is usually 1:15–1:16. The 4:6 method is based on 20 g of coffee and 300 g of water (1:15).
Roast
Amounts for this recipe
Beans
23.1 g
Hot water
346 g
Finished amount
About 300 ml
Grind
Medium-fine (like granulated sugar)
Water temperature
88–92 °C
Brew time
2:30–3:00
Estimated strength without a refractometer (assuming 20% extraction): TDS about 1.54%
Pour timer
Put the grounds in the dripper, tare the scale and press Start. A sound plays 3 seconds before each step and when it starts.
0:00
Scale target
0g
Press Start to begin with the first step
- 0:00Bloom (wet all the grounds)46 g+46 g
- 0:301st pour (spiral out from the centre)166 g+120 g
- 1:002nd pour256 g+90 g
- 1:303rd pour (to the end)346 g+90 g
- 2:30When it has drained, remove the dripper
The numbers on the right are the scale total (the weight of water poured into the dripper). Pour at about 5–6 g per second. The screen is kept on while the timer runs (supported browsers only).
ABOUT
About Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer | Coffee Dose, Water and Brew Ratio, 4:6 Method Pour Amounts, Japanese Iced Coffee Ice Ratio, French Press and Cold Brew Ratios, Extraction Yield (TDS) and Cost per Cup
The Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer works out the beans, water and ice from the amount you want to make (or the beans you have) and a brew ratio, and shows what your scale should read at each pour. It supports pour-over, the 4:6 method, Japanese-style iced coffee, French press and cold brew, and beeps and vibrates when it is time for the next step. It also includes a dose chart by ratio, an extraction yield calculator with a brew control chart, and a cost-per-cup calculator.
How to use Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer | Coffee Dose, Water and Brew Ratio, 4:6 Method Pour Amounts, Japanese Iced Coffee Ice Ratio, French Press and Cold Brew Ratios, Extraction Yield (TDS) and Cost per Cup
- 1Under “Brew method”, choose pour-over, the 4:6 method, Japanese iced coffee, French press or cold brew
- 2Choose “From the finished amount” or “From the bean dose” and enter the amount (a 150 ml cup, a 240 ml mug and so on)
- 3Choose a brew ratio (1:15 is standard) and the roast. For the 4:6 method, also choose the taste (sweeter, balanced or brighter) and the strength (light, regular or strong)
- 4Check the beans, water, ice, grind size and water temperature under “Amounts for this recipe”, then grind your beans and boil the water
- 5Put the grounds in the dripper, tare the scale and press Start on the pour timer. At each time shown, pour until the scale reaches the target
- 6To dial in the taste, enter your TDS reading under “Extraction yield (TDS)” to see whether to grind finer or coarser
Great for
- Find out how many grams of beans you need for two cups (300 ml) of morning pour-over
- Scale the 4:6 method to any dose, such as 15 g for one cup, and get the pour amounts
- Set your phone beside the scale and follow the bloom and every pour with an audible timer
- Work out the ice and hot water for Japanese-style iced coffee
- Check the bean-to-water ratio for French press or cold brew
- Turn a TDS reading into an extraction yield and adjust your grind or water temperature
- See how many cups a bag of beans makes, the cost per cup, and how much you save compared with buying coffee at a café
Good to know
- The brew ratio is the weight of the water divided by the weight of the beans. At 1:15, 20 g of beans takes 300 g of water. Water is treated as 1 ml ≈ 1 g so you can follow the numbers on a kitchen scale.
- The grounds keep about twice their weight in water, so the finished amount is calculated as water − beans × 2. When working back from the finished amount, beans = finished amount ÷ (ratio − 2).
- The pour-over schedule follows a common pattern: a 30-second bloom with about twice the bean weight in water, then three pours at 0:30, 1:00 and 1:30.
- The 4:6 method is the recipe Tetsu Kasuya used to win the 2016 World Brewers Cup. The first 40% of the water is poured in two parts to set the taste (a smaller first pour gives a sweeter cup, a larger one a brighter, more acidic cup), and the remaining 60% is split into pours that set the strength, with a pour every 45 seconds. The original recipe is 20 g of coarsely ground coffee and 300 g of water.
- For Japanese-style iced coffee, the ratio counts hot water and ice together, and 40% of that total is ice placed in the server beforehand. Because the ice dilutes the coffee, a stronger ratio of about 1:13 is used.
- Hotter water (92–96 °C) suits light roasts and cooler water (82–87 °C) suits dark roasts, so that acidity or bitterness does not come through too strongly. For the 4:6 method, 93 °C for light, 88 °C for medium and 83 °C for dark roasts is a common guide.
- Extraction yield is TDS (%) × liquid weight ÷ bean weight. The SCA Gold Cup standard considers an extraction yield of 18–22% and a TDS of 1.15–1.35% ideal. For immersion brewing (French press and cold brew), the liquid left in the grounds has the same strength, so the water you poured is used as the liquid weight.
- The cost per cup is the bag price ÷ its weight × the beans per cup, plus the paper filter and any milk or sugar. Electricity and gas are not included. Prices are shown in whatever currency you enter.
- Your settings are stored only in this browser and never sent to a server.
Questions this tool answers
Use Coffee Ratio Calculator and Pour-Over Timer | Coffee Dose, Water and Brew Ratio, 4:6 Method Pour Amounts, Japanese Iced Coffee Ice Ratio, French Press and Cold Brew Ratios, Extraction Yield (TDS) and Cost per Cup for searches like these:
- How many grams of coffee do I need for one cup
- Calculate the 4:6 method pour amounts for my bean dose
- A timer that tells me when to pour for pour-over coffee
- How much ice and hot water for Japanese iced coffee
- The right ratio for French press or cold brew
- Calculate extraction yield from TDS
- The cost of a cup of coffee and how many cups a bag of beans makes
FAQ
- How many grams of coffee do I need for one cup?
- For a 150 ml cup at a 1:15 ratio, you need about 11.5 g of beans (150 ml ÷ (15 − 2)). A level coffee scoop holds about 10 g, so a slightly heaped scoop is a good guide. If you like it stronger, use 1:13 (about 13.6 g); for a lighter cup, use 1:17 (about 10 g).
- How much do I pour each time with the 4:6 method and 15 g of coffee?
- At 1:15 you need 225 g of water. Pour the first 40% (90 g) in two pours of 45 g, then the remaining 60% (135 g) in three pours of 45 g for regular strength, so the scale reads 45 g → 90 g → 135 g → 180 g → 225 g, with a pour every 45 seconds. Choose “From the bean dose” and enter 15 g to get this table with the times.
- What is the ratio of ice to hot water for Japanese iced coffee?
- This tool makes the hot water and ice together 13 times the bean weight (1:13), with 40% ice and 60% hot water. For 20 g of beans, that is 260 g in total: 104 g of ice and 156 g of hot water. Because the ice dilutes the coffee, grind a little finer than for hot coffee and brew it strong.
- What ratio and steeping time should I use for cold brew?
- Use 1:10 beans to water (50 g of beans to 500 g of water) and steep in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. To make a concentrate to dilute with milk or water, use 1:8. Steeping too long brings out harsh flavours, so remove the grounds by about 14 hours and drink it within 2 to 3 days.
- What are extraction yield and TDS?
- TDS is the concentration (%) of dissolved solids in the brewed coffee, and extraction yield is the percentage of the bean weight that dissolved into it. Below about 18% the coffee tends to taste sour and thin (under-extracted); above about 22% it tends to taste bitter and astringent (over-extracted). TDS is measured with a refractometer.
- How many cups does a 200 g bag of coffee make?
- At 150 ml per cup and a 1:15 ratio (about 11.5 g of beans), about 17 cups. At 12 g per cup it is about 16 cups, and for a 240 ml mug (about 18.5 g) about 10 cups. On the “Cost per cup” tab, enter how many cups you drink a day to see how many days a bag lasts.
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