Weighing water as well as coffee

For years I weighed the coffee carefully and then poured water until the cup looked full. The ratio drifted by as much as twenty per cent from one morning to the next, and I put the difference down to the beans.

Putting the whole brewer on the scale and pouring to a number made the cups noticeably more alike. Not better, at first, just consistent enough that changing one thing told me something.

I settled on one to sixteen for filter and stopped thinking about it. Some bags want a little more coffee; most do not.