What Is TDS in Coffee?

Understanding Total Dissolved Solids for Better Brewing

TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids, which represents the total amount of coffee compounds dissolved in your brewed coffee. It is usually expressed as a percentage (%) of the beverage’s weight.

What Does TDS Measure in Coffee?

When brewing coffee, water extracts various compounds from the grounds, including:

•   Acids

•   Sugars

•   Oils

•   Bitter compounds

TDS measures the concentration of these dissolved solids in the final cup.

Simply put, TDS tells you how strong or weak your coffee tastes, but it does not indicate how well the coffee was extracted.

Easy Example

•   A cup of coffee with TDS = 1.35% means 1.35% of the beverage’s weight is dissolved coffee solids, the rest is water.

•   Espresso usually has a high TDS (8–12%)

•   Pour-over or filter coffee has a lower TDS (1.15–1.45%)

Ideal TDS in Espresso. source: Handground

TDS vs Extraction Yield

Many people confuse these two terms:

Concept	What It Shows
TDS	How strong or weak the coffee tastes
Extraction Yield	How much flavor was extracted from the grounds

You can have:

•   High TDS but poor extraction → strong but sour or harsh

•   Low TDS but good extraction → light but balanced

How to Measure TDS

TDS is usually measured with a refractometer, a device that analyzes the refractive index of a liquid to estimate dissolved solids. It is commonly used in:

•   Specialty coffee shops

•   Coffee labs

•   Barista training programs