We have some house guests arriving next week who are big coffee drinkers and will surely want a cup in the morning. We usually just use a single-cup filter to make our daily cup, so we'll have to switch gears to avoid brewing endless single cups while our guests are here! Here's our favorite no-machine method - what's yours?
Our no-coffee-maker method is kind of a DIY version of French press coffee. We put the coffee grounds (1-2 tablespoons per cup of water) in our largest liquid measuring cup and pour the hot water on top. Our measuring cup holds two quarts of liquid, but a large bowl or a heat-proof pitcher would also work fine if you don't have a measuring cup that large.
We let the coffee and water steep for three minutes, stir up the grounds, and let it steep for another three minutes. Then we pour single cups of coffee using our single-cup filter to strain out the floating grounds. You can also line a strainer with a large basket coffee filter and filter all the coffee at once into a thermos or carafe.
Do you have another method for making multiple cups of coffee without a coffee maker? Please share!
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that is a clever way to serve a larger group! we also use single-serve filters, but we have 3 of them now, so its not a big deal with 1-3 people.
Hmm this is an interesting method. Good to know.
(I don't drink coffee at all, my method is pull on a jacket and walk the block to the coffee shop with orders for everyone. Sometimes this happens more than once in the morning.)
If your office has a typical office coffee machine, there may be a few extra coffee pots (the glass ones intended to sit on the hot plate for hours and hours) laying around. They'd be perfect to brew and pour using the method above... if your boss is nice she may let you borrow one for a few days while your guests are in town.
That's exactly what I do. It goes into an insulated carafe. What amazes me most is that so many friends who have witnessed my one-cup filter had never seen coffee made that way before. They think it can only be from a coffee maker or a French press, I guess.
My problem is that I never remember to get cream or sugar to give guests. I can count the amount of times I've baked on one hand (twice!), so my household's lack of sugar is constantly overlooked.
I also drink my coffee black at home -- it's a frou-frou vanilla blend that really doesn't need it, not put-hair-on-your-chest black coffee -- so it never strikes me that I should stock up on cream and sugar before friends come over.
What I should really do is just keep some Bailey's on hand. It covers both bases. Note to self...
Actually what you're describing is the poor man's version of turkish coffee. I used to make mine in an open pot, pour the desired water and really finely ground coffee; let it come to a boil, then quickly turn it down (stirring a bit; you'll see the foam start to form) and keep it on simmer until it comes to a simmering boil again, (about 5 minutes). My aunt taught me this method and it produces the smoothest cup. I love it. I use an enamel pot to make cleaning it after easier-baking soda!
I've used a Bounty-lined funnel as a filter before, when really desperate. It's a two-person job, though.
I use a large french press, but they break fairly often. So, as a backup I have a small plastic filter cone ( http://bit.ly/4KKedr ) and I use paper filters. I stick that over a very large mason jar and bada bim bada boom.
don
haha!
this is exactly how i make my coffee. i broke the french press and this method works better.....or is at least easier to clean up after
Would a clean tea towel lining a wiremesh sieve work? That way you could wash and reuse...
anybody?
Steep a panty hose full of grounds in a large pot on the stove.... works perfectly.
I picked up a stove-top percolator. They are pretty cheap, easy to clean and store away or look cute on your stovetop. It takes up no counter space and is green (no filters!) Actually, I use mine daily but it's also great for when I have guests over. They get a kick out of it because it often reminds them of their parents/grandparents making coffee back in the day. The cups it brews are also fantastic which is what's really important.
I just moved to Brazil recently and everyone here uses a plastic cone and paper filter. No one seems to think it necessary to buy a machine to take up space on the counter top. And this from the land of coffee!
@thehalfie,
Reusable filters are also available.
I use the cold brew method: 2 cups of coarse ground coffee in a half gallon mason jar (I can, and we drink a LOT of coffee). Add water slowly to let the grounds get saturated; give it a good stir before topping off, and then let the whole thing sit on the counter overnight.
In the morning, give it a good stir, and let it settle for 10 minutes or so. If you pour carefully, you hardly need a filter.
Or, if you're lazy, like me, you can pour it through a fine sieve or re-usable coffee filter.
I use a Bialetti Brikka to make my "espresso" in the morning. It's a stovetop pot just like the rest of the mokka pots, but has a special valve to create more pressure which makes crema. While purists will tell you it's not true espresso since the pressure still isn't quite as high, it's better than espresso you'd get at starbucks.
I also have a stovetop frother - just a little pot with a lid that has a screen that you plunge up and down for 30s.
Thanks akay!
