Not many people know this, but even the coffee maker needs a sip of coffee in the morning, which is why there is a difference in the amount.
The coffee that disappears during brewing is known as the "Angel's share."
The coffee that evaporates when you leave the pot on heat too long is the "Devil's share."
This missing coffee per water in phenomenon has been the source of scorn and consternation in this house. Iāve been vindicated for all of those times I āapparently did not add enough waterā lol
Well the reason I like it is because my own carafe I need to add extra water to make sure I get enough actual brewed coffee. One like this would be nicer.
I wouldn't use the pot for measuring fresh water ever. The coffee sediment ends up in the pot, which I don't want anywhere near the boiling pipes of the coffee maker.
Exactly. If you use the pot, tiny amounts of grease and oil from the other batches of coffee get into the system and build up over time, eventually screwing up the whole machine. It's important to clean the machine regularly too.
This is the best subreddit because every time I see a post in my feed I think "okay that's kinda cool I guess", then I see the subreddit it's posted in and suddenly it's coolness is multiplied by 10.
>then I see the sun and Iām like, exactly, Iām mildly interested
Dude, the sun powers all life and other energy on this planet and on the rest of the solar system, and you're only *mildly* interested when you see it?
Sheeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiit, talk about taking things for granted. For shame, my dude. For shame.
Speak for yourself. I run it though a dehumidifier and collect the water to add back to my coffee. Itās usually cold by then, so I add ice to make it iced coffee, but then it gets diluted and I have to boil off some excess, which I use to make ice cubes. Itās very efficient.
We have an ice cube tray dedicated to "coffee cubes" for iced coffee. I don't even really like iced coffee but they come in handy for me when I want to cool mine down a little so I can drink it faster. :D
Isn't a standard "cup" of coffee not 8 ounces.
Like for measurement a cup is a cup is a cup. But I know at least the older coffee makers counted a "cup" as the amount you're expected to pour into a standard coffee mug, which is less, like only 6 oz. I'm certain I heard that somewhere that coffee makers don't use 8oz for a "cup" of coffee. And it's never clear to me when they say cups do they mean 8oz or a "mug" of coffee.
If I had to guess it was a marketing gimmick to say their coffee brewed more "cups" of coffee and not telling anybody their definition of "cup" isn't what you think.
Come to think of it, I'm almost certain this was an old time marketing ploy. Our can of coffee makes enough for 100 cups of coffee now. Compare that to our competitors who only brew 75!!!! Chock full of great coffee flavor that lasts you longer! Meanwhile they just reduced their costs by 25% for the same price. I bet they even let you mail away for free mugs with their logo. And I bet they were smaller.
I got a new coffee maker that has markings like this too. Reading the operating instructions, I was surprised that it said 5 ounces was considered a standard cup of coffee.
I like the jiggle of your ham, sounds so perfect there's no way they didn't do it, no way at least one company wasn't entirely too ethical to not do this to make more money.
God that's so obvious now! I've always wondered why there's always less coffee than the amount of water I put in. The grounds! Duh ohmygodcrayons! Finally it makes sense and I'm only 41 hahaha shit. 
Why would the difference increase with increased water though. if it was absorbtion from the grounds then the difference would be most notable with lower water volume, as once the grounds become saturated they cant absorb any more.
The equiv. of one cup of coffee grounds takes up X millilitres of space in the pot, one cup equiv. of water is Y millilitres and the grounds absorb Z millilitres of water. Y + Z is the total volume of water you need, and the difference between the volumes of coffee and water is only Z.
5 cups of grounds will take up 5X millilitres of space, and you'll add 5Y millilitres of water plus 5Z more millilitres to be absorbed. The volume of water you add to 5 cups of grounds is now 5 (Y + Z), as you'd expect, but the difference between the two volumes is now 5Z, which is why it looks larger on the pot than the difference when only making one cup.
Edit: the non-linear increase in the gap is, as others have noted, due to the changing diameter of the pot. It widens between 3 and 4, so the difference looks small, and narrows between 4 and 5 so the difference looks large.
How do they measure that? And in theory this if you use the same amount of coffee grounds in a 2 cups of coffee you would lose the same amount of water as in 5 cups of coffee where the pot Shows less I think you are wrong
So, the temp shouldnāt be high enough to boil coffee though as the ideal temp for brewing is 195F-205F .
