I’m currently working my way through a bag of coffee that I’m not enjoying.
It’s store-bought pre-ground coffee and while I like some of their other blends, this one isn’t doing it for me.
But the problem is I don’t like wasting it, I’ve paid for it so I’m going to drink it, but how many cups are left in the bag? And in fact, how many cups are usually in a 1 pound bag of coffee?
I decided to work it out.
To make a good 8 oz cup of coffee you are going to use 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds. 2 tablespoons of coffee is about 0.5oz so you will get 32 cups of coffee from one pound of coffee grounds or coffee beans.
As a general rule an 8 oz cup of coffee takes 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds which means from a pound of coffee grounds or coffee beans you can make 32 8-oz cups of coffee. And in a pound of coffee, you are going to get 64 tablespoons of coffee grounds.
To find out how many cups of coffee are leftover in your half-full bag of coffee you just weigh it in oz and divide it by 0.5. For example, if you’ve got 10oz of coffee grounds left you’ll have 20 cups of coffee.
It will be slightly off to account for the weight of the bag but generally, coffee packaging is light weight so it will be near enough. You could take away 1-2 cups if you were worried about running out early.
For different sizes of coffee I’ve done the calculations below, read on…
How Many Tablespoons in a Pound of Coffee
Getting a consistent amount of coffee in a tablespoon is quite difficult because even a difference of 1 gram can change the flavour of your coffee and send you from a good cup of coffee to a mediocre cup. So if you’re looking to improve your at-home coffee experience moving to some scales is a good call.
If you don’t believe me, weight out two tablespoons of coffee every time you make a cup and see how much it differs, you’ll be surprised.
But, in the meantime, you’re probably wondering how many tablespoons are in your 1 pound bag of coffee right? Well to take it slightly roughly 1 tablespoon is about 0.25 ounces which means there will be 64 tablespoons of coffee in the whole bag.
But that’s going to differ slightly with inconsistencies, how much your spoons differ by and how much extra or less coffee is in the bag I reckon a range you’ll fall into a range of about 58-70 tablespoons of coffee in a pound.
How Much Ground Coffee From 1lb of Coffee Beans
Is it the same amount? Does 1lb of coffee make 1lb of coffee beans? Well it should, because you’re not losing any coffee at any point, although some coffee does get stuck in the grinder.
But, it’s such a small amount I don’t think it’s worth talking about, we can assume that 1lb of whole coffee beans = 1 lb of ground coffee
How Many 12 oz Cups Does a Pound of Coffee Make
For a 12 oz cup of coffee, you’re going to want to use 3 tablespoons or 0.75 ounces of coffee (21 grams). Again if you have it stronger or weaker you can adjust accordingly. But that means a pound of coffee grounds will make 21 12 oz cups.
Anyone else feel like they’re back in math class?
How Many 16 oz Cups Does a Pound of Coffee Make
A nice big coffee, I like your style, though it’s funny a 16 oz cup of coffee at home seems big while a venti coffee at Starbucks is normal and that’s half the size on top again.
Anyway, a 1lb bag of coffee beans will make 16 cups of 16 oz coffee assuming the same measurements of 4 tablespoons, or 1 oz of coffee to make a 16 oz cup of coffee.
How Many Cups of coffee in a 12 oz bag
Ah, now we’ve gone the other way! Well, the easiest way to work this out is that a 12 bag of coffee is ¾ the size of a 1lb bag, which means you’ll get ¾ the amount of coffee, so that’s 24 cups at 8 oz, about 15 cups at a 12 oz cup of coffee, and 12 cups at a 16 oz cup of coffee.
I realise there are a lot of numbers flying around here but stay with me!
How Long Does a Pound of Coffee Last
In my house? Not very long!
Ahem…
Well, that depends on how much you drink and how big your cup is! But if you’re having 1 standard cup of coffee a day you’ll get about a month out of 1 pound of coffee. Then if you have two cups or cups that are twice as big you’re going to get 2 weeks out of a single bag.
Not bad for the investment right?
Different Coffee Machines
How many Drip Coffee Pots Does One Pound Of Coffee Make?
Drip coffee pots are still the most popular in America, filling diners everywhere and sitting office break rooms with pots full of coffee that’s slowly going stale.
But how many coffee pots can you get out of a bag of coffee?
Let’s assume you want a full pot of coffee, well for starters a standard mug full of coffee is 8 fl oz while a coffee pot cup is 5 fl oz, that’s why you never get as much coffee as it says. But to work out how many cups of coffee you get you need to know how much coffee you put in.