I just tried it in a tea pot with a wire mesh basket.... a couple little grounds but no big deal. I ground the coffee beans with a mortar and pestle, feeling very- rustic?- the whole time :)
fine ground coffee and empty teabags, soak for 4 mins.
ie.
http://www.crazyfortea.com/emptyteabags.html
When our drip coffee maker broke, our french press shattered & I couldn't stand one more round on the moka pot, I cold brewed (without the Toddy). Super simple & no bitterness. It works best for iced coffee, but it can easily be heated up.
i've been using the single filter method for years now. i use the filter from a bodum teacup my sister in law gave me. i drink coffee more than tea. this filter and a cordless kettle have made my mornings so much easier.
costa rican coffee maker! i just bought one and love it for a one cup only treat.
http://stores.tioschoice.com/catalog/coffeemaker.jpg
Great idea! We use a percolater (like the kind sold in camping stores), but this will be a handy trick next time we have more than one coffee pot's worth of people over.
I make my coffee with an insulated french press I bought on-line from Bodum:
http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=1&GID=3&LID=282&CHK=&SLT=&mscssid=885HRCM1UMP18MXFBQCKACT5252TC29F
I believe I have the 8 cup (4 US cup) and I can drink almost the whole liter of coffee when I make a full pot - (I usually like to drink more coffee than what's good for me ;) but if I don't want to make so much I reduce the grounds and water. And if I have guests I may make two or three batches easily in succession. Plus it's more sturdy than just a glass french press (good for a klutz like me).
French press is the Only Way to Go...imho...
Hello
In Slovenia and the rest of the Balkans we make coffee Turkish style using copper coffee pots, something like this: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/photos/DSC_6964.jpg . The cups are about this size: http://beta.finance-on.net/galerije/843/1229037488_kava,%20rogljic_SHU.jpg .
For one cup of coffee:
1) put one cup of cold (but not ice cold) water into the pot
and add one tea spoon (a pile about half an inch high) of coffee in that water and stir. If you like your coffee sweet you should put sugar in at this point.
2) put it on the stove and wait for it to get to the boiling point. Wait for the coffee foam to go up and immediately take the pot off the fire (don't let it boil)
3) leave it 'resting' for like 20sec so that the grounds sink to the bottom of the pot than pour it carefully into the cup so that the grounds don't get in
And that's it :) It's quite simple and the coffee comes out great. Just add some milk or cream and enjoy.
I use a French press if I'm going to be home for a while and will need a few cups. Otherwise, I use an AeroPress (http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm), and I love mine!
How about the AeroPress? My boyfriend's friend recommended this highly and boy, was he right. Makes an incredibly smooth, rich cup of coffee. It is sort of a press - looks a little weird and I'd never heard of it before, but check it out. Sur la table carries it. (And boyfriend's friend manages it with one arm - that's how good the coffee tastes. Thank you Steve!)
There's a method like this I use for camping called "cowboy coffee," because it can be done on a campfire. You simply put grounds and water in a pot, bring it to a boil. When it's strong enough to your liking, you quickly drop some cold water or a hot coal into it, which makes the grounds drop to the bottom of the pot.
My boyfriend is obsessed -- OBSESSED! -- with his aeropress.
Wai, that coffee maker is gorgeous! I think I'd want one just for the spectacle of serving out of it.
I will 3rd the aeropress. But it doesn't make a ton of coffee- just like 2 or 3 cups. But i've found it's the best method for traveling and enjoying delicious coffee.
@metlchick: I love them too! The whole set it a bit kitschy but I love them still http://meri.nomadlife.org/uploaded_images/kafa-704629.jpg.
Well let me know if you want one :) I'm going to Sarajevo for a couple of days after New Years and there they sell them in all shapes and sizes on the city square :)
I love to use the Folgers or Maxwell House individual coffee bags (they are sold in packages if 19 and look like large tea bags)-I'm not a big coffee drinker, and I don't like my coffee really strong, so, these work perfectly for me. I store them in the freezer and pull them out when I need them.
Late to the discussion, but a Chemex is perfect for this - make as much or as little coffee as you need daily, and if you're not a daily coffee drinker, use it as a water pitcher or carafe when it's not in use as a coffee maker. Also, it allows you to stir the grounds as you're brewing, which releases the oils, making extra tasty coffee.
Followed recent links to this article so I'm more than a little late.
I second the Chemex comment, @judith. I couldn't stand to drink anything but mochas for the longest time, then moved on to coffees with milk, but couldn't stand the thought of straight black coffee (especially the way my boyfriend makes it) at all.
Until Chemex.
It makes the most delicious coffee in the world and even while I use my Moka pot for my daily brew (3-cup, I'm an addict), the Chemex is a special treat.
(We have five different implements for making coffee at our house, both of the ones my boyfriend uses are made out of glass, so its anyone's guess how those aren't broken by now...)
I have a french press and moka pot that I never use.
The smoothest coffee I make by boiling water in a regular saucepan with lid. Then I dump in coarsely ground coffee beans (about 2 Tbsp/cup) let steep for 3-5 minutes, then strain through wire mesh or thin cotton.
In the summer I like to do cold brew and pour over ice in the morning. Cold brew works well in any size container.
Good info!
So in an emergency (the coffee-maker just broke), I could just pour boiling water slowly over the cone thing into a big Pyrex measuring cup and then into a thermos?