/ck/ - Food & Cooking

What's the optimal proportions for brewing coffee?

Since the definition of "cup" differs between manufacturers and even coffee brands, I've been using 4 scoops (10 tbsp) of grounds for every 2 US cups of water, which apparently is supposed to be 4 coffee cups?
I always brewed it with hot, but not quite boiling water. It leaves a nice foamy crema and the coffee comes out really strong, almost too strong. It's almost impossible to reach a perfect balance of sugar and cream, it's either not enough or too sweet. This is the way I've been making coffee since I switched from instant.

Today I found out you're not supposed to use that much ground, so I used 2 scoops (4 tbsp) and 2 US cups of near-boiling water from a kettle.
The coffee didn't leave a crema at all, and the coffee itself tasted like absolute dogshit.

How do you people do it?

>buy french press
>turns out folgers tastes like shit when you brew it correctly
>end up drinking instant coffee every morning
>almost-full tub of folgers just sits there
What are some good brands or places to get reasonably priced coffee?
I literally know nothing about coffee except that you're supposed to grind it yourself.

Coffee thread?

meme press!

>wake up early
>groggy as shit
>too lazy to bust out french press, heat water and grind coffee
>end up making instant coffee instead

Honestly, I don't even know why anyone bothers with anything but instant, it tastes almost the same unless you drink it black.
And don't tell me that black coffee actually tastes good, nobody enjoys that shit except for middle-aged people with a diminished sense of taste.