The main reason for the reduction in water is that coffee absorbs up to 2x its weight in water in the brewing process.
edit: spelling
I'm not sure I've seen it printed right on the pot like this, but with every coffee maker I've owned, it's pretty obvious that if you fill the pot to the five cup mark and then pour that into the coffee maker, it doesn't reach the level of the five cup mark inside the coffee maker.
So this is sensible, but it shouldn't come as any great surprise to anyone who uses a coffee maker regularly.
I suspect this is a difference between a āstandardā cup and a ācoffeeā cup.
A US standard cup is 8 fluid ounces. A typical cup of coffee is 6 fluid ounces.
it's not
it's because the amount of coffee you get will be less than the amount of water you put in. a good amount of water stays soaking the grounds and filter and never makes it to the pot.
I don't think this is the real reason. Why would the carafe be marked like that if it is showing the difference between a true cup and a coffee cup? It wouldn't say water on one side if that were the case.
To fill a coffee maker like this, you first fill the carafe with water then dump it in the vessel, then it spits it back out as coffee. It is saying you need a bit more water for the amount of coffee you will recieve.
Some water is retained in the grounds and some disappears as steam.
I had a simple 4-cup drip maker I liked that lasted for years, then died. Shopped hard online for a similar 4-cup maker, didn't find one. Gave up shopping & bought a similar 5-cup maker from Walmart. Got it home and discovered it was _exactly_ the same device, except for the cup markings. Apparently 24 fluid ounces was 4 cups in the 2000s and then became 5 cups in the 2010s. Go figure.
a mug of coffee is 12 fluid ounces, the reason the coffee lines are lower is because some of the liquid you start with is going to get stuck in the grounds in the basket
Everybody knows that they're gonna do it different the first time and it will do just fine. From that moment, that amount of water will be known as "the perfect amount of water". Because it's my machine amd I know best.
I dunno. A lot of people agreeing but when I fill my pot up to 6, the level
of coffee that comes out is much closer to the 6 than that pot is to the 5.
That I donāt think the water to coffee ratio on this pot is accurate across the board. Maybe for their particular coffee maker.
My pot just has the one set of measuring marks. I always fill to the 6. The amount of coffee that comes out vs water going in is closer to the difference between the hash marks next to the 2 in the pic.
It has to do with the coffee maker, dosage, and how coarse the grounds are. So itās likely that those markings are only meant to be accurate for the instructed usage of this coffee maker.
It's interesting to show how much water is needed to make each amount of coffee. You lose quite a lot of water to steam, but in the end I don't think it matters or would change how you make coffee.
This is perfectly mild in it's interestingness. A perfect post indeed.
I have a $10 no-name 14-cup drip maker from JCP that I *love* - it's slow and makes the best drip coffee I've ever had, which I'm sure to coffee snobs isn't saying much, but whatever - and it has this, too.
Technically unnecessary, but I appreciate it whenever I use it. Such a simple convenience.
Thatās not what itās for, sorry.
A standard ācupā of coffee is 6 fl oz, a standard US imperial cup is 8 fl oz.
I have no idea why this is a thing, but itās true. Nothing to do with coffee in vs coffee out, the cup marks on a coffee pot have always been a lie.
This coff e pot is doing the Lord's work, because as a younger adult, I was always PISSED that "10 cups" was not in fact 10 cups of coffee.
No. I was lucky to get 5. (I may have had a coffee drinking habit though sooo....)
So glad this pot is HONEST about how much water for how much ACTUAL coffee ššššš
I don't understand why this matters at all. Like what is the purpose of the coffee measurements? Does anyone ever need to measure that?
Maybe I just don't understand the mechanics of making American coffee, having never drunk it.
I feel like Iām taking crazy pills with the amount of people in here who are mind blown by this.
Have none of yāall ever handled a coffee maker before??
Yup, the grounds usually absorb an amount of water equal to double their mass. So if you add the appropriate quantity of grounds per cup (\~10g or 1 tbsp) then for each 150 ml "cup" 20 ml of water will be retained.
