The amount of phenol and NaOH for the colorimetric determination of ammonia in Korean standard methods (KSM) is found to be highly excessive compared to the standard methods of several other countries. The absorbance of indophenol formed by the Berthelot reaction for ammonia analysis was measured under the various reaction conditions classified in experiment groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and KSM and American standards methods (ASM), and the relationships between the absorbance of indophenol and concentration of ammonia were compared. The amount of phenol can be reduced to 10 g (current 25 g in KSM) and NaOH can be reduced to 1.76 g (current 11 g in KSM) for the preparation of 200 mL phenate solution, and the absorbance sensitivity increased. The concentration of the phenol and NaOH correlatively affect the pH of the solution, which is a critical variable in achieving the maximum sensitivity and rapid and stable color development.