Don’t Have a Scale? Here’s How to Brew by Eye (and Still Get Great Results)

You don’t need a scale to make good coffee.

Not everyone wants to fuss with grams, precision timing, or flow rate curves before 7 AM. And for most people, that’s completely fair.

What you do need is a basic understanding of coffee ratios, good beans, and a bit of common sense. The rest? You can eyeball it.

This isn’t about guessing. It’s about knowing what to look for, how much coffee to scoop, how hot your water should be, how the brew should look, and what it should taste like.

With that knowledge, you can brew without a scale and still get a satisfying, clean cup every morning. And that’s the point: coffee that works, not coffee that stresses you out.

Because we’re not trying to win brewing competitions here. We just want to wake up, brew a cup, and actually enjoy it.

TL;DR You can make coffee without a scale and still get great results. Use 3 tablespoons for a mug, adjust your grind and brew time, and start with fresh, traceable beans from a local roaster like Zwarte Roes.

The Coffee Industry’s Obsession with Gear

There’s a strange myth floating around in the specialty coffee world, that unless you're brewing with a scale, timer, gooseneck kettle, and refractometer, you’re not doing it right.

This narrative has grown over the years thanks to Instagram tutorials, home barista starter kits, and a flood of YouTube videos pushing “coffee perfection.”

Let’s be honest. Most of that gear is great. We use it too.

But we also know it’s not essential,  especially for the average drinker just trying to brew a solid cup. What’s more important than any scale? The bean.

If your coffee is stale, over-roasted, or poorly sourced, weighing it to the exact gram won’t save the cup. You’ll still end up with something flat, bitter, or hollow.

On the other hand, if you start with fresh, traceable beans roasted within the last two weeks, you’ve already won half the battle.

That’s why we put so much emphasis on bean quality at Zwarte Roes. We roast to order. We cup every batch. We tell you where your coffee came from. Because gear can’t fix bad beans,  but great beans can still shine with simple tools and a bit of know-how.

How To Think About Ratios (Without a Scale)

When you brew coffee, you’re extracting soluble compounds from ground beans using water. The ideal ratio, the sweet spot, usually falls between 1:15 and 1:17. That’s one part coffee to fifteen or seventeen parts water.

In practice, if you’re brewing a standard mug of about 225 ml, you’ll want to use roughly three level tablespoons of coffee.

Why?

Because one tablespoon of ground coffee equals about five grams. Three tablespoons get you to 15 grams. Add that to 225 ml of water, and you’re right in the 1:15 zone.

If you like your coffee a bit stronger, you can go 1:14. If you prefer it lighter, aim for 1:17. But you won’t know until you taste it, and tasting is more useful than counting decimals.

No, it's not as precise as weighing your dose to the gram.

But here’s the thing: if your grind is consistent and your beans are fresh, this approach works 95% of the time.

You’ll develop an instinct for how strong or weak your coffee is just by how the scoop looks and how the water flows.

Grind Size And Extraction: The Variables That Actually Matter

Let’s talk about grind. It's arguably more important than the exact dose.

When you grind too fine for a French press, you over-extract and end up with bitterness and sludge.

Grind too coarse for an AeroPress, and your brew will taste like tea, weak, underdeveloped, and watery.

Without a scale, your grind is your biggest tool. You’ll want to learn to adjust it based on your brewing method and the result in your cup. That means:

• For French press, go coarse - like breadcrumbs.
  
  
• For pouring over or dripping, stick to medium - like sea salt.
  
  
• For AeroPress or moka pot, go fine - like table salt.
  
  
• For espresso… honestly, you shouldn’t be eyeballing espresso.
  
  

Here’s where things get practical: your grind should match your brew time.

If your coffee is dripping too fast, you probably need a finer grind. If it’s taking forever to brew, try going coarser.

Taste plays a role here too. Sourness usually means under-extraction. Bitterness often signals over-extraction.

Pay attention to how your coffee behaves. It tells you more than any scale can.

Brewing by Eye: Method-by-Method Walkthrough

French Press

This is one of the most forgiving brew methods. It’s ideal for those who want a simple, rich cup without the fuss.

Start with three to four level tablespoons of coarse-ground coffee.

Add water just off the boil until it covers the grounds, give it a gentle stir, then fill the rest of the press up to your mug volume, usually 225 to 300 ml.

Let it steep for four minutes. No peeking, no plunging early. When the time’s up, press down slowly. You should feel a bit of resistance but not a struggle.

A fresh, nutty coffee like Brasil Capricornio works really well here.

It holds up in a full-immersion brew without turning bitter or flat. Smooth, balanced, and dependable,  just what you want from a French press.

AeroPress

If you’re using the AeroPress without a scale, the inverted method is your best friend.