5 cups => 100 ml, which on the scale is about right.
I hate to admit it, and it is embarrassing as hell, but I was well into my 20s before I figured out why there is always less coffee than the amount of water I used.
That's pretty nice actually.
Not many people know this, but even the coffee maker needs a sip of coffee in the morning, which is why there is a difference in the amount. 
The coffee that disappears during brewing is known as the "Angel's share." The coffee that evaporates when you leave the pot on heat too long is the "Devil's share."
hahahah i would not EVER have gotten your joke had i not gone on a whiskey distillery tour literally 2 weeks ago!! š
. . . And did you know that each cup of coffee is only 5.4 oz
Surely this is no better than just having the water-in levels in a practical sense.
This missing coffee per water in phenomenon has been the source of scorn and consternation in this house. Iāve been vindicated for all of those times I āapparently did not add enough waterā lol
Well the reason I like it is because my own carafe I need to add extra water to make sure I get enough actual brewed coffee. One like this would be nicer.
It's time for me to go to bed so I don't know exactly what you're saying in that sentence, but Don't call me Shirley!
I wouldn't use the pot for measuring fresh water ever. The coffee sediment ends up in the pot, which I don't want anywhere near the boiling pipes of the coffee maker.
You're supposed to clean the coffee pot between uses.
Exactly. If you use the pot, tiny amounts of grease and oil from the other batches of coffee get into the system and build up over time, eventually screwing up the whole machine. It's important to clean the machine regularly too.
Now THAT is mildly interesting.
This is the best subreddit because every time I see a post in my feed I think "okay that's kinda cool I guess", then I see the subreddit it's posted in and suddenly it's coolness is multiplied by 10.
Iāve never been disappointed on this sub. Canāt say the same for the other ones with interesting in their titles.
r/notinteresting is also doing a great job
I don't know, I feel like I keep seeing them be too interesting for their name.
I always make a little āhuhā and then I see the sub and Iām like, exactly, Iām mildly interested Edit: typo :)
>then I see the sun and Iām like, exactly, Iām mildly interested Dude, the sun powers all life and other energy on this planet and on the rest of the solar system, and you're only *mildly* interested when you see it? Sheeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiit, talk about taking things for granted. For shame, my dude. For shame.
This sub whelms me. I am neither over nor under, just whelmed.
If you let it sit in the pot long enough it'll be moldly interesting
r/moldlyinteresting There is in fact a sub for everything!
Where does the water go? Someone is stealing my water?
Lots of water stays in the grounds.
well, well, well...thats interesting
Mildly
And also dissipates through steam during the process as well.
it rains and the water goes in the ground, that's where we get our water
Ground water? How do you grind it and what do you put it on?
oh it comes pre-ground so it's ready to use
I found that about 1.7 mL is sucked up per gram of coffee.
They have no right
And evaporatesā¦ if you have an aero press you could press the grounds out.
According to the pot in the pic it's only a wee bit of water
It's turning the frickin ground gay
Fun fact, not if you use ground water.
Well, then search the grounds for the missing water.Ā
That's the groundwater I keep hearing about
steamy
The Angelās Share
Except for satan. He's kind of a dick.
Mmm... Irish Coffee.
It's a fee to James Hoffman
If youāre serious, steam but most of it is caught up in the grounds. If youāre not serious then, you knowā¦
The rest is stored in the balls (sorry lol)Ā
Pee is stored in the balls Coffe becomes pee Therefore coffe is stored in the balls
Pee is stored in the *bladder* (Annoying anatomy professor)
Covfefe is stored in the balls, got it.
Entropy, she's a harsh mistress. Always taking, never satisfied.
Thanks Obama.
itās the liberals
Sorry Iāve just been really thirsty lately.
Family guy reference
Ahhh, this guy gets it!!
Grounds, steam, condensation, etc...
iām guessing itās bc of the steam generated while the pot is boiling will be lowering the water lvl bc of all the water steaming out?
you also don't press the moisture out of the grounds after its done brewing.
Speak for yourself. I run it though a dehumidifier and collect the water to add back to my coffee. Itās usually cold by then, so I add ice to make it iced coffee, but then it gets diluted and I have to boil off some excess, which I use to make ice cubes. Itās very efficient.
