Coffee, our elixir of life, and the one moving force that brings us to get out of bed in the morning and function through the hassles of a standard working day while being sleep deprived. Yes, coffee is truly an essential beginning for many people’s days. That brown bittersweet substance that saves others from dealing with us in our zombie form.
But what if you ever face the bad experience of waking up to find your coffee machine not working or find the electricity out, will you be able to spend the day without your beloved beginning potion? Well No you won’t have to, because we are here with some easy techniques to save the day and brew coffee without using a pot at all.
Before we start the procedures there are some tips you have to follow first. first of all, you must have freshly roasted coffee, the quality of the cup will depend mainly on this. If your beans are too old they will not be aromatic and thus will lose 80% of the drink’s pleasure, plus they will taste a bit dull. The fresher the coffee the better, so use beans that were roasted within the past two weeks as a maximum. Of course, quality is important also so try getting them from a specialty roaster.
Since freshness is a big issue, obviously use also freshly grounded coffee, try keeping a manual coffee grinder at home for emergencies. The aroma of the beans will only last for around 15-20 minutes after grinding so be quick.
You will still need hot water, just don’t use boiling water. In order for the water to draw out the flavors from the beans correctly, it has to be just below the boiling degree. You can boil water then leave it to settle for a few seconds (around 30) before using it.
Now for the best methods to replace your coffee maker.
1 Cowboy Coffee (or saucepan coffee)
This one is often used in camps and outdoor trips and that is where it gets the name from. Bring a pan and fill it with slightly more water than you need for a cup in your coffee maker, place the pan on the stove fire, when it comes to a boil add your ground coffee (about 2 tablespoons, depending on how strong you prefer it).
Remove the pan from heat and directly cover it, leave it 4-5 mins to settle and wait for the grounds to reach the bottom of the pan, once they do you are ready to serve the coffee.
2 Coffee Filter
You will need to have anything to use as a coffee filter, use a standard coffee filter or if you don’t have that, use any other available things at home like a handkerchief, a paper towel, or a cheesecloth. Using a handkerchief is best though since it is easily available at any home, it just needs to be washed well before use.
Now fold your filter twice into a square that fits in your mug, make sure you leave the extra area of the filter to hang over the side of the mug. Place the filter on the mug and secure it with paper clips or elastic binders. place the coffee on the filter and spread it equally across then bring water that has been boiled 30 seconds ago and pour a bit just to dampen the coffee, then pour a bit more and let it sip slowly through the filter before you pour again until you have finished the amount of water you have. You may need to tease the coffee with a spoon to spread the water sipping process. When all the water passes, remove your filter and drink away.
3 the coffee bag
Similar to a tea bag but holding ground coffee inside. All you need to do is place the bag in your mug then bring previously boiled water that rested and pour it slowly on the bag. Then the wait as the coffee bag gets immersed in the hot water and turns brown. For a strong cup leave the bag in for 5-6 mins. For a milder one leave it only for 2-3 mins. remove the bag once you reach the desired flavor.
4 make a coffee bag
If you find out you’ve run out of coffee bags as well do not panic. All you need is any filter (the standard coffees filter or even cut a tea bag and replace the tea with your coffee) and some ground coffee (2 tablespoon for every 250 ml. of water). You need to fill the filter’s center with the coffee then close it and tie the top with a string. Use it afterwards just like the store bought bag in the previous point.
5 French press
This is a rather simple technique that will give similar results to the cowboy one. Place your ground coffee in a small mug then pour in a small amount of hot water that only covers the coffee, wait for 30 seconds then pour in the rest of the water. Now leave to cup for about 4 minutes to brew (leave it for a longer time if you want a stronger flavor) once you get the desired brew strength slowly pour your coffee into another mug. Make sure you don’t transfer the grounds with the drink so don’t pour the last few millimeters where the grounds settle.
6 instant coffee
This can be your last resort if none of the above worked for you. Many coffee lovers will disapprove of this since instant coffee tastes nothing like the real things but hey, would you rather spend your day with no caffeine at all? All you need is a mug, add a spoon or two of the instant coffee then pour hot water slowly and stir for a while until the coffee dissolves. Yep, that’s it!
You may not need any of these tips in your normal daily life, but now that you know them you are sure whenever something comes up (like a trip or a disrupt in an appliance) you will still manage to get that dose of morning caffeine that will put a smile on your face for the rest of the day.
