---
type: Abbreviation
title: EY — Extraction Yield
description: The fraction of a coffee's dry mass that dissolves into the brewed cup
  — the primary measure of how much was pulled from the grounds.
aliases:
- EY
- Extraction Yield
tags:
- coffee
- brewing
- measurement
resource: raw/coffee-guide.md
timestamp: '2026-07-16T15:03:02Z'
citadel_version: 0.3.0
---

Extraction yield (EY) is the fraction of a ground coffee's dry mass that ends up dissolved in the finished brew — the dissolved solids in the drink divided by the mass of dry grounds used; roasted coffee is only about 28-30% water-soluble by mass, with the rest insoluble plant matter (cellulose) left behind in the grounds.[^s1] Alongside [TDS](tds-total-dissolved-solids.md), EY is one of the two numbers coffee enthusiasts calculate to compare brewing recipes objectively rather than by taste alone.[^s2]

The [Specialty Coffee Association](../organizations/specialty-coffee-association.md)'s "Golden Cup" standard targets an extraction yield of 18-22%.[^s3]

Immersion methods can push EY well past that band without tasting over-extracted: [Cordwell Roastworks](../organizations/cordwell-roastworks.md)' cold-brew bench notes computed about 29% EY for a 14-hour room-temperature batch, against roughly 20% for hot drip on the same bean, crediting the long, gentle steep rather than reading the higher yield as over-extraction — see [Coffee Brewing](../concepts/coffee-brewing.md) for the calculation.[^s4]

## See also
- [Coffee Brewing](../concepts/coffee-brewing.md)
- [TDS — Total Dissolved Solids](tds-total-dissolved-solids.md)
- [Specialty Coffee Association](../organizations/specialty-coffee-association.md)
- [Cordwell Roastworks](../organizations/cordwell-roastworks.md)

## Sources
[^s1]: [raw/brewing-science-notes.md](../../raw/brewing-science-notes.md), § What "extraction" actually means (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s2]: [raw/coffee-guide.md](../../raw/coffee-guide.md), line 54 — EY named alongside TDS as a recipe-comparison measure (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s3]: [raw/brewing-science-notes.md](../../raw/brewing-science-notes.md), § The SCA Golden Cup numbers (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s4]: [raw/cold-brew-notes.md](../../raw/cold-brew-notes.md), lines 46-50 — cold brew EY vs. hot drip on the same bean (ingested 2026-07-16)
