How much coffee per cup: grams, tablespoons and scoops
A 12-cup coffee maker takes about 98 g of ground coffee: 19.5 level tablespoons, or 10 two-tablespoon scoops. Pick what a cup means for you, how many, and how strong, and the calculator does the rest.
What is a cup here?
5 fl oz per cup, the cup most drip makers count in (Cuisinart, OXO).
Ground coffee
98 g
for 60 fl oz (1,774 ml) of water
Level tablespoons
19.5
at about 5 g each
Coffee scoops
10
2-tablespoon scoop
Water
1,774 ml
60 fl oz
Grams are the reliable number. A tablespoon of ground coffee weighs more or less depending on grind and roast, so a scale makes every pot the same.
Quick reference: coffee for 4 to 12 cups
Coffee-maker cups of 5 fl oz at standard strength, 55 g of coffee per litre of water. Tablespoons and scoops are rounded to the nearest half.
| Cups | Water | Coffee | Level tbsp | Scoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 cups | 20 fl oz | 33 g | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| 6 cups | 30 fl oz | 49 g | 10 | 5 |
| 8 cups | 40 fl oz | 65 g | 13 | 6.5 |
| 10 cups | 50 fl oz | 81 g | 16.5 | 8 |
| 12 cups | 60 fl oz | 98 g | 19.5 | 10 |
Brewing by the mug instead? An 8 oz mug takes about 13 g, 2.6 level tablespoons or 1.3 scoops.
What counts as a cup
Most of the confusion about coffee amounts is a confusion about the word cup. The manufacturers define it differently from a measuring cup, and differently from each other:
- Drip coffee makers: 5 fl oz.Cuisinart rates its 12-cup Coffee on Demand at twelve 5 oz cups, and OXO's Brew 9-Cup manual defines a cup as 5 fl oz, 45 oz for the full carafe.
- Moccamaster: 125 ml, about 4.2 fl oz. The KBGV Select is listed as 1.25 L / 40 oz / 10 cups.
- Measuring cup and mugs: 8 fl oz and up. A US measuring cup is 8 fl oz; everyday mugs run 8 to 12.
- Brewing guidance: per 6 fl oz.The National Coffee Association and Moccamaster both state their dose per 6 oz of water, which is why scoop-per-cup advice never quite lines up with a machine's markings.
How the calculator works
One formula, then unit conversions. Water is cups multiplied by the cup size you chose. Coffee in grams is the water in litres multiplied by the strength:
- Strength.Standard is 55 g per litre, the centre of the SCA's Golden Cup Standard (55 g/L, give or take 10%) and the figure Moccamaster publishes. Lighter is 50 g/L and stronger is 60 g/L, near the two edges of that band.
- Tablespoons. 5 g per level tablespoon. Moccamaster equates two tablespoons per 6 oz with 55 g/L, which puts two tablespoons at about 9.8 g.
- Scoops.A standard coffee scoop holds two level tablespoons, about 10 g; Moccamaster's classic scoop is sold as exactly that. OXO's own scoop is smaller, about 8 g by its manual, so the OXO preset counts those as well.
- Crowd mode. People multiplied by cups each and the serving size gives the coffee to make. It also converts that into 5 oz coffee-maker cups, the unit drip makers are rated in, and the full pots each catalog machine would need. Urns are rated in cups too, but check the manual for the size of that cup before you trust the number on the box.
Two honest limits. Tablespoon weights move with grind and roast, so grams are the dependable number. And grounds hold back some water, so a full pot pours a little less than the water you put in.
Worked example: a full Moccamaster
Ten Moccamaster cups is 1,250 ml of water. At 55 g per litre that is 1.25 × 55 = 69 g of coffee. In spoons, that is about 14 level tablespoons or 7 two-tablespoon scoops, close to one scoop per 6 oz of water, which is the way Moccamaster states the same formula.
Watch the basket on big pots
Cuisinart's PerfecTemp manual says to add one level scoop per cup, but it also caps the basket at 15 tablespoons of ground coffee. A full 14-cup pot at standard strength needs about 23, so at that strength the cap covers about 9 cups. Pick the Cuisinart preset above and the calculator flags it.
Sources, read 4 October 2026:
- OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker instruction manual (8 g per 5 fl oz cup; 1 OXO scoop ≈ 8 g)
- Cuisinart Coffee on Demand 12-cup (DCC-3000): "holds twelve 5 oz cups of coffee"
- Cuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-3200 instruction booklet (1 level scoop per cup; 15 tablespoon basket maximum)
- Moccamaster KBGV Select specifications (1.25 L / 40 oz / 10 cups)
- Moccamaster Brewing 101 (two tablespoons per 6 oz, or 55 g per litre)
- Moccamaster 2 Tbsp Brown Scoop ("measures two tablespoons")
- National Coffee Association, drip coffee (1 to 2 tablespoons per 6 oz, the Golden Ratio)
- Specialty Coffee Association of America, Brewing Best Practices (Golden Cup 55 g/L ± 10%), Internet Archive copy
Go further
Brewing by weight instead of cups, or choosing the machine for the pot size you actually make:
The right grind for a drip basket is in the grind size finder, and a coffee scale turns these numbers into the same pot every morning.
Common questions
How much coffee for 12 cups?
On a coffee maker, 12 cups is 60 fl oz of water, which takes about 98 g of ground coffee at the SCA Golden Cup strength of 55 g per litre. That is roughly 19.5 level tablespoons or 10 two-tablespoon scoops. If you mean twelve 8 oz mugs, it is 96 fl oz and about 156 g, or 15.5 scoops.
How many scoops of coffee per cup?
About one 2-tablespoon scoop per 6 fl oz of water, which is the formula Moccamaster publishes and the strong end of the National Coffee Association's 1 to 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. A coffee maker's 5 oz cup works out to about 0.8 of a scoop, or 8 g, which matches OXO's own figure of about 8 g per cup.
How many tablespoons of coffee per cup?
About 1.6 level tablespoons per 5 oz coffee-maker cup and 2.6 per 8 oz mug, at 55 g of coffee per litre of water. The National Coffee Association's range is 1 to 2 tablespoons per 6 oz, so anywhere from 1 tablespoon (mild) to 2 (full strength) per 6 oz is within it.
How many ounces are in a cup of coffee?
Depends whose cup. A drip coffee maker counts 5 fl oz cups (Cuisinart rates its 12-cup machine at twelve 5 oz cups, and OXO's manual defines a cup as 5 fl oz). Moccamaster's cup is 125 ml, about 4.2 fl oz, since 10 cups fill its 1.25 litre carafe. A US measuring cup is 8 fl oz, and most mugs hold 8 to 12.
Why does a 12-cup coffee maker only fill a few mugs?
Because its cups are 5 fl oz each, so a full 12-cup pot is 60 fl oz. That fills five 12 oz mugs or seven 8 oz mugs with a little left over, and a little less in practice, since the grounds hold back some of the water.
How much coffee do I need for 50 people?
For one 8 oz cup each, 50 people need 400 fl oz of coffee, which takes about 651 g of ground coffee at 55 g per litre: roughly 1.4 lb, or just under two 12 oz bags. Use the crowd mode above to change the cups per person or the serving size.
How many grams is a tablespoon of ground coffee?
About 5 g for a level tablespoon. That is what Moccamaster's own equivalence implies: two tablespoons per 6 oz of water equals 55 g per litre, so two tablespoons is about 9.8 g. Grind size and roast change it, so weigh the coffee if you want every pot the same.