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Water Dose Retained Cup
Choose the closest brewer profile before adjusting the recipe.
Changing units preserves the same planned beverage quantity.
For non-espresso brews, ratio must exceed grounds retention by more than 0.1.
1:
Use the preset first, then replace it with measured brew-to-brew loss when available.
g/g
Balanced is the best first run; adjust after tasting or measuring.
Change one variable at a time and keep the rest of the recipe stable.
{{ brewTimeDisplay }} at the current setting.
sec
Valid normalized range: 0–100 °C.
Neutral default: 0 uses the selected strength profile. Brix conversion is an approximate planning shortcut.
Neutral default: one serving.
Neutral default: 0 uses the method preset.
× dose
Neutral default: 0 uses the method preset.
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Neutral default: 0 uses the method preset.
Neutral default: 0 uses the method preset.
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The chart renderer is unavailable. The same brew masses remain available in the recipe ledger.

Coffee Brew Planner Plan coffee dose, brew water and timed pours from served volume and ratio with absorption, bloom and projected strength guidance.
Coffee Extraction Yield Calculator Calculate coffee extraction yield from dose and beverage mass with TDS or Brix conversion, inclusive targets, and dilution estimates.
Coffee Water Recipe Calculator Build coffee water from GH, alkalinity and TDS with source dilution and exact mineral doses, plus checks for small measurements and equipment risks.
Coffee Bag Yield Calculator Calculate how many servings a coffee bag yields and what each costs, then estimate runout and reorder timing from waste and daily use.

Coffee recipes are mass balances before they are taste instructions. Dry coffee, added water, water retained by the grounds, and served beverage are related but not interchangeable amounts. A 1:16 recipe describes added water relative to dry coffee; it does not promise that all 16 parts reach the cup.

Brewers handle that balance differently. Pour-over and Chemex lose water in the grounds and filter. Immersion brewers steep coffee and water together before separation. Espresso targets beverage mass directly at a short beverage-to-dose ratio, while moka pots add pressure and heat through a fixed chamber. Cold brew uses much longer contact and often produces a concentrate intended for dilution.

Brew ratio
Added water divided by dry coffee for non-espresso methods; beverage yield divided by dry coffee for espresso in this planning model.
Total dissolved solids
TDS, the percentage of the beverage mass made from dissolved coffee solids. It describes strength, not flavor quality by itself.
Extraction yield
The percentage of dry coffee mass transferred into the beverage as dissolved solids.
Retention
Water left in the spent grounds, expressed as grams of retained water per gram of dry coffee.

Strength and extraction answer different questions. A strong drink has a high dissolved-solids concentration. A highly extracted brew removed a larger share of material from the grounds. A small, concentrated espresso can be strong without having an unusually high extraction yield; a larger filter coffee can be less concentrated while extracting a similar share of the dose.

Time, temperature, grind, agitation, pressure, water chemistry, roast, and bean age all affect the cup. They also interact, which makes uncontrolled changes hard to learn from. A useful dial-in routine holds the dose and water relationship steady, changes one variable, records beverage mass and time, then tastes again.

Measurements improve repeatability but do not define a universally “correct” cup. TDS and extraction yield can place two brews at similar numeric coordinates while roast character, aroma, acidity, bitterness, and consumer preference remain different. Method presets should be treated as first-run recipes, not standards.

Food safety still matters. Use clean equipment and potable water. Cold brew spends hours at low temperature, so prepare, store, and serve it under an appropriate food-safety process rather than treating a recipe calculation as storage guidance.

How to Use This Tool:

Choose the closest brewer profile, make one controlled first recipe, then replace assumptions with measurements from your own equipment.

  1. Select the Brew method. The profile supplies a starting yield, ratio, time, temperature, retention, strength range, grind label, and method-specific sequence.
  2. Enter the target served beverage and unit. Grams and millilitres are treated as equal masses for planning; fluid ounces are converted to grams.
  3. Set the brew ratio and grounds retention. For non-espresso methods, the ratio must exceed retention by more than 0.1 so the dose calculation has a valid denominator.
  4. Choose a strength target and taste or flow cue. The cue recommends one next grind move; it does not recalculate the recipe from taste alone.
  5. Enter time and water temperature. Use zero for optional bloom, pour-count, measured-strength, and pressure overrides when the method preset should remain in effect.
  6. Review dry coffee, added water, retained water, served beverage, TDS, and extraction together. After brewing, record actual beverage mass and measured TDS when available, then change one variable for the next attempt.

