Why does coffee have its own fluid volume measurement?

RossD said:

The grounds absorb quite a bit of water. If I fill up the tank to 10 cups, I seem to only get 8 in the carafe.

I'm actually thinking of replacing my drip machine that has the bean grinder right in the basket with one that is above the basket so that I can still have fresh ground beans and filtered coffee. I saw one at a department store but I just don't need to replace my machine yet...

A friend has an older version of one of these.:

No, it's not cheap, but it makes incredible coffee.  One advantage I found is it's great if you need a caffeine hit before a driving trip.  Because the liquid content is fairly small, it reduces the need for bathroom stops.

I think the real coffee measurement mystery is how I can drink 2 cups then pee 3 gallons. 

poopshovel again said:

Get a Keurig, plebeians.

Nasty, weak ass brew. 

Isn't it like the disposable razor of coffee makers?

It has to due with serving size.  They're not saying that it is one volume cup, they're saying this is a "cup" of coffee, much like a "glass" of wine is 5 fl oz, a "pint" of ale is 20 fl oz instead of 16.  A "glass" of beer is 12oz.

In the beverage world, the previous standard for a "cup" of coffee was 8.45 fl oz (250ml).  In Canada, a standard "cup" of coffee is 7.6oz (227ml).  In Japan its 6.7oz (200ml).  The newer Mr. Coffee standard is 6 oz. but some coffee makers do anywhere from 4.5oz to 6oz.

In my case, I have a Mr Coffee coffee maker and I replaced the carafe with a black and decker.  If I put 8 "cups" in the carafe and dump it in the coffee maker, it reads about 10 "cups" on the reservoir.   Or vice versa, I forget.

Spoolpigeon said:

I think the real coffee measurement mystery is how I can drink 2 cups then pee 3 gallons. 

I gotta go Buzz Killington on this and offer an actual explanation.

The Pituitary gland makes a hormone called ADH (anti-diuretic hormone).  The hormone acts like little corks in your kidneys.  When you're dehydrated, the Pituitary makes more ADH to plug up the holes and keep water in your body.  When you drink caffeine (or alcohol, or take sudafed) it slows down your body's production of ADH.  Fewer corks to plug holes in the kidneys = more wee wee.

Erich said:

All rice cookers are measured this way, for reasons I do not understand. 

Apparently the unit of measure is called a gō (180.39ml), and it's also the traditional Japanese serving size for rice and sake...As a unit of measure it was dropped in favor of a 200ml 'standard' cup, but has been maintained as a rice and sake serving size.

Chesterfield said:

 

I can't imagine it is a big seller.

So its..... sugar free orange juice? Thats like turkey bacon, wrong and must be stopped.

Or when you see vegan bacon jerky, the people buying this apparently have no idea what jerky,bacon, or happiness is. Might as well say "im looking for a sandwich that will mow my lawn"

Appleseed said:

Isn't it like the disposable razor of coffee makers?

Its like a super fancy single blade disposable razor that misses half of your whiskers. Won't cut you though.