# How many cups of coffee in a 12-cup pot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [January 11, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894 "2017-01-11T20:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/1 "2017-01-11T20:40:03Z")
Our coffee urn is graduated to 12 cups. I can get six cups of joe out of a full pot. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/2 "2017-01-11T20:43:46Z")
Your cups are too big. Or maybe you overfill them. Do they runneth over? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/3 "2017-01-11T20:50:06Z")
theres 2 1/2 reasons you never get the amount from a coffee pot that they print on the box 1. there not counting a 12 oz official cup there counting the coffee cup/mug size 2.it all comes down to what size your personal mug is …like my cousin uses a travel mug so big that she goes through a 40 cup office urn . in a day or a little over … 2 1/2 there seems to be disagreement on a standard size for a coffee mug it wavers between 6 and 8 or even 12 ounces …A LOT of disagreement… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/4 "2017-01-11T20:51:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Our coffee urn is graduated to 12 cups. I can get six cups of joe out of a full pot. The cup is one with the pot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/5 "2017-01-11T20:52:33Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > there seems to be disagreement on a standard size for a coffee mug it wavers between 6 and 8 or even 12 ounces > > \ > > my cousin uses a travel mug so big that she goes through a 40 cup office urn . in a day or a little over … I’ve heard the ‘standard’ cup is 6 oz. We go through two pots per day. Mrs. L.A. usually has two cups, and I have the rest. (Sometimes I make up for the two ‘missing’ cups by using the Keurig machine I got her for her birthday.) ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/6 "2017-01-11T21:12:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Our coffee urn is graduated to 12 cups. I can get six cups of joe out of a full pot. The coffee pot is marked in **cups**. You’re using **mugs**. There’s a big, big difference, although the two are often conflated in casual conversation. This is a coffee cup. [![](http://pngimg.com/upload/cup_PNG1971.png) ](http://pngimg.com/upload/cup_PNG1971.png) This is a coffee mug. [http://www.theexecutivestores.com/images/manf/norwood/45140\_1.jpg](http://www.theexecutivestores.com/images/manf/norwood/45140_1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/7 "2017-01-11T21:19:29Z")
As others have mentioned, for reasons unknown, a coffee “cup” has zero relationship to the “cup” measurement we have all been taught. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > A customary “cup” of coffee in the U.S. is usually defined as 4 fluid ounces, brewed using 5 fluid ounces of water. Coffee carafes used with drip coffee makers, such as Black and Decker models, have markings for both water and brewed coffee, since the carafe is also used for measuring water prior to brewing.[3] A 12-cup carafe, for example, has markings for 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 cups of water or coffee, which correspond to 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 fluid ounces of water or 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48 fluid ounces of brewed coffee, respectively, the difference being the volume lost to evaporation during brewing. [cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(unit)) So it’s even smaller than others have said. It’s pathetically small in fact. A mug, on the other hand, commonly holds 12-16 oz. I like them on the larger size myself. I set my Keurig to brew 8 oz, which explains why I need to buy only the darkest of coffees in order to get coffee that tastes like something other than dishwater. The things I learn researching for the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/8 "2017-01-11T21:39:44Z")
Read the labels on that hot chocolate, too! You’ll probably need two envelopes of the powder for a regular sized 12-oz coffee mug. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/9 "2017-01-11T21:56:18Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > The coffee pot is marked in **cups**. You’re using **mugs**. There’s a big, big difference, although the two are often conflated in casual conversation. > > This is a coffee cup. > [http://pngimg.com/upload/cup\_PNG1971.png](http://pngimg.com/upload/cup_PNG1971.png) > > This is a coffee mug. > [http://www.theexecutivestores.com/images/manf/norwood/45140\_1.jpg](http://www.theexecutivestores.com/images/manf/norwood/45140_1.jpg) My espresso cup (like [this](http://www.signals.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?ACTION=DETAIL&ITEM=HP6236), only different graphics) is 16 ounces. Just sayin’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/10 "2017-01-11T22:04:34Z")
I fill the coffee maker with water to the line that indicates six cups. It brews a mug and a half. I just deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/11 "2017-01-12T00:28:33Z")
I just checked. My urn is graduated to simply ‘‘12’’, not _ **12 cups** _. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/12 "2017-01-12T00:33:07Z")
For me, it’s six 12-ounce cups. The carafe is marked 12 cups, but each cup I drink lowers the coffee level by two markings on the carafe. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/13 "2017-01-12T01:26:54Z")
**Sunny Daze** beat me to it. My “8” cup coffee maker can only hold 40 oz. of water. So according to the coffee maker, my daily cup is closer to 3 cups, as I use 14 oz of water (and 26-27g coffee). We can get 3 coffee mugs out of a full pot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/14 "2017-01-12T02:36:08Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > **Sunny Daze** beat me to it. My “8” cup coffee maker can only hold 40 oz. of water. Oh, well, if you’re going to _measure_ the _capacity_ of the urn, and get all sciency an’ shite… :rolleyes: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/15 "2017-01-31T16:14:04Z")
There was a documentary on Dwight Eisenhower that mentioned during the lead-up to D-Day he was drinking 22 cups of coffee per day. I joked to my wife, ‘That’s _twice_ as much as I drink!’ Last week I decided to find out how much ‘12 cups’ was in relation to [my coffee cup](http://www.communitycoffee.com/products/more/vintage-diner-mug). It turns out that a ‘12-cup’ pot of coffee is 5½ my-cups. Now, the missus drinks a couple of cups; but I’ll have a couple of cups from the Keurig machine when the second pot is empty. So Eisenhower _literally_ drank twice as many cups per day as I do. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cups-of-coffee-in-a-12-cup-pot/776894/16 "2017-01-31T17:30:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > There was a documentary on Dwight Eisenhower that mentioned during the lead-up to D-Day he was drinking 22 cups of coffee per day. I joked to my wife, ‘That’s _twice_ as much as I drink!’ > > Last week I decided to find out how much ‘12 cups’ was in relation to [my coffee cup](http://www.communitycoffee.com/products/more/vintage-diner-mug). It turns out that a ‘12-cup’ pot of coffee is 5½ my-cups. Now, the missus drinks a couple of cups; but I’ll have a couple of cups from the Keurig machine when the second pot is empty. So Eisenhower _literally_ drank twice as many cups per day as I do. 😛 Right at the beginning of the late unpleasantness for the US (1942 probably) some US battleship steamed into port in Brazil and bought up the entire coffee crop. Nobody wanted to be without their java.