A standard coffee scoop is 2 tablespoons, and 10 tablespoons are standard for a 12 cup coffee pot.
But take the number of spoons you put in and divide it by 64. So at 10 tablespoons (5 scoops) for a 12 cup pot, you’ll get 6 full pots of coffee out of a 1 pound bag.
How Much French Press Coffee From 1lb of Coffee
Again it depends on the size of your french press if you’ve got a 1 person french press that takes about 14g or 2 tablespoons of coffee you can expect to get 32 full uses of your french press before you run out of coffee.
And then you just divide up from there, if it’s a 2 person french press then you’ll get 16 uses, and if it’s a 4 person french press you’ll only get 8 uses.
Make sense?
How Many Cups of Espresso in a Pound of Coffee
Espressos are a little more tricky because you tend to get some waste out of each shot, so while an espresso should use 6.5-7.5 grams you get 1-2 grams of waste per shot so you end up with 8-9 grams per shot + 1-2 grams of waste per shot = 9-11 grams used per shot which is going to be about 41-50 shots in a bag of coffee.
How big is a pound of coffee
A pound of coffee is your pretty standard size, it’s about as big as a regular bag of sugar. And about 2-4 weeks worth of coffee if you have a regular amount for 1 person depending on how much you drink.
Whether You Should Measure By Volume or Weight?
I like measuring coffee by weight, I break out my scale and get out a teaspoon and sprinkle coffee until I’ve got the right amount.
But Scott, the other writer here, likes to do it by volume, he gets out the coffee scoop when it’s time to make a pot.
Which is better? Well neither is better it just depends what you need, if you’re looking for a speedy solution then your coffee scoop is always going to be the way to go, but if you’re looking for a slower process you can pour over (get it?) then weighing is the way to go.
Weighing out your coffee just gives it that little bit more control so you can replicate your great cup of coffee with the exact amount of coffee and water day in and day out, and that’s what getting an Above Average cup of coffee is all about.
Conclusion
Woah that all got a bit confusing didn’t it?
Regardless I hope that helped you understand and at the very least I hope you now know why it’s worth using a scale when you’re making your coffee! Between getting consistent with how much water you use and how much coffee you use there’s a lot of wiggle room and a good reason why your coffee doesn’t always taste the same in the morning, it’s not just you!
But again if you need help with how much coffee YOU can get out of a bag, tomorrow morning or the next time you’re sitting down to have a cup get out your kitchen scales and weigh how much you use. If you’re using a drip coffee maker or some other machine that can’t go on the scales then you can take a before and after measurement of the bag of coffee and work out the difference that way.
Related Reading
Heavy Cream In Coffee (Let Me Convert You)
What Is Drip Coffee – 5 Key Facts + Drip vs Pour Over Compared
How To Make Strong Coffee (The Epitome of Flavor and Caffeine)
Sources
But if I have a 12 oz bag of ground coffee, how many cups of GROUND COFFEE is in the bag? This is basically a coffee ground volume question for those that make cold brew, and do not have 12 oz bags of coffee on hand. Thanks.
Thank you for your information on coffee, much needed as I am trying to figure out a subscription plan and what I might need in terms of how much I drink a week. Saved me alot of time, thank you.
Any recommendations on a coffee subscription plan?
Cheers.
Karl
Please help me: I need to know how many Tablespoons of ground coffee is in a 1lb bag?
It’s a volume thing and I when measure whole beans in a Tablespoon, I’m getting less than ground coffee in a Tablespoon.
I want to figure out volume so I can buy the right sized airtight coffee canister and pre-grind 8 TBL or 9TBL and place inside a small, sealed jar.
How big, by volume ounces, of jar?
Thank you if you do help.
The date of other comments is reaching back into 2021, but the article implies it was posted October 2023, I just noticed.
The density of ground coffee can vary based on grind size and other factors, but a common approximation is that 1 tablespoon of ground coffee weighs about 5 grams.
1 pound is equal to 453.6 grams.
A 1-pound bag of ground coffee contains approximately 90.72 tablespoons.
Given this, for your requirement to pre-grind 8 or 9 tablespoons and place it inside a small, sealed jar, any canister that can hold at least this volume plus a little extra for ease of access should be suitable. For the rest of the coffee, you’ll want a canister that can hold at least 90 tablespoons (which equates to about 5.625 cups, since there are 16 tablespoons in a cup) or more, depending on the actual volume the ground coffee occupies, which can vary based on the grind’s density and compaction.