Single-Serve Coffee

[toggleswitch]

.

LOW-TECH solutions to a low-tech problem.

K-CUPS? PISSSSSHHHHHHHAWWWWW.

Too much money for equipment that takes up counter-space, pushes water through plastic and generates "cold" coffee. The cost of those disposable K-cups is absurd!

Here is the low-tech way to do this.

I actually amazed a group at a Thanksgiving dinner, where the host had just moved in and didn't have a coffeemaker accessible/unpacked.

"AINTE" (AH-EE-DE) "Here we go".

If you can do Turkish/Greek/Armenian demi-tasse coffee, you already have the instinct in you!

(Turkish coffee set-up pictured).

[this post was last edited: 12/3/2011-14:07]

 

[toggleswitch]

Our set-up

 

[toggleswitch]

Fill microwavable mug/beaker/coffee cup with water.

This one is 8 ounces / 230ml

 

[toggleswitch]

Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) ground coffee to vessel.

 

[toggleswitch]

Quick stir to wet beans. Don't fuss!

Set microwave for 1:30 to 2:00 (minute-and-a-half to two minutes)

(No the coffee is not on fire or luminescent! That is the reflection of a night-light across the room). LOL

 

[toggleswitch]

NUKE IT!

 

[toggleswitch]

Stir it.

 

[toggleswitch]

FOAM PARTY!

Strain it in through a tea strainer (fine mesh).

Don't mind the foam. This is normal

 

[toggleswitch]

straining

 

[toggleswitch]

Lift strainer and enjoy.

For a finer product rinse heating vessel (original mug), dump contents of strainer, rinse that as well and re-strain!

Now why exactly is a KEURIG or equivalent a must-have?

LOL

When I did this for Thanksgiving (for 8+/- servings) I simply used a larger saucepan did all my measuring, and heated the water/coffee mixture on top of the stove/cooker.

 

[gansky1]

I don't drink coffee but found myself buying a Keurig K-Cup machine at an estate sale anyway. I've had it for a while now, loaned it to a friend for a while to play with and now it's sitting, awaiting a CL for-sale ad. I guess it has it's merits for those who just want a single cup to-go as it were, but it just takes up space for me. I tried the a couple of the tea varieties but steeping it in a pot makes for much better taste, IMO.

A good friend of mine has one and makes herself a large cup of flavored coffee every morning to take on the drive to work. Saves a $3-4 and 5 minute stop at Starbucks for her so it's paid for itself, or will.

Your coffee process looks like you've created some laundry, Steve

 

[toggleswitch]

OH. LOL

Girlfriend is pictured here using a stainless-steel IBRIK (BRIKI) (coffee pot) to make her coffee.

Can't find one in this country?
Look for a "butter-warmer" I kid you not. Marketing, marketing, marketing.

 

[toggleswitch]

Yay to laundry.
I don't normally use a towel! LOL

 

[kenmore58]

Oh, Toggles, way too much work. For $10, you can buy a Black & Decker Brew and Go. Makes great coffee, quickly with hardly any work.

Check it out.

Ron

 

[kevin313]

Steve,
I love the simplicity of this and if I used a kettle to heat the water I'd only really dirty two things to make one good cup of hot coffee. I'm sure a method like this was used in the days before all these contraptions.

You can make coffee for me anytime ;-)

 

[arbilab]

Ever tried 1 cup in a 12-cup? It tastes AWFUL. Because by the time the whole shebang gets up to temperature, it's done.

If you boil a pan of water first and preheat the basket and the grounds, that problem completely goes away. Don't pour the boilwater THROUGH the grounds, just into the basket then set the loaded filter in on top of that. Wait a tick until it smells like coffee, then attach to brewer and flick on. Hold a sponge under it, will drip some. Nothing extra to wash.

 

[lordkenmore]

Ever tried 1 cup in a 12-cup?

Some larger coffee pots in the years gone by had a selector switch that (allegedly) allowed them to make better coffee in smaller quantities. Although I'm not sure it went down to 1 cup, and how well it actually worked is another question. I think my mother had that feature on one coffee maker--but it wasn't anything she ever used.

Personally, I'm not much inclined to do tricks to make a big coffee maker perform well with small quantities of coffee. It may be useful trick to know, sometimes--but for daily use it would become too much of a pain for me.

My approach has, historically, been to use manual systems. Either 1 cup drip makers that park on top of a cup, or French press pots. I have not encountered any modern automatic coffee maker in the 4 cup and under range that I like well enough to actually use. Although there may be something out there if I went past trying what people I know have, or various thrift shop finds. I can't speak about bigger coffee makers--so long since I've actually used one.

Strangely, I didn't mind mainly using a percolator (either small Corningware Electromatic or 4 cup Farberware) for an extended period. The coffee was not French press quality, but I found it drinkable.

 

[sudsmaster]

Easy on the K-cups , Bro

While I'm no stranger to the charms of Greek coffee, I got a Keurig over a year ago and I rely on it nearly 100% for my home coffee needs.

It's extremely valuable for providing a HOT cup of coffee early in the morning as I get ready for work. I don't have the time to go through all the steps required to make coffee as Steve demonstrates, and I don't want to brew a full drip pot just for one cup. I also want to limit my caffeine intake as I do work that often requires steady hands and too much caffeine definitely interferes with that. If I make a full pot (or even a half a pot) I find I drink way too much coffee.

The K-cup varieties I like the most is Tully's House blend, as well as the Caribou blend.

I also