Interpreting Results:

In target band compares TDS with the selected method's preset strength range. Near target means modeled extraction is within 1 percentage point of the selected extraction target, inclusive. A brew can pass one check and miss the other because concentration and extraction are different quantities.

When a refractometer value is available, use measured TDS rather than the preset estimate. A Brix entry is multiplied by 0.85 as an approximate coffee-planning conversion; it is not interchangeable with a calibrated coffee TDS reading.

Treat grind guidance as the next controlled move. Sour or fast suggests one small step finer; bitter or slow suggests coarser or shorter contact. Weak or thin suggests slightly finer or a lower ratio, while heavy or muddy suggests coarser grinding and less agitation. Hold the other variables steady so the next cup teaches you something.

Technical Details:

The model normalizes beverage yield to grams and temperature to degrees Celsius. One fluid ounce is 29.5735295625 grams for this water-like planning conversion. Millilitres are treated as grams without a density correction. Fahrenheit uses the standard offset conversion.

Formula Core:

For non-espresso methods, let Y be target beverage grams, r the water-to-coffee ratio, q retention in grams per gram, D dry coffee, W added water, and R retained water:

D=Yr−q W=D×rR=D×qY=W−R

Espresso treats the entered target as beverage yield: D = Y ÷ r, retained water is still D × q, and planned brew water is Y + R.

Dissolved solids and extraction yield use TDS as a percentage of beverage mass:

S=Y×TDS100 Extraction yield=SD×100

Calculations keep full numeric precision. The recipe display rounds masses and percentages for readability. A measured strength of zero means “use the preset estimate,” not a measured 0% TDS.

Lookup Core:

MethodRatioRetentionTime°CTDS band
Pour-over162.0 g/g210 s941.15% to 1.45%
Chemex162.3 g/g270 s931.10% to 1.40%
AeroPress131.8 g/g120 s901.20% to 1.60%
French press151.9 g/g240 s951.20% to 1.50%
Cold brew concentrate52.2 g/g12 hr203.0% to 5.0%
Espresso20.45 g/g28 s938.0% to 12.0%
Moka pot71.3 g/g320 s923.0% to 5.0%

Each method also stores light, balanced, rich, and concentrate targets for TDS and extraction. These values drive the strength and extraction labels. They are starting presets used by this model rather than published brewing standards.

Rule Core:

  • Measured Brix is approximated as TDS by multiplying by 0.85.
  • Extraction is Near target when the absolute difference is at most 1 percentage point.
  • A positive bloom, preinfusion, pour-count, or pressure override replaces the method preset; zero keeps the preset.
  • Bloom water applies only to percolation methods and is capped at total planned water.
  • Warnings appear for measured TDS below 0.2% or above 15%, espresso ratios below 1 or above 4, temperatures above 99°C, and non-cold-brew temperatures below 80°C.

Accuracy Notes:

  • Retention, preset TDS, target extraction, time, temperature, grind, and pressure are planning assumptions. Brewer geometry and real technique can move every value.
  • Millilitres are treated as grams and fluid ounces as a water-like mass conversion. Actual beverage density and scale calibration can create small differences.
  • The 0.85 Brix conversion is an approximate shortcut. Use a coffee-calibrated refractometer and its specified workflow when measurement accuracy matters.
  • Taste cues are directional, not diagnostic. Channeling, uneven saturation, water chemistry, roast development, and stale coffee can produce similar symptoms.

Worked Examples:

Balanced pour-over starting point

A 320 g beverage at a 1:16 ratio with 2.0 g/g retention needs about 22.9 g of coffee and 365.7 g of added water. The grounds retain about 45.7 g, leaving the planned 320 g beverage. A modeled 1.30% TDS contains 4.16 g of dissolved solids and gives 18.2% extraction, which is 1.8 percentage points below the 20% balanced target. The recipe is in the preset strength band but below the extraction target, so the next brew should test one controlled extraction change rather than simply adding more coffee.

References: