How Much Coffee For 8 Cups: Brewing Ratio Guide

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How Much Coffee For 8 Cups? 

In the details below we are going to explore all things coffee, including what the best ratios are to make an amazing cup of coffee as well as how much coffee for 8 cups.  

close up on coffee grounds

Believe it or not, it’s not necessarily always a straightforward answer, we are going to give you a great rule of thumb to use as your starting point, then you can adjust it to your personal preferences from there.  

Some people or coffee lovers enjoy a strong cup of coffee, but others are not necessarily as into what my grandpa would have called coffee that is strong enough to put hair on your chest.  

Knowing the best way to make enough coffee, so that it turns out delicious to your personal preferences is very important. This will make a delicious cup of coffee, that you can enjoy anytime.  

The most basic general guideline is to combine 6 ounces of water with two scoops of coffee, a scoop of coffee is typically 1 tablespoon, so this means 2 tablespoons of coffee for every 6 ounces of water.  

If you’re like me, 6 ounces of brewed coffee is not a whole lot, and definitely not enough coffee to start the day off on a good note.  

So, let’s explore what the perfect cup of coffee looks like for you. Perhaps 2 tablespoons for every 6 ounces of water is the wrong answer for you and your personal preferences or for a lighter-strength coffee.  

Hopefully, by the time you have finished reading this, you will know how many scoops of coffee grounds will make the perfect cup of coffee and with the best ratio is for you.  

The general rule of thumb is: 2 Tablespoons of coffee grounds for 6 ounces of water. 

It is important to point out that not everyone will enjoy this coffee grounds to water ratio. In fact, your personal preferences may range between 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds for every 6 to 8 ounces of water depending upon your taste buds.  

coffee grounds and beans in grinder

How much coffee grounds for 8 cups of water?  

Most manufactured coffee bags will say that for every 6 ounces of water, you should include 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds. 6 fluid ounces is equal to .75 cups, or ¾ cup of water, but we have more work to do to figure out how much coffee is in eight cups.  

There are 64 fluid ounces in 8 cups of water. You then need to divide 64 fluid ounces by 6 ounces, which gives you 10 2/3 servings (based on a 6-ounce serving). You then need to multiply 10 2/3 by 2 Tablespoons by 2, to get 21 1/3 Tablespoons in 8 cups of water. Or if you don’t want to scoop that many tablespoons 21 1/3 Tbsp = 1 1/3 cups. 

Answer: 1 1/3 cups of coffee grounds for 8 cups of water 

Other Ratios: 

1 ½ Tbsp for 6 fl oz = 16 Tbsp for 8 cups of water 

2 Tbsp for 8 fl oz = 16 Tbsp for 8 cups of water 

Although this is the general rule of thumb, you may not like your coffee to be this strong. A better option might be to use between 14 to 16, or even 18 Tablespoons of coffee grounds for making 8 cups of coffee. You can also take the easy way out, and measure approximately 1 cup of coffee grounds for 8 cups of water.  

This is the general rule of thumb for measuring any type of coffee grounds for 8 cups of water. However, there are many different types of coffee that you could be making, and you may want to use more or fewer coffee grounds depending on what type of coffee you are making as well as how it is made.  

Let’s take a deeper dive into this topic, first we’ll look at the types of coffee beans.  

Type of Coffee Beans 

There are different types of coffee beans, some are light roast, others are medium roast, and still, others are darker roasts. This is when whole beans are roasted over heat to achieve different flavors and caffeine content.  

Dark roasted coffee makes a strong coffee, that is usually thicker, and has a single bold flavor, rather than a lot of different flavors mingling together.  

Dark-roasted coffee has the iconic old-timey flavor that you might think of when considering strong coffee.  

Lightly roasted coffee, on the other hand, contains more caffeine because it was roasted for less time, has beans that are moister, and usually has several different flavors together.  