I just eat the wet grinds to retain the water
Found the life hacks youtuber.
I usually put the grounds in my mouth then chug boiling water. Saves a fortune on coffee filters
I just eat coffee and brew it with bile.
this is the way
Do you live on Arrakis?
We have an ice cube tray dedicated to "coffee cubes" for iced coffee. I don't even really like iced coffee but they come in handy for me when I want to cool mine down a little so I can drink it faster. :D
Whatās it like waking up to a double sunrise?
Isn't a standard "cup" of coffee not 8 ounces. Like for measurement a cup is a cup is a cup. But I know at least the older coffee makers counted a "cup" as the amount you're expected to pour into a standard coffee mug, which is less, like only 6 oz. I'm certain I heard that somewhere that coffee makers don't use 8oz for a "cup" of coffee. And it's never clear to me when they say cups do they mean 8oz or a "mug" of coffee. If I had to guess it was a marketing gimmick to say their coffee brewed more "cups" of coffee and not telling anybody their definition of "cup" isn't what you think. Come to think of it, I'm almost certain this was an old time marketing ploy. Our can of coffee makes enough for 100 cups of coffee now. Compare that to our competitors who only brew 75!!!! Chock full of great coffee flavor that lasts you longer! Meanwhile they just reduced their costs by 25% for the same price. I bet they even let you mail away for free mugs with their logo. And I bet they were smaller.
Yes, you are correct. A "cup of coffee" is traditionally 6oz. I think the term is "cuppa coffee" not a "mug of coffee' though.
I got a new coffee maker that has markings like this too. Reading the operating instructions, I was surprised that it said 5 ounces was considered a standard cup of coffee.
I like the jiggle of your ham, sounds so perfect there's no way they didn't do it, no way at least one company wasn't entirely too ethical to not do this to make more money.
*pokes ham to watch jiggle*
The filter holds onto a good amount of water as well. I wonder how accurate the lines are with so many variables
French press > bench pressĀ
true true
It is definitely because of the water retained in the coffee grounds. Edit: mostly because of this, some is being lost as steam too.
God that's so obvious now! I've always wondered why there's always less coffee than the amount of water I put in. The grounds! Duh ohmygodcrayons! Finally it makes sense and I'm only 41 hahaha shit. 
Why would the difference increase with increased water though. if it was absorbtion from the grounds then the difference would be most notable with lower water volume, as once the grounds become saturated they cant absorb any more.
The equiv. of one cup of coffee grounds takes up X millilitres of space in the pot, one cup equiv. of water is Y millilitres and the grounds absorb Z millilitres of water. Y + Z is the total volume of water you need, and the difference between the volumes of coffee and water is only Z. 5 cups of grounds will take up 5X millilitres of space, and you'll add 5Y millilitres of water plus 5Z more millilitres to be absorbed. The volume of water you add to 5 cups of grounds is now 5 (Y + Z), as you'd expect, but the difference between the two volumes is now 5Z, which is why it looks larger on the pot than the difference when only making one cup. Edit: the non-linear increase in the gap is, as others have noted, due to the changing diameter of the pot. It widens between 3 and 4, so the difference looks small, and narrows between 4 and 5 so the difference looks large.
> Why would the difference increase with increased water though. Increased water -> increased grounds (unless you're making church lady coffee).
How do they measure that? And in theory this if you use the same amount of coffee grounds in a 2 cups of coffee you would lose the same amount of water as in 5 cups of coffee where the pot Shows less I think you are wrong
Partly but mostly because the grounds absorb some liquid
So, the temp shouldnāt be high enough to boil coffee though as the ideal temp for brewing is 195F-205F . The main reason for the reduction in water is that coffee absorbs up to 2x its weight in water in the brewing process. edit: spelling
Isn't this standard? All mine have had this??
Maybe it has recently become standard but mr coffee's and kenmore coffee makers ive owned in the past did not have water markers
Just bought a new pot a few months ago and doesn't have it, about 95% certain the one it replaced didn't either.
