One level tablespoon (15 ml) of Sugar weighs about 12 g. A teaspoon is around 4 g, a 200 ml cup around 160 g, and an everyday Korean rice spoon holds roughly 8.8 g level.
Coarser crystals mean less sugar in the same volume. Brown sugars are usually packed down out of habit, so they end up heavier than white โ for baking, where the ratio matters, weigh it.
Sugar is measured level. Heaped, a tablespoon goes past 15 g.
Conversion table
| Unit | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp (15 ml) | 12 g |
| 1 tsp (5 ml) | 4 g |
| 1 cup (200 ml) | 160 g |
| 1 paper cup (180 ml) | 144 g |
| 1 Korean rice spoon | 8.8 g |
Measuring with a rice spoon or paper cup
A recipe tablespoon is 15 ml and a Korean recipe cup is 200 ml, but the spoon in your cutlery drawer holds about 11 ml level and a paper cup holds 180 ml. Measuring with everyday utensils therefore puts in roughly a quarter less than the recipe intends.
Heaping the spoon brings it close to a proper tablespoon. For salt, baking powder and anything else where a small error changes the outcome, use measuring spoons or a scale instead.