Making coffee without a coffee-maker?

[RunnerKim]

Is there a way to make coffee from ground beans without a coffee maker? I didn't read the recipe for the Russian Tiramisu and bought all the ingredients just to read that I need to brew coffee - and I don't have a cofee-maker.

Can I boil it in water like tea?

Kim

[aggie94]

I'm not a coffee drinker either, but I've seen lots of people at the office make their own coffee by the cup by pouring boiling water over coffee grounds in a filter. They have these little plastic things that sit on top of your coffee mug that holds a coffee filter. You pour the boiling water through the filter and it brews the coffee right into your mug. I imagine you can use the same or a similar technique.

[funnybone]

In some cases you can use instant coffee, although us real coffee drinkers would never be caught doing so. However, MELITA used to make one of those "cone shaped" plastic thing that aggie94 mentioned. I have one (probably in the basement somewhere) that I used to use to make a cup, on occasion. It does work. Otherwise, BODEM makes those "french press" type coffee makers (you don't plug them in) and you can get them in different sizes. Oh, didn't Maxwell house come out with filter packaged coffee that you can make like tea? That would be another alternative. Just experiment with what you have.


[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 03-26-2001).]

[Beth]

Those little plastic cone filters work fine. Use coffee with a fine drip grind. We use one over a thermal carafe sometimes when we don't want to pull Mr.Coffee out of his hiding place (we're the ones who have the espresso maker out all the time). I have seen them in the grocery stores, but coffee shops and places like Cost Plus have them also. You can probably pick one up for a dollar or two, and the small filters come in boxes of 40.

If you really wouldn't use even that for guests or such, see if you can borrow a coffee filter, put it in a small strainer and pour hot (not quite boiling) water throught it into a cup or container.

[SusanL]

Kim, if you have a coffee filter and a sieve, try it. Best to finely grind the coffee. Let us know how it works!!
I concur with Funnybone, we always keep the coffee bags on hand for travel. Convenient when you want one cup of coffee, not the best coffee, but it does the trick!!

[RunnerKim]

Thanks everyone. My husband snagged a coffee filter from his office and we used a funnel and it seemed to work fine. The tiramisu is in the fridge and we won't have it until tonight. We're just not regular/compulsive coffee drinkers - and living in the Pacific NW it's so easy to find a good cup when we need it.

Kim

[Andrew]

Go take a peek at: http://www.toddyproducts.com/

Toddy Maker holds one pound of ground coffee.
Then a total of 9 cups of cold water are added and this steeps for 12 hours. Then the extract is drained and stored in the refrigerator. A couple of ounces of the extract is added to some water in a cup and microwaved.

Being that I live in Portland Oregon it's mandatory that I'm a coffee junkie.

This truly makes the best cup of coffee on the planet, no bitterness, no acid taste and it's actually saves some money. Instead of buying the premium brands such as Seattle's Best we use Columbian Supremo from Costco and although the difference is really apparent even with a French Press I actually like the cheaper brands in the Toddy.

Andrew