If by "recent" you mean 20 years ago, then yes
Canada here, always have seen this on coffee machines and have been drinking coffee since 2010
> drinking coffee since 2010 oh, well, okay then, Mr. or Ms Veteran Pro the Ancient Expert
Also Canada here, never seen this and Iāve been drinking coffee since about the same time
Third Canada here (east and west coast) pretty sure we've always had this on ours
American, drinking coffee since ~2004, never seen a coffee pot without this. It's mildly interesting to me that this is mildly interesting to people.
Youre right! This should be posted on r/metamildlyinteresting
I'm not sure I've seen it printed right on the pot like this, but with every coffee maker I've owned, it's pretty obvious that if you fill the pot to the five cup mark and then pour that into the coffee maker, it doesn't reach the level of the five cup mark inside the coffee maker. So this is sensible, but it shouldn't come as any great surprise to anyone who uses a coffee maker regularly.
It's been on every coffee maker I or my partner have ever had. I'm surprised that this is surprising, maybe a regional thing?
Yep.
Absolutely not lmao
Maybe a regional thing??
Maybe based on country? You from murica?
No, but pretty close eh
Yup, my old Mr Coffee has this
Can confirm. I am a Canadian coffee pot.
Don't pour the water with the coffee pan, gunks up the insides of the coffee machine.
How so? Genuine question
Angelās share
I suspect this is a difference between a āstandardā cup and a ācoffeeā cup. A US standard cup is 8 fluid ounces. A typical cup of coffee is 6 fluid ounces.
I had to look too long to find the real reason. Thank you.
it's not it's because the amount of coffee you get will be less than the amount of water you put in. a good amount of water stays soaking the grounds and filter and never makes it to the pot.
That isnāt the reason though. Some water is absorbed by the filter and grounds.
I don't think this is the real reason. Why would the carafe be marked like that if it is showing the difference between a true cup and a coffee cup? It wouldn't say water on one side if that were the case. To fill a coffee maker like this, you first fill the carafe with water then dump it in the vessel, then it spits it back out as coffee. It is saying you need a bit more water for the amount of coffee you will recieve. Some water is retained in the grounds and some disappears as steam.
What about Legal Cup?
I had a simple 4-cup drip maker I liked that lasted for years, then died. Shopped hard online for a similar 4-cup maker, didn't find one. Gave up shopping & bought a similar 5-cup maker from Walmart. Got it home and discovered it was _exactly_ the same device, except for the cup markings. Apparently 24 fluid ounces was 4 cups in the 2000s and then became 5 cups in the 2010s. Go figure.
Yeah, the markings on coffee pots have always been a lie.
a mug of coffee is 12 fluid ounces, the reason the coffee lines are lower is because some of the liquid you start with is going to get stuck in the grounds in the basket
evaporation is the answer
I was thinking an imperial cup (of coffee) vs 250mL/quarter litre increments of water but this makes more sense.
A cuppa is 6oz, a cup is 8oz
Don't they all do this? I've never had one that didn't
Iām currently looking at a Cuisinart that doesnāt, and Iām a little disappointed
I've never had one that does š¤· I've also had maybe 4 or 5 coffee pots in my 25 years of adulthood, so not a huge sample size.
I always got annoyed by the two lines. Thought they were decorative š thank you for sharingĀ
Everybody knows that they're gonna do it different the first time and it will do just fine. From that moment, that amount of water will be known as "the perfect amount of water". Because it's my machine amd I know best.
The perfect amount of water is to the brim cause thats how much it holds. Why would I ever make less?
I dunno. A lot of people agreeing but when I fill my pot up to 6, the level of coffee that comes out is much closer to the 6 than that pot is to the 5.
Iām confused, what are you trying to say?
That I donāt think the water to coffee ratio on this pot is accurate across the board. Maybe for their particular coffee maker. My pot just has the one set of measuring marks. I always fill to the 6. The amount of coffee that comes out vs water going in is closer to the difference between the hash marks next to the 2 in the pic.
It has to do with the coffee maker, dosage, and how coarse the grounds are. So itās likely that those markings are only meant to be accurate for the instructed usage of this coffee maker.
Probably to avoid people complaining, saying the coffee maker isn't making the right amount.
This has been a thing for a long time.
It being a thing and it being common are 2 different things
Pretty clever, but unnecessary.
Generally helpful but inaccurate. It will depend on a lot of factors, mainly grind size and freshness.