Start with two rounded tablespoons of fine-medium coffee. Add just enough hot water to wet the grounds, stir, then fill up to the top.

Let it sit for about 45 seconds. Attach the filter cap, flip the AeroPress onto your mug, and press slowly.

This method is ideal for experimenting.

You can adjust steep time, pressure, and water volume easily. It’s a great match for bright, clean coffees like Ethiopië Sidamo, where you want the fruit and florals to come through clearly.

Moka Pot

Moka pots are a staple in many Dutch households, and for good reason, they brew a strong, espresso-like cup without needing 9 bars of pressure.

To brew by eye here, fill the bottom chamber with hot water up to the valve. Fill the coffee basket level with finely ground coffee (no tamping), then assemble.

Place it on medium-low heat. Watch closely. As soon as the top chamber starts to hiss and bubble, remove it from heat. Overbrewing burns the coffee and your tastebuds.

Something chocolatey and low-acid like Blend N°2 works beautifully here. It’s got that funky chocolate tone that pairs perfectly with the intense extraction of a moka pot. 

Pour Over

For many, pour over seems too fussy without scales. But in reality, it’s one of the easiest methods to brew by eye if you get your routine right. Start with three tablespoons of medium grind coffee in your filter.

Wet the grounds with a small splash of hot water, just enough to bloom.

Wait 30 seconds.

Then pour in slow spirals until your mug is full. The whole process should take around three minutes. If it’s much faster, your grind is too coarse. If it’s painfully slow, grind coarser next time.

On sunny days, Guatemala El Natural is another standout. It’s fruit-forward, slightly boozy, and made for slow, thoughtful sips.

Want a full breakdown? We’ve got you covered in our guide on getting started with pour over coffee.

Why Pre-Ground Ruins The Whole Point

Let’s say you’ve nailed your technique. Your scoops are consistent. Your water temp is perfect. Your timing’s on point.

But if you’re using pre-ground coffee that’s been sitting in a bag for three weeks, the result will still be flat. Flavor fades quickly once coffee is ground.

Oxidation takes over. Aromatics vanish. Complexity disappears.

It’s like slicing open a peach and leaving it on the counter, it’s not the same after a few hours.

That’s why we roast whole beans to order and encourage grinding fresh. It’s not just about control. It’s about flavor.

Fresh beans have aroma, texture, and nuance. You taste the actual coffee, not the packaging.

Even if you don’t have a grinder, consider getting beans ground just before shipping.

We’ll do it for you, properly, for your method.

But we’ll also tell you upfront: use it within 10 days. After that, you’re drinking shadows.

How To Store Your Beans Right (Especially If You Buy by the Kilo)

If you're buying in bulk, which makes sense if you're brewing daily, you need to store your beans well.

The goal is to protect them from light, air, moisture, and heat.

Keep them in an airtight container, ideally opaque.

Don’t leave them in the paper bag they came in. Don’t store them next to the stove or in a sunny window. And whatever you do, don’t freeze and thaw them over and over.

Your best move is to portion them. Use a small container for daily use and keep the rest sealed tight in a cupboard. We roast to order so you’re starting fresh, your job is to keep it that way.

Brewing by Eye Isn’t “Wrong.” It’s Practical.

Let’s put to bed the idea that precision equals better taste.

Yes, being consistent helps. But in the real world, especially on a busy morning or when you’re traveling, you won’t always have tools. What you will always have is your attention.

If you’re tasting as you go, adjusting grind, noting brew times, and starting with fresh beans, you’re already doing more than most people with a €300 setup.

This is the kind of brewing we believe in. Brewing that respects the coffee, not the gear. Brewing that fits your life, not the other way around.

Reading the Signs: Brewing by Eye Is About Feedback, Not Guesswork

When we say “brew by eye,” we don’t mean random guesses.

We mean tuning into what your coffee is telling you, visually, aromatically, and in the cup. Most of us are more intuitive than we realize.

We already judge a coffee’s strength by its color. We notice when it brews too fast. We taste it when it’s too sharp or bitter.

The Bloom Tells You Everything

Take the bloom, for example. If you pour water onto your grounds and they rise up in a foamy, lively dome, that’s fresh coffee. It’s degassing. If they stay flat and lifeless, they’re past their prime. No scale can save that. This is your first feedback loop, and it happens 30 seconds into the brew.

Use Color to Judge Extraction

Then there’s color. A good extraction has a deep, rich brown color, not black, not pale tan.

If you’re brewing with a moka pot or AeroPress and you see the liquid turning yellowish near the end, that’s often the bitter runoff. Stop there.

The best part has already come through.

Sound matters too.

In a moka pot, when it starts to sputter and hiss, pull it off the heat. That noise is the coffee boiling.

