THE BREW BENCH / UNDERSTAND
Strength and extraction, untangled.
Use actual measured TDS, beverage mass and dry dose to calculate extraction yield and understand dilution.
The equation
Extraction yield (%) = beverage mass × measured TDS (%) ÷ dry dose. With 300 g beverage, 1.3% TDS and 20 g dry coffee, this simplified beverage-mass calculation gives 19.5%. It assumes a representative, correctly measured black-coffee sample and does not correct for method-specific liquid retained with grounds. Milk, sugar, syrup and other added dissolved solids invalidate this coffee-extraction interpretation; measure before adding them.
Add 50 g water after brewing and the same extracted solids occupy 350 g: estimated strength falls from 1.3% to about 1.11%, while the extracted mass in that beverage stays the same. Dilution changes strength; it does not brew more flavor out of the grounds. Explore the distinction and measurement limits.