How Many Scoops Of Coffee For 12 Cups Of Water In The Coffee Pot

Coffee oh coffee. We need you on the best days and even more on the worst days…. hehe maybe I am being a bit dramatic but it might have something to do with the fact that I am writing about making the perfect cup of coffee in the morning after I have only slept for a total of 4.5 hours in two separate chunks thanks to a stupid dog of mine that decided to bark at little sounds she herd in the middle of the night. 

After she started up again the second time I finally remembered we have bark collars and in my grumpy stupor put one of those on her at 1 AM. I don’t know if you are like me but if my brain wakes up in the middle of the night its over for me. It took 3-4 hours for me to get back to sleep leaving me with 2 hrs before we normally get up in the morning. 

So yeah I’m grumpy….

​ANYWAY….. On your question. How many scoops of coffee for 12 cups in a coffee pot? 

Standard Measurements You Need To Know

Coffee scoops – A standard coffee scoop is 2 tablespoons of ground coffee. So whether you have a scoop that says it’s for coffee or you just use a measuring spoon know that the 2 tablespoon standard is what I am going off of for each scoop of coffee. 

Meaning Of “cups” On A Pot – When a coffee pot has all those little dashes on the side with 2,4,6,8,12 cups of coffee it means one 8 oz cup per cup of coffee. 8 ounces is SMALL when we are talking coffee world. You know those small little bottles of water that fit in your hand? Yeah, those are only 8 ounces. Most travel mugs take at least 2 of those “cups” in a pot. I know every coffee lover just cried somewhere. 

So when you are deciding how much to make remember that your average house mug will hold at least 1.5 – 2 of those cups.

​How Much Ground Coffee To Use

Unfortunately how many scoops is a personal preference AND it also depends on the type of coffee beans you are using. 

If you like middle of the road coffee strength I will do 6 scoops for 12 cups of coffee in a drip coffee maker. 

If you like strong coffee, for most people I am around, one scoop per cup seems to be the norm for the people I know who like it strong.

The best way to find your golden ratio is to test and change ONE THING at a time about the coffee.

If You Are New To Drinking Coffee Start With These Steps

There are a lot of things that can affect the taste of your cup of coffee. The water, the ratio of coffee to water, the water temperature, how long you let the water steep, and more.

Choose a brewing process that makes the most sense for you. — A drip coffee machine or french press are the two most common of the different brewing methods. Personally, I think the french press gives the best flavor.

​Choose a brand you want to try (that is also within your budget) and start with a medium roast coffee. — If you have no idea which brand of coffee to try ask people you know and you tend to eat the same things. People have VERY different opinions about which is the best brand so you might just need to try it out. My favorite brand is Yuban but it’s not available everywhere. We can only get it at Kroger in our area. 

Start with 1 scoop for every 2 cups of those 8 fluid ounces of water markers on your coffee pot. — If you have a french press without those markers you can either fill it up. Or you use a liquid measuring cup with the ounces marked to see how much it holds and add how much water you think you will need for the cup size you will be drinking out of.

Once it brews see if you like the takes. — Weaker coffee tastes like dirty water. A strong cup of coffee has a bite to it. Its hard to swallow in larger amounts. If you simply don’t like it I would highly encourage you to go both directions with the coffee measurements and see if that helps before trying a different brand of coffee. 

If you used a french press coffee maker leave the coffee steep for 6-10 minutes as a good starting point — This is where it gets a little more complicated to make a great cup of coffee. Personally, I would not recommend you change the number of scoops of ground coffee you use until you experiment with the time you let it steep. Longer time means stronger coffee. Less steep time means weaker coffee. 

Other Tips To Make Good Coffee

If you want to uplevel your coffee making at home here are some things you can do. 

• Get a coffee grinder and get a good brand off whole bean coffee. ONLY grind up a small amount at a time. Don’t grind the whole bag. 
• Store the coffee in an airtight container or freeze the coffee beans to keep them fresh. 

Some things that can make coffee taste bad. 

• Using water you are not used to.
• The paper filter in a usual percolator coffee maker will make weak coffee.
• Instant coffee is NASTY in my opinion. 
• Not a fan of maxwell house or Folgers Coffee. 
• Wrong coffee-to-water ratio compared to what you are used to. 

Making the perfect coffee at home takes some practice and willingness to pay around with different methods to get the best results. Remember to change ONE THING at a time and even set a little notepad by your coffee maker if you have trouble remembering things from day to day.