How much coffee for a percolator?

For a percolator, use about 75 g of coffee (15 level tablespoons, 7.5 scoops) for an 8 cup pot, which is roughly 40 oz of water at 1:16. A 4 cup pot takes about 38 g (7.5 tablespoons, under 4 scoops) and a 12 cup pot about 113 g (22 tablespoons, 11 scoops). Grind it coarse. Tablespoons here are level and 5 g each, and a scoop is 2 tablespoons, or 10 g. The full cup-by-cup chart for other brewers is on the How much coffee per cup page.

How much coffee for a 4, 8 and 12 cup percolator?

Percolator cups are small. Pots are commonly sold in sizes from 4 cups up to 12 cups and beyond, and the cup count is usually about 5 oz of water per cup, not 8. Check the markings inside your own pot before you trust the label on the box. The numbers below assume about 5 oz per cup and 1 oz of water at about 30 g.

Fill the pot with water to the line you want to drink, not to the brim. Then measure the coffee against that water. If you are unsure how big your pot really is, pour in a measured amount of water the first time and mark it.

Why does a percolator taste stronger than drip?

A percolator sends hot water up a tube and over the grounds again and again until you stop the heat. A drip machine passes the water through once. More passes and more time on the heat means more coffee ends up in the cup. That is why the same dose often tastes heavier from a percolator, and why a percolator is easier to over-extract. If a cup comes out harsh, the fix is usually less time on the heat, a coarser grind, or a little less coffee, and not more of everything.

You may see the rule of one tablespoon of coffee per cup of water on old recipe cards. With a 5 oz pot cup and level 5 g tablespoons, that works out to a light brew (roughly 1:30 by weight), so treat it as the floor and not the target. We start at 1:16 because it is the same ratio we use everywhere else, and adjust from there.

Does the strength change with the ratio?

Yes. Here is the 8 cup pot (about 1,200 g of water) at three ratios, from weaker to stronger. The tablespoons and scoops are rounded.

Move one row at a time and change nothing else. Because a percolator is forgiving about time but not about heat, keep the burner low once the water starts to climb the tube.

What grind should you use?

Coarse, like coarse sea salt. A fine grind slips through the basket holes and leaves silt at the bottom of the cup, and it over-extracts in a pot that keeps cycling water. If you buy whole bean, a burr grinder gives you pieces of the same size, which matters more here than almost anywhere. See burr vs blade grinder. If you buy ground, tell the seller the coffee is for a percolator or grind it yourself at home. The trade-offs are in whole bean vs ground coffee.

Which of our coffees suits a percolator?

This is our judgment, not a label claim, because the roaster does not write a percolator line for any bag. The coffee we would reach for is No. 6 Hegemony. The label says drip, with low acidity and heavy body, which makes it very hard to ruin. A pot that keeps working the grounds is exactly where a forgiving coffee earns its keep.

How many pots does a 12 oz bag make?

A bag is about 340 g. At 1:16, that is about 9 pots of the 4 cup size, about 4.5 pots of the 8 cup size, or about 3 pots of the 12 cup size. Every one of our coffees is $28 for 12 oz, whole bean or ground, with free shipping in the US, so the cost per pot is the same whichever bag you pick.

Neighboring sizes and methods already have their own pages. For a drip machine of a similar size, see how much coffee for an 8 cup coffee maker and how much coffee for a 12 cup coffee maker. To compare a percolator with every other brewer in one place, use the coffee ratio by brewing method chart. The spoon math is explained in how many grams of coffee are in a tablespoon. Browse all ten coffees, or set one up on a subscription, 11% off, skip or cancel in one click.

Measure the water first, then the coffee, and your next pot will be the same as this one.