When light-roasted coffee is brewed, it is usually lighter in color, runnier in texture, and overall, less coffee flavored, or at least not quite so strong.  

ground coffee and scoop

Grind Size 

Once you have determined how much coffee grounds should be used, it’s also important to stop and consider what type of coffee grounds you are using. The size of the coffee grounds will determine how the coffee turns out.  

You want to be careful that you don’t use too much ground coffee, of one type, or also that you have enough coffee grounds for water ratio.  

A finer grind is a good starting point because this is often what you can buy from the store. If you’re purchasing a bag of pre-ground coffee, most likely it is already very fine. The other way you can purchase coffee is whole-bean coffee. This is the type of coffee you will need to grind yourself.  

When you grind whole beans yourself, you can determine if they are finely ground, or if they are coarse ground when making your coffee. Now that you know the different ways coffee grounds can be found, let’s look at how they impact your cup of coffee.  

Essentially, when water flows through the coffee grounds, how quickly they absorb the water will determine how the coffee turns out. For instance, if you have fine ground coffee, there is much more surface area for the water to flow through which will result in a more flavorful coffee.  

This is compared to coarse coffee grounds, which still have chunks of whole beans intact. The water can flow more freely through the coarse coffee grounds, but they do not provide as much flavor as a fine coffee grind.  

The best way to store coffee grounds is in an airtight container, so that they are not exposed to moisture, and will last longer this way.  

Coffee-to-Water Ratio 

There are many different ways you might like to prepare your coffee-to-water ratio. Depending on how strong you make your coffee, how the coffee is ground, and the roast of your coffee.  

Getting the perfect coffee ratio will depend on your taste buds, the cup size, or how many ounces of coffee you are making in order to achieve the optimal ratio.  

Roasted coffee beans different sort ground and whole

Cups of Coffee 

How many cups of coffee you make will be determined by how many tablespoons of coffee grounds to include. Depending on the specific coffee grounds you are using, usually, 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds will make a cup of coffee. The best results will depend upon your taste preferences and how much coffee you are trying to make.  

However, because most coffee instructions show the recommended ounces of water to use, rather than cups, you may need to do some conversions. We are hoping to help make it easy for you! 

Ounces of Water 

Most coffee packages have a suggested measurement ratio on the back of the package. The measurements are done in fluid ounces, but most coffee makers measure in cups which means we need to know how many ounces are in a cup and the total cups of water you are hoping to use.  

Another variable to mention is that your average coffee cup does not contain one cup, meaning one measuring cup of coffee. Some coffee mugs contain 8 ounces, others 6 ounces, and still others 10 or more ounces of volume measure.  

Let’s look at a few of the most common ounce-to-cup measurements with included coffee ground measurements based on 1 serving = 8 fluid ounces: 

6 fl oz = ¾ cup: 2 Tbsp coffee grounds 

8 fl oz = 1 cup: 2 Tbsp coffee grounds 

16 fl oz = 2 cups: 4 Tbsp coffee grounds 

32 fl oz = 4 cups: 8 Tbsp coffee grounds 

40 fl oz = 5 cups: 10 Tbsp coffee grounds 

64 fl oz = 8 cups: 16 Tbsp coffee grounds 

80 fl oz = 10 cups: 20 Tbsp coffee grounds 

Depending on how many fl oz of coffee you want to make, the above conversion table can be used as your basic guide. We have also included measurements for how many coffee grounds can be used based on 2 Tbsp for every 8 fluid ounces of water.  

Please keep in mind that some packages say that you should use 2 Tbsp for every 6 fl oz, rather than 8 fl oz, and you may still need to adjust these measurements to taste.  

Grams of Coffee 

Rather than using a tablespoon to measure your coffee grounds, you might be wondering how many grams of ground coffee you need.  

Of course, you want to double-check these measurements on your kitchen scale, or a coffee scale to determine how many coffee grounds, and what strength of coffee you enjoy, but a good rule of thumb is to use 6 g of coffee grounds where every 1 tablespoon is referenced.  

Below is the conversion chart for your convenience. Please note that the grams may vary depending on what specific type of coffee grounds you are using.  

