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Coffee Timer
Tap your brewing method and press Start when the water meets the coffee. For espresso, start when the pump does.
4 minutes
Spacestart / pauseRresetFfull screen+ −add or remove a minute0–9type a time
4 minutes. Coarse grind, 1:15 to 1:17. Press slowly, then pour all of it out.
3 minutes from the first pour to the last drips. Medium to medium-fine grind, 1:16 to 1:17.
2 minutes. Medium-fine grind, about 1:15 to 1:16. Recipes for this brewer vary a lot.
28 seconds. The usual target is 25–30 seconds for about 1:2, such as 18 g in and 36 g out.
16 hours. Coarse grind; 12 to 18 hours or more is the usual range.
Coffee brew time, grind and ratio by method
| Method | Grind | Brew time | Coffee to water |
|---|---|---|---|
| French press | Coarse | 4 min | 1:15–1:17 |
| Pour-over | Medium to medium-fine | 3 min | 1:16–1:17 |
| AeroPress | Medium-fine | 2 min | About 1:15–1:16 (varies a lot) |
| Espresso shot | Fine | 28 s (target 25–30 s) | About 1:2, e.g. 18 g in, 36 g out |
| Cold brew | Coarse | 16 h (12–18 h or more) | 1:8 concentrate, or about 1:15 to drink |
Ratios are by weight, coffee to water. Hot methods use water a little off the boil, about 195–205°F (90–96°C). These are common starting recipes; beans, grinders and taste differ, so adjust from here.
How to use it
- Weigh the coffee and water using the ratio in the chart, and grind for your method: coarse for French press and cold brew, medium-fine for pour-over and AeroPress, fine for espresso.
- Tap the method. The countdown is set to its usual brew time, and the steppers change it if your recipe differs.
- Press Start as the water first touches the coffee. For an espresso shot, press Start as you switch on the pump.
- When the alarm sounds, end the brew: press and pour the French press, lift off the dripper, or stop the shot. Taste it and change one thing next time.
Why each method has its own brew time
Brewing dissolves flavor out of ground coffee, and how fast that happens depends mostly on grind size, water temperature and pressure. Fine grounds expose far more surface than coarse ones, so they give up their flavor quickly. Espresso uses a fine grind and pump pressure and is finished in 25 to 30 seconds. A French press uses a coarse grind sitting in hot water and needs about 4 minutes.
Pour-over and AeroPress sit between the two, at 2 to 3 minutes with a medium-fine grind. Cold brew is the outlier because cold water extracts very slowly: with a coarse grind it takes 12 to 18 hours or more. Time and grind are a pair, which is why a recipe gives both. Change the grind without changing the time and the cup moves with it.
Too sour or too bitter: what to change
Coffee that tastes sour, thin or weak is under-extracted: the brew was too short, the grind too coarse or the water too cool. Coffee that tastes bitter, harsh or drying is over-extracted: too long, too fine or too hot. Fix sour by grinding a little finer or brewing a little longer. Fix bitter by going coarser or shorter.
Change one thing at a time and keep the rest fixed, or you cannot tell what made the difference. A timer and a scale are what make that possible. For espresso, hold the dose and the yield steady and adjust the grind until the shot lands in the 25 to 30 second window.
Common mistakes
- Guessing the dose with a scoop. Roasts differ in density, so a scoop of one coffee can weigh much more than a scoop of another.
- Pouring water straight from a rolling boil for every method. A short wait after the kettle clicks off brings it into the 195–205°F (90–96°C) range.
- Changing grind, dose and time together after a bad cup. Move one of them and brew again.
- Leaving French press coffee sitting on the grounds after the alarm. It keeps extracting and turns bitter.
- Timing an espresso shot from the first drip. The usual convention is to start the clock when the pump starts.
Questions people ask
How long should I brew coffee?
It depends on the method: about 4 minutes in a French press, 3 minutes for a pour-over, 2 minutes in an AeroPress, 25 to 30 seconds for an espresso shot and 12 to 18 hours for cold brew.
How long should an espresso shot take?
The usual target is 25 to 30 seconds from the moment the pump starts, for a ratio of about 1:2, such as 18 g of ground coffee giving 36 g of espresso. A much faster shot means the grind is too coarse; a much slower one means it is too fine.
What is a good coffee to water ratio?
For filter-style coffee, 1:15 to 1:17 by weight, which is about 60 g of coffee per liter of water. Espresso is about 1:2. Cold brew concentrate is about 1:8 and is diluted before drinking.
What water temperature should I use for coffee?
About 195–205°F (90–96°C) for hot brewing methods, which is water a little off the boil. Cooler water under-extracts and tastes sour.
Is there a step-by-step timer for my brewer?
Yes. The French press timer, the pour over timer and the AeroPress timer run each stage in order with a beep between them, and the cold brew timer has 12 to 24 hour steeps. This page is the quick single countdown.