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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on January 18, 2011 at 7:16pm

so, basic math is a good skill to have in the coffee industry...

 

1 lb. = 16 oz.

using four ounces to the half gallon of water, that makes two gallons of coffee.

two gallons is 256 ounces of coffee, divided by 16 ounces per cup, makes 16 cups.

 

that wasn't so hard, was it?

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Permalink Reply by Chris on January 18, 2011 at 7:30pm

Wow I bet you feel really smart. I was asking not because of an aversion to math, but because I have seen many different answers to this online.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on January 19, 2011 at 5:27am

I agree Chris because not everybody uses 4 oz. per half gallon of water. For 64 oz. of water I normally use around 3.5 oz. of ground coffee and to my taste buds that is optimal. Have tried using more and even a bit less and settled on my current ratio. The "Golden Cup Standards Chart" indicates a MIN of 3.3 oz and a MAX of 4.3 oz. be used for 64 oz. of water. Also take into account the fineness of the grind/flow rate, etc.  

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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on January 19, 2011 at 8:13am

sorry for the sarcasm, but this question has been asked a LOT on this forum before, and barista exchange does feature a search function. chris's profile indicates he's opening a coffeeshop with zero experience, and he's asking what his brewing ratio should be? that doesn't bode well for future success.

 

allow me to give some constructive criticism - chris, if you'd sat down with some coffee, brewed it at different ratios (from the aforementioned 3.25 oz to 4.25 oz per half gallon), been unable to decide whether you liked 3.75 or 4 oz per half gallon better, and then brought that question to the forum to gather more information, it would have spoken well of you. but if you're opening a café and don't really even know what ratio of coffee to water you think tastes best, it might be time to take a step back.

 

the reason all this really annoys me is that i HATE to see coffeeshop owners fail. a little research and experimentation without an investment will pay off huge dividends later.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on January 19, 2011 at 8:49am

I appreciate the feedback.

 

It's just a question though. You come off as wanting to sound superior more than hating to see owners fail. Just an fyi.

 

I am going through some training soon. It was just something that I was curious about the other night so I figured I would ask. What is the purpose of the forum if we cannot ask questions? I wanted to see what everyone else was doing to see some trends.

Jared Rutledge said:

sorry for the sarcasm, but this question has been asked a LOT on this forum before, and barista exchange does feature a search function. chris's profile indicates he's opening a coffeeshop with zero experience, and he's asking what his brewing ratio should be? that doesn't bode well for future success.

 

allow me to give some constructive criticism - chris, if you'd sat down with some coffee, brewed it at different ratios (from the aforementioned 3.25 oz to 4.25 oz per half gallon), been unable to decide whether you liked 3.75 or 4 oz per half gallon better, and then brought that question to the forum to gather more information, it would have spoken well of you. but if you're opening a café and don't really even know what ratio of coffee to water you think tastes best, it might be time to take a step back.

 

the reason all this really annoys me is that i HATE to see coffeeshop owners fail. a little research and experimentation without an investment will pay off huge dividends later.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on January 19, 2011 at 9:04am

Forums ARE very useful to find information as well as give it, but I do agree that forums can get overloaded with often asked questions such as "what grinder/machine to choose, how do I dial my new grinder in, etc." and search engines should be used more often. If all searches are exhausted without really find a specific answer, then ask away. 

 

In defense of Jared's advice I have seen firsthand coffeeshop owners that know next to nothing about the industry. Many have no clue where the beans they offer come from/what roast level they are/what flavor profile they should be getting from it, etc. Many don't even taste what they're serving. I ask "how can you dial things in and know exactly what you're serving if you don't like coffee yourself?!?" 

 

As with most things in life coffee will be successful for you if you actually have a passion for it and don't just think it's easy money, because that it isn't!

 

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