Leave it too long and you’ll cook it. Again, a scale doesn’t help here. Attention does.

Why Dutch Coffee Drinkers Are Already Halfway There

Here’s a bit of local truth: in the Netherlands, we’re practical about our coffee. We like it straightforward. We want it fresh, strong, and on time. We’re not the kind of culture that romanticizes slow coffee for the sake of ritual. We care more about results than performance.

And that’s exactly why brewing by eye makes sense here.

Most Dutch households already brew in volume, whether that’s with filter machines, moka pots, or large French presses. We’re used to eyeballing scoops and filling up the reservoir by sight. What we’re saying now is: take that habit, refine it slightly, and use it with better beans.

The shift isn’t to weigh every gram. It’s to know what your coffee should taste like and to stop accepting stale supermarket nonsense as “normal.”

That’s why we see brewing without a scale not as a compromise, but as a reflection of what coffee in the Netherlands could be: fresh, smart, and honest.

Beginner Objections And Why They Miss the Point

“But won’t I ruin expensive beans if I eyeball it?”

Only if you’re wildly off on your grind or ratio and even then, “ruined” is a stretch. Brewing is forgiving. The real waste is using fresh beans with a careless attitude. Not using a scale isn’t careless if you’re paying attention to taste and timing.

“Isn’t this just guesswork?”

Not at all. Guessing is when you don’t learn. Brewing by eye is observing. You’re building muscle memory. Your hands remember the scoop. Your eyes remember the pour. Your taste tells you when it’s right. That’s far more engaging than blindly copying a 17-gram recipe.

“Isn’t this just lazy?”

No. Buying old beans from a supermarket shelf is lazy. Brewing with intention even without gadgets is thoughtful. And let’s be honest: people don’t skip the scale because they don’t care. They skip it because they don’t want to overcomplicate something that should be simple.

“Why not just always use a scale then?”

If you want to, great. But if you find it gets in the way of brewing regularly or if you’re traveling, camping, or making five mugs for brunch you need a fallback. That’s what brewing by eye gives you. Flexibility, not a downgrade.

Situations Where Brewing by Eye Just Makes More Sense

1. You’re traveling

We’ve had customers bring Zwarte Roes beans to the Alps, to Airbnbs, to boats on the IJsselmeer. No one’s packing a scale into a hiking pack. But a travel grinder and a moka pot? Sure. Brewing by eye keeps your coffee consistent wherever you go.

2. You’re serving guests

Pulling out a scale when making five cups for friends looks... odd. Most guests don’t care about your 1:16.7 recipe. They care that the coffee is hot, smooth, and drinkable. Focus on that.

3. Your scale died or ran out of battery

It happens more often than people admit. And when it does, it’s a moment of truth: either you’re frozen, or you brew by feel. With the right beans, you’re safe to eyeball it. With old beans, it won’t matter either way.

4. You’re just not in the mood

We’ve all had those mornings. You want a strong cup, not a ceremony. You know how many scoops you like. You know which grind works. Trust yourself.

How to Know You’ve Nailed the Brew (Even Without Numbers)

You’ll know you’re getting it right when your coffee tastes balanced. It doesn’t make your mouth pucker, but it’s not dull either. It finishes clean. You don’t feel like adding sugar or milk to cover it up unless you want to, not because you have to.

Another sign? You keep making it the same way, instinctively. That’s consistency. It doesn’t come from a scale. It comes from practice.

And when you change beans from Brasil Mogiana Gold to Ethiopië Sidamo and tweak your brew slightly to match the roast and origin, you’re not just brewing by eye. You’re thinking like a roaster. That’s the real upgrade.

The Bigger Picture: Buying Beans That Deserve Your Effort

There’s a hidden benefit to brewing without a scale: it forces you to pay attention to quality. You can’t rely on gear to save the brew. You need better inputs. And that usually starts with the bean.

At Zwarte Roes, we’ve built our business around this idea. We roast every bag to order because time matters. We tell you when it was roasted, how it was processed, and where it came from. That’s not marketing. That’s respect, for the farmer, the coffee, and you.

We offer single origins for clarity, blends for balance, and advice when you need it. Whether you brew with a €300 setup or a kettle and a spoon, the beans should always be good enough to justify the effort.

If not, what are you even brewing for?

The Final Word: Get the Fundamentals Right and Brew With Confidence

You don’t need a scale. But you do need the fundamentals: fresh, high-grade beans, a consistent grind, clean water, and a reliable scoop.

Everything else is optional.

Trust your taste. Brew with intention. And if your beans are roasted to order, not sitting on a warehouse shelf, you’re already ahead.

That’s how we do it at Zwarte Roes. No gimmicks. Just real coffee, roasted fresh and made to work.