How many cups of coffee are in a bag? Jump into our article and find out how many cups of joe you can make from a bag of coffee.
So, how many cups of coffee are in a bag?
It’s a simple question that should have a simple answer, right?
Not quite.
You may have noticed that there are so many different answers floating around on the web.
That’s because the number of cups of coffee that you can get out of a bag of coffee will depend on a bunch of factors.
Don’t worry. I’ve spent hours researching and done all the calculations for you so that you don’t have to.
Let’s get to it!
How Many Cups Of Coffee Do You Get From a 12-ounce Bag?
First thing first.
In order for us to even think about how many cups we can squeeze out of a 12oz bag, we need to figure out how much coffee is used per cup.
Okay, so with that in mind, let’s use the weight of the coffee.
The next step is to figure out what the coffee-to-water ratio and cup size will be.
Now, to simplify things for us, I’ve done the calculations using a standard water ratio of 1:17 (1 gram of coffee: 17 grams of water) and a cup size of 12oz (355ml).
REMEMBER
1 gram of water is the same as 1 milliliter of water.
Given that we need 1 gram of coffee per 17 units of water, we will need 355ml of water and 21 grams of coffee.
This is how we determine that you can get 16 cups of coffee from a 12oz bag of coffee.
Factors That Influence How Many Cups You Get From a Bag Of Coffee
There are a bunch of things that affect how much ground beans you use when brewing coffee.
In a nutshell, the amount of coffee that you use is going to affect the number of cups you can get out of a bag.
I know what you’re probably thinking.
“But there are so many factors that can affect this!”
Exactly.
That’s why you may find varying answers to this question.
Depending on your brew method, different amounts of coffee will be used each time. That leaves us with many different combinations of how many cups can be made from a 12-ounce bag.
Another variable is the coffee-to-water ratio. This is basically what dictates the strength of your coffee and, therefore, how much coffee you actually use per cup.
Even the size of your mug will affect how many cups you can get out of a bag.
Brewing Method
The brewing method that you use is going to affect the number of cups that you can get out of a 12-ounce bag of coffee.
That’s because different methods of brewing require different:
- Amounts of coffee
- Coffee-to-water ratios
- Grind size
Let’s take a look at the coffee-to-water ratio for some different brewing methods.
Drip Coffee Machine
If you’re using a drip coffee maker, the optimal coffee ratio is 1:17, meaning 1 part ground coffee beans for every 17 parts of water.
Espresso Machine
If you’re going to brew an espresso coffee, then you will need a much larger amount of water compared to the other brewing methods. For every 1 gram of coffee, you will need 2 parts water.
French Press
Are you using a French press to make your morning cup of coffee?
The ideal ratio to use is 1 part coffee to 12 parts water.
Coffee-To-Water Ratio
A cup of coffee’s strength is determined by how much ground coffee is added in relation to water.
Your coffee-to-water ratio is essentially shaped by how strong you like your coffee, and it’s totally up to you how much water you use.
However, the most common coffee-to-water ratios range from 1:15 to 1:18. That is 1 gram of coffee ground to 15 grams of water.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has come up with a ‘Golden Cup Ratio’ based on their research and expertise. They suggest that a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:18 will achieve the best results across all brewing methods.
However, the ratio of 1:17 is very popular among seasoned coffee fanatics.
That’s why I recommend calculating your coffee-to-water ratio so that you can accurately calculate how many cups of coffee you can get out of a bag.
Make sure that you are using grams, then divide the water used by the amount of coffee, and this will give you your coffee-to-water ratio.
Mug Size
Not all mugs are made equal.
That’s why the number of cups of coffee that you can get out of a 12-oz bag depends on the size of the mug.
PRO TIP
Measure how many ounces your typical cup of coffee is by using a measuring jug or a kitchen scale.
Let’s look at some examples below using 3 common coffee cup sizes. I’ve used a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:17. This means that for every 1g of coffee, we use 17ml of water.
- 8 oz – 24 cups per 12 oz bag
- 12 oz – 16 cups per 12 oz bag
- 16 oz – 12 cups per 12 oz bag
So, if you’re using a 12 oz cup, you should be able to make around 16 cups of coffee from your 12 oz bag.
Here’s a handy chart to help you with it.
How Many Cups of Coffee Are in a Bag of Different Sizes?
There you have it.
All the ins and outs of how many cups of coffee you can get from a 12oz bag.
What’s that?
Do you have some different-sized bags of coffee lying around?
Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.
Check out the charts that I’ve created for you to reference, keeping in mind that they are based on a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:17.
They show other common bag sizes and cup sizes, showing the subsequent number of cups of coffee that you can yield.
To Sum Things Up
To put it simply, a 12oz bag of coffee should give you roughly sixteen 12oz cups of coffee.
But now we know that many factors go into play when calculating the exact number of cups that you can get out of a 12oz bag.
Your preferred brewing method and go-to mug are going to affect your final result.
Keep in mind that if you typically make strong coffee, you’ll get fewer cups from a bag.
And if you make coffee on the weaker side, you’ll get more cups.
Looking for the perfect way to open a bag of coffee? Check out our article on how to do just that.