6 fl oz = ¾ cup: approximately 12 grams (2 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

8 fl oz = 1 cup: approximately 12 grams (2 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

16 fl oz = 2 cups: approximately 32 grams (4 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

32 fl oz = 4 cups: approximately 48 grams (8 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

40 fl oz = 5 cups: approximately 60 grams (10 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

64 fl oz = 8 cups: approximately 96 grams (16 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

80 fl oz = 10 cups: approximately 120 grams (20 Tbsp coffee grounds) 

Pound of Coffee 

What about a pound of coffee, how many cups of coffee would an entire pound of coffee grounds make? One pound of ground coffee is equal to 32 Tablespoons. This means that you could make 16 cups or 128 fluid ounces of brewed coffee with a pound of coffee.  

whole coffee beans on wooden spoon

Brew Ratio 

Depending on how you like your coffee, you can either use one serving as six fluid ounces, and use 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds, or 8 fluid ounces as one serving, for 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds.  

Let’s look at the specifics of brewing coffee. 

Tips and Tricks  

Water: How Much and Temperature of Water 

How much water you use is determined by how many cups of coffee you want when you’re done.  

Although keep in mind that a small portion of the water will stay absorbed in the coffee grounds, and you’ll get approximately the same amount of coffee out as the water that you put in.  

Whether you use hot water or cold water will depend on how you are brewing the coffee. For instance, if you are using a drip coffee maker, it’s best to use cold water, as the machine heats the water temperature, and makes hot coffee.  

This is compared to if you are using another type of coffee maker, you may want to use hot water so that the temperature of the water heats the coffee grounds and allows the coffee to brew easily.  

Coffee Filter 

There are many different types of coffee filters you can choose from as well. The most common type is a disposable coffee filter that you can find at your grocery store and use in a drip coffee maker.  

However, there are other filters you can use in cold brew makers or other types of coffee pots depending upon what you are using.  

Brewing Method 

There are many different types of brew methods for you to choose from. Let’s look at each of these different types in detail below to help you determine which brew method is best for you.  

Cold Brew 

Making cold brew coffee is super easy. When it comes to the coffee ratio you are making, there is not much need to adjust the ratio from above.  

Cold brew makes a nice smooth coffee because it has the chance to mingle water and coffee grounds together for an extended amount of time, unlike other brewing methods. 

To make cold brew coffee, all you really need is a filter basket to put your coffee grounds in, then a mason jar, or pitcher to brew the coffee.  

french press with cup of ice

French Press Coffee 

Using a French press is another great method you can use to make delicious coffee. This brewing process is done by combining coffee grounds and water together inside the French press.  

The grounds and water mingle together and brew a delicious, flavored coffee. Then when you’re ready to enjoy, you can simply press the plunger down to separate the coffee grounds from your brewed coffee.  

Drip Coffee Maker 

A drip coffee pot is the most common type of coffee maker. There are many different types because coffee pot manufacturers have taken the basic pot and improved upon it resulting in all different styles and types of drip coffee makers.   

Golden Ratio 

The golden ratio is what makes the best cup of coffee in your opinion. The golden cup standard may vary from person to person, it just depends on your personal preference as to what the golden coffee ratio is.  

On average, most people prefer to use 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds for every 6 fluid ounces or 8 fluid ounces. Your personal preference will depend on how strong you like the coffee to make your perfect coffee.  

Coffee drinkers will understand that it’s important to make the right amount of coffee, in addition to having strong enough coffee so that you end up with an amazing cup to enjoy.  

coffee grounds on wooden spoon

8-cup Coffee Maker 

In summary, to make 8 cups of coffee, you will need approximately 16 to 21 level coffee scoops full to enjoy great coffee. We hope that this has been helpful, and now you know where to begin making your coffee, and how to adjust it so that it fits your personal preferences.  

Now it’s time to start making your amazing coffee!  

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We here at CookThink have been cooking and baking for many years! We love to share our recipes, and hope you will enjoy them too!

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