How the cost per cup is worked out
The calculator divides the bag price by its weight in grams to get the price of one gram, then multiplies by the grams in each cup. A $15 bag that weighs 12 ounces holds 340g of coffee, so each gram costs about 4.4 cents. At 20g a cup, that is about 88 cents a cup, and the bag makes 17 cups.
The weekly, monthly, and yearly figures multiply the cost per cup by your cups a day. A month is a twelfth of a year, so the monthly figure is an average rather than any particular month. Water, filters, and milk are not included, and neither is the cost of the brewer.
Cups per bag by method
Each method uses a different amount of coffee for one serving, so the same bag goes further in some brewers than others. These are the doses the method picker fills in, from each method's baseline recipe, and the full cups each one gets from a 12-ounce bag.
| Method | Coffee | Cups |
|---|---|---|
| AeroPress | 15 g | 22 |
| Drip | 19 g | 17 |
| Pourover | 20 g | 17 |
| Moka Pot | 18 g | 18 |
| French Press | 20 g | 17 |
| Cold Brew | 32 g | 10 |
| Espresso | 18 g | 18 |
| Turkish Coffee | 7 g | 48 |
| Vietnamese Coffee | 16 g | 21 |
French press and cold brew recipes brew more than one serving, so their doses here are scaled to one mug or glass from 320g of water. Espresso counts a double shot. Cold brew uses the most coffee per glass; cold brew vs iced coffee compares what that does to the cost.
Why weighing your coffee matters here
The cost per cup moves in step with the grams in each cup. Use 2g more than you think and every cup costs about a tenth more than the calculator says. That is why it asks for grams rather than scoops.
If you measure with a spoon, a level tablespoon of ground coffee is about 5g, and a standard scoop is about 10g, but the real weight can run from about 4g to 7g a tablespoon. Why spoons are only approximate explains how to check what yours holds. The coffee ratio calculator works out the grams for any amount of water.
Bag sizes in grams
Bags are sold in both systems. These are the common sizes:
| Bag | Grams |
|---|---|
| 8.8 oz | 250g |
| 10 oz | 283g |
| 12 oz | 340g |
| 1 lb | 454g |
| 2 lb | 907g |
| 1 kg (2.2 lb) | 1,000g |
Pods and café drinks
For coffee pods, you do not need the calculator: the cost per cup is the price of the box divided by the number of pods in it. A pod holds only about 10g of coffee, and a cup from a pod often costs several times as much as the same coffee bought by the bag. A reusable pod filled with your own coffee closes most of that gap; see Keurig cost and waste.
For the café comparison, enter the price of the drink you would otherwise buy. The calculator assumes one café drink for every cup you brew. A latte at home also needs milk, so for milk drinks the true gap is a little smaller than the figure shown.
Getting more from each bag
- Buy a size you finish while it tastes fresh. A cheaper large bag is not a saving if the last third goes stale. The calculator shows how long a bag lasts at your rate; how to store coffee covers how long that can be, and how to freeze the rest.
- Brew only as much as you drink. Coffee poured away at the end of the day was paid for too. If you often brew a full pot and drink half of it, the ratio calculator scales any recipe down.
- Check that a weak cup is really weak. A thin, sour cup is usually under-extracted, and a finer grind fixes that for free. Only a cup that tastes pleasant but watery needs more coffee. Weak versus under-extracted explains how to tell.
- Spend on the right gear, once. A scale and a decent grinder make every bag taste better. What to buy first puts them in order.