8-100 Ringwood Drive, Stouffville, ON, L4A 1A9
Tues-Sat 9am-4pm
When you think of Ludwig van Beethoven, profound piano melodies and grand symphonies likely come to mind. But did you know that this musical genius had a quirky coffee ritual involving exactly 60 beans for his perfect cup? Let’s dive into Beethoven’s coffee ritual in detail!
Beethoven was known for his intense work ethic and dedication to his craft. It’s legend that he found inspiration in the rich aroma of coffee (and perhaps caffeine!), which fuelled his intense creative sessions. The story is he believed the optimal number of coffee beans for a single cup was 60. He apparently instructed his housekeeper to count out exactly 60 beans in making his morning (or evening) cuppa. Why 60, you ask?
The Golden Ratio
While there’s no scientific consensus on the “perfect” number of coffee beans, 60 might just be a practical choice for achieving a balanced flavour. Remember than in the 18th century, the notion of having a universal measure like a coffee scoop or a digital scale would have been unimaginable.
Today’s coffee pro’s generally follow “the golden ratio” or “gold cup standard” when it comes to brewing the perfect cup. It’s a guideline based on extensive research going back over 50 years. The golden ratio is: 1:16 (one part coffee to sixteen parts water), used to achieve the ideal coffee strength. In practice, we use 60 grams of coffee per 1000ml as it’s easier to remember and use than a ratio.
For example, if you want to make a 12 oz cup of coffee, which is about 350mL, you would start with 400mL of water (the coffee grinds will retain some water) use 25 grams (400 divided by 16) of coffee. This ratio can be tweaked to your taste, but it serves as a great starting point.
Understanding Beethoven’s Coffee Ritual Ratio
To understand what brewing ratio or recipe Beethoven’s coffee ritual used, we took the liberty of calculating the average weight of a coffee bean. By counting beans and averaging a medium roast, we measured 0.14g per coffee bean. This means Beethoven’s coffee ritual calls for about 8.4g of coffee per cup.
That doesn’t seem like a lot of coffee, But we must remember a few things. First, coffee was an expensive and luxury good at the time. Second, a ‘cup’ of coffee was more likely 5 or 6 ounces back then – more like a tea cup – not the giant cup North Americans are used to today. Coffee makers use this standard till today. A standard 12 cup pot will yield 60 ounces, or 5 ounces per cup! Finally, 8.4 grams almost exactly the amount of coffee grinds found in today’s K-cup or Nespresso pod. We know this, because we’ve measured them!
So, if Beethoven was using 8.4 grams to brew a 5 oz (150mL) cup – allowing for water absorption at 2g/ml – his brewing ratio would have been about 1:19. This turns out to be a little bit more diluted than we prefer here at Velvet Sunrise, but it is on par with coffee available on the street (Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks). We know this, because we’ve measured them!
Put Beethoven’s Coffee Ritual to the Test!
Everyone measures their beans differently, some use a scale, others a scoop or even just eyeballing it. We challenge you to try Beethoven’s coffee ritual when brewing your next cup of coffee! Again, 60 beans weigh 8.4g and today’s standard cup size for a coffee maker is 5oz – so it’s a small cup of coffee. You may have to double or triple your bean count depending on your ideal cup size.
If your version of “a cup” is your 16oz travel mug, then get ready to count a LOT of beans LOL!!! You do that bean counting, and let us know how you get on.
