Where the Ratios and Numbers Come From

Every number on this site falls into one of three categories: a ratio range, a caffeine estimate, or a brew-time figure. Each is handled differently, and this page explains how, because "trust us" isn't a methodology.

Ratios

The ratio for each method is presented as a range across three strength presets — light, balanced and strong — rather than a single number, because that's the honest shape of how specialty-coffee sources actually describe it. The "balanced" figure for each method reflects where general specialty-coffee guidance for that method tends to cluster: roughly 1:15 to 1:17 for pour-over-family methods, 1:12 to 1:17 for French press, 1:2 for espresso by yield, and notably lower (more concentrated) ratios for methods designed to be diluted or drunk in small volume, like Turkish coffee and cold-brew concentrate. Where credible sources disagree by more than a rounding error, the range itself widens rather than picking one side and presenting it as uncontested.

These ratios are starting points, not laboratory-verified constants. Bean density, roast level, grinder consistency and personal taste all shift where the "right" ratio actually sits for you, which is exactly why every ratio page frames the number as a starting point and points to the fix pages for what to adjust if it tastes wrong.

Brew times and stages

Total brew time and stage breakdowns (bloom, pour, steep, press) reflect conventional technique for each method as generally taught and practiced — a 30-second pour-over bloom, a four-minute French press steep, a 25–30 second espresso shot. These are typical windows, not rigid rules; the brew timer stages are a reasonable default to start from; and adjusting outside them intentionally, once you understand why, is completely normal.

Caffeine ranges

Caffeine content varies enormously by bean, roast and brew strength, so every figure on this site is presented as a range scaled to serving size rather than a single confident milligram count. These ranges are broadly consistent with how caffeine content is generally described for common brew methods and serving sizes — an 8oz cup of drip coffee in the 95–200mg range, an espresso shot around 60–70mg, and so on. They are general information for comparing methods, never a precise measurement of a specific cup you've brewed, and never medical or dosing guidance — see the caffeine estimator for the full caveat.

What's a judgment call versus a sourced figure

The ratio divisors, brew-time windows and caffeine ranges are the sourced, checkable parts of this site. The prose around them — which grind size to try first, which mistake is most common, which method suits which morning — reflects informed judgment about coffee brewing rather than a single citable source, the same way a knowledgeable barista's advice would. Where a claim is genuinely disputed or uncertain, the relevant page says so directly rather than presenting a guess as settled fact.

Why ranges instead of single numbers, everywhere

A ratio, a brew time and a caffeine figure could each be flattened into one clean number that looks more authoritative on the page. That would be a worse methodology, not a better one — real brewing sources disagree with each other by a meaningful margin on most of these figures, and presenting false precision would mean picking a winner between reasonable positions rather than reporting the actual state of things. Where this site gives a range, it's because the range is the honest answer; where it gives a single figure, it's because the sources it's drawn from genuinely converge that tightly.

Corrections

If a number here looks wrong, or if you have a source that meaningfully updates a range, the contact page is the place to say so — every correction gets read and checked against the reasoning above before anything changes.