I've read a few things saying that for each level you fill your water
reservoir up to i.e.. 1-12, that's how many even tablespoons of grinds your
supposed to use. With the addition of cold water, but every time I do this,
my coffee seems to be either too dark or just bitter tasting. The brands
I've used are Folgers, Maxwell House and 8 'o clock coffees. Are these just
cheap coffees with bitter tastes, or is the grind measurements off scale?
Let me know...Sincerely 'wake up coffee' freak

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 12:10:15 GMT, James M Thaxton wrote:
> I've read a few things saying that for each level you fill your water
> reservoir up to i.e.. 1-12, that's how many even tablespoons of grinds your
> supposed to use.

You're reading the wrong places.

> With the addition of cold water, but every time I do this,
> my coffee seems to be either too dark or just bitter tasting. The brands
> I've used are Folgers, Maxwell House and 8 'o clock coffees. Are these just
> cheap coffees with bitter tastes,

Yes.

> or is the grind measurements off scale?

Yes.

> Let me know...Sincerely 'wake up coffee' freak

In order to make good drip coffee, you need to start
with about a 17:1 ratio of water to coffee (by weight).
Conveniently, a fluid ounce of water weighs almost
exactly one ounce. So, for 34 oz. of water, use 2 oz.
(by weight) of coffee grounds; 17 oz of water to 1 oz.
coffee, etc.

Then, the water needs to be somewhere between 185 and
205, and it should be in contact with the grounds for
something like 3 or 4 minutes. Much longer than that,
and more and more bittering elements are extracted.

Few auto drips make good coffee, though there are some.
Most don't get the water hot enough, and take too long.

By far the least expensve ways to make good coffee are
with a pourover cone (like the Melitta), a french press,
or a vac pot (aka vacuum brewer).
A good auto-drip will run you about a Benjamin
(though a Bunn B-series would probably be closer to
$75 or so).

--
Steve Ackman
http://twoloonscoffee.com (Need green beans?)
http://twovoyagers.com (glass, linux & other stuff)

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 12:10:15 GMT, James M Thaxton wrote:
> I've read a few things saying that for each level you fill your water
> reservoir up to i.e.. 1-12, that's how many even tablespoons of grinds your
> supposed to use.

You're reading the wrong places.

> With the addition of cold water, but every time I do this,
> my coffee seems to be either too dark or just bitter tasting. The brands
> I've used are Folgers, Maxwell House and 8 'o clock coffees. Are these just
> cheap coffees with bitter tastes,

Yes.

> or is the grind measurements off scale?

Yes.

> Let me know...Sincerely 'wake up coffee' freak

In order to make good drip coffee, you need to start
with about a 17:1 ratio of water to coffee (by weight).
Conveniently, a fluid ounce of water weighs almost
exactly one ounce. So, for 34 oz. of water, use 2 oz.
(by weight) of coffee grounds; 17 oz of water to 1 oz.
coffee, etc.

Then, the water needs to be somewhere between 185 and
205, and it should be in contact with the grounds for
something like 3 or 4 minutes. Much longer than that,
and more and more bittering elements are extracted.

Few auto drips make good coffee, though there are some.
Most don't get the water hot enough, and take too long.

By far the least expensve ways to make good coffee are
with a pourover cone (like the Melitta), a french press,
or a vac pot (aka vacuum brewer).
A good auto-drip will run you about a Benjamin
(though a Bunn B-series would probably be closer to
$75 or so).

--
Steve Ackman
http://twoloonscoffee.com (Need green beans?)
http://twovoyagers.com (glass, linux & other stuff)

That's too much coffee...the basic formula is one tablespoon coffee per 2
cups water. Remember a standard cup is only 8 ounces, or roughly half a
mugfull.

James M Thaxton > wrote:
> I've read a few things saying that for each level you fill your water
> reservoir up to i.e.. 1-12, that's how many even tablespoons of grinds your
> supposed to use. With the addition of cold water, but every time I do this,
> my coffee seems to be either too dark or just bitter tasting. The brands
> I've used are Folgers, Maxwell House and 8 'o clock coffees. Are these just
> cheap coffees with bitter tastes, or is the grind measurements off scale?
> Let me know...Sincerely 'wake up coffee' freak

That's too much coffee...the basic formula is one tablespoon coffee per 2
cups water. Remember a standard cup is only 8 ounces, or roughly half a
mugfull.

James M Thaxton > wrote:
> I've read a few things saying that for each level you fill your water
> reservoir up to i.e.. 1-12, that's how many even tablespoons of grinds your
> supposed to use. With the addition of cold water, but every time I do this,
> my coffee seems to be either too dark or just bitter tasting. The brands
> I've used are Folgers, Maxwell House and 8 'o clock coffees. Are these just
> cheap coffees with bitter tastes, or is the grind measurements off scale?
> Let me know...Sincerely 'wake up coffee' freak

In rec.food.drink.coffee, anon > wrote:
> That's too much coffee...the basic formula is one tablespoon coffee per 2
> cups water. Remember a standard cup is only 8 ounces, or roughly half a
> mugfull.

The standard is two tablespoons per 6 ounces of water.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.drink.coffee, anon > wrote:
> That's too much coffee...the basic formula is one tablespoon coffee per 2
> cups water. Remember a standard cup is only 8 ounces, or roughly half a
> mugfull.

The standard is two tablespoons per 6 ounces of water.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

With all respect there is no real standard it varies by coffee maker ....
generally speaking two tablespoons per 6 oz. is in the ballpark but some makers
call for half of that and it also varies according to the grind.

Basically, you need to experiment and see what works best for your machine and
grind.
Ted Harris
Resource Strategy
Henniker, New Hampshire

With all respect there is no real standard it varies by coffee maker ....
generally speaking two tablespoons per 6 oz. is in the ballpark but some makers
call for half of that and it also varies according to the grind.

Basically, you need to experiment and see what works best for your machine and
grind.
Ted Harris
Resource Strategy
Henniker, New Hampshire