The Sensible Carafe

(edit: I have revised the post with more accurate title and more common mug-sizes used in the descriptions to avoid confusion. Nothing else was changed. No further revisions to the title will be made, sorry folks!)

Every coffee maker I have ever purchased has misled me on the amount of cups that the carafe can hold. I suspect the error is caused by the misconception on the part of the manufacturers that their consumers drink their coffee in tiny, 5-6 oz cups. My research leads me to believe that the AVERAGE American coffee drinker actually consumes their beverage of choice in actual standard-size 8-oz cup measures or larger.

I currently have 2 coffee makers, of different sizes and made by different manufacturers. One is made by a brand called Kitchen Gourmet, and the carafe supposedly holds 4 cups. My mugs are the 12-oz variety, which accommodates 9 oz of coffee, plus room to add milk and prevent spilling. I fill the carafe with coffee, yet I only get 2 mugs of 8.5-oz apiece (the carafe, at the 4-cup mark, holds 17 ounces. That's a 4.25 oz cup assumed by this manufacturer).

My other, newest, coffee maker is made by Black & Decker, and supposedly makes up to 12 cups. Just a few minutes ago, I filled it to the 6-cup fill mark (the special mark slightly above the 6-cup mark to accommodate for boil-off), and when it was done the coffee level in the carafe was right at the 6-cup mark. I got exactly 3 9-oz mugs out of it.

For as long as I can remember, the majority of coffee mugs sold in stores have been the 12 ounce variety or larger. Smaller mugs are generally labeled as "espresso" or "tea". So what I am proposing is a coffee maker made with more modern, practical measurements. If it says 4 mugs, it will make four 8-ounce mugs of coffee. If it says 12 mugs, it will include a very large carafe, indeed.

Including a complimentary mug sized to hold what they consider to be a cup with the maker could also go some way to preventing this kind of consternation.

Given that the 9-ounce size (again, 12-oz total, but I'm referring to actual serving size) is the most common size (Along with 10 and 11...see 3rd link), I'm confident that an 8-oz standard for labeling mug content would be ideal for American coffee makers.

The Black & Decker 12-cup carafe holds 8.5 8-oz cups, meaning Black & Decker assume a roughly 5.8-oz cuppa Joe.

What this means is that a full "12-cup" pot will make me about 7.5 mugs when I use the 9-oz size.