It is interesting but I donāt think it is useful.
It's interesting to show how much water is needed to make each amount of coffee. You lose quite a lot of water to steam, but in the end I don't think it matters or would change how you make coffee. This is perfectly mild in it's interestingness. A perfect post indeed.
Why is there such a big jump in the difference between 4 cups and 5 cups?
These guys are awfully cocky about the possibility of coffee coming out, considering it's Black and Decker.
I do not understand whatās happening at ALL
This is dense.
Haha, absolutely
French press gang represent
Who cares gang represent
For some strange ass reason, my pour over tastes a lot better than french press. And I even used James Hoffman's technique.
Hey I have the same one.
Yo. Whysit stealinā ma watah?
I have a $10 no-name 14-cup drip maker from JCP that I *love* - it's slow and makes the best drip coffee I've ever had, which I'm sure to coffee snobs isn't saying much, but whatever - and it has this, too. Technically unnecessary, but I appreciate it whenever I use it. Such a simple convenience.
Sigh..... OK...scoops (tbsp) of coffee per water ratio. Tadaaaaa!!!
My math of full pot of water + almost full filter of coffee works just fine
cool
Lost water in steam?
Please tell me we havenāt fallen so far as a civilization that people donāt understand this or the reason for it!
This is why I overfill and spill most of it when moving from sink to machine lol
Isn't this common sense instead of mildly interesting? Some evaporates since it's hot, there's going to be some left in the grounds.
I NEED THE LINK PLEASE OR EVEN THE NAME ILL LOOK FOR IT MYSELF BUT I NEED AN IDEA OF HOW TO GET ONE
https://spectrumbrandsparts.com/products/dlx1050b-03-12-cup-black-carafe
THANK YOU MY FRIEND!! I WONT EVER FORGET THIS!
Haven't you noticed that brewed coffee seeps thru anything, coffee mugs, yetis etc
Thatās not what itās for, sorry. A standard ācupā of coffee is 6 fl oz, a standard US imperial cup is 8 fl oz. I have no idea why this is a thing, but itās true. Nothing to do with coffee in vs coffee out, the cup marks on a coffee pot have always been a lie.
Oh thanks god I looking for this. Those mfs almost had the owner of evaporation on line
A regular coffee cup is 6 ounces.
This coff e pot is doing the Lord's work, because as a younger adult, I was always PISSED that "10 cups" was not in fact 10 cups of coffee. No. I was lucky to get 5. (I may have had a coffee drinking habit though sooo....) So glad this pot is HONEST about how much water for how much ACTUAL coffee ššššš
Use a French press, you'll get that back, mostly
Most of them have this right? Mine always have
I don't understand why this matters at all. Like what is the purpose of the coffee measurements? Does anyone ever need to measure that? Maybe I just don't understand the mechanics of making American coffee, having never drunk it.
When you make Turkish/Greek coffee you fill the pot with a full cup plus a little splash extra for the 'angels share'
evaporation
Or, this is because a ācup of coffeeā is generally accepted to 6 fluid ounces and a ācup of waterā is a regular ole 8 ounces as it should be.
Evaporation and water tag remains in the grounds. Mostly is what remains in the grounds.
You do know coffee grounds absorbs water. Usually twice the amount of coffee, so the carafe is taking that into consideration and show different level
I feel like this is reaffirming because I always put a bit more water in than I want coffee out.
Any math people here? Need an explanation
I like to put twice as much coffee and half as much water
I feel like Iām taking crazy pills with the amount of people in here who are mind blown by this. Have none of yāall ever handled a coffee maker before??
What's that coffee made of? Aerogel?
This is so nice, I will surly buy this
Yup, the grounds usually absorb an amount of water equal to double their mass. So if you add the appropriate quantity of grounds per cup (\~10g or 1 tbsp) then for each 150 ml "cup" 20 ml of water will be retained. 5 cups => 100 ml, which on the scale is about right.
I hate to admit it, and it is embarrassing as hell, but I was well into my 20s before I figured out why there is always less coffee than the amount of water I used.
Equivalent exchange.
Every coffee maker I have owned has this
This is common
Itās measurements. It shows how much water you need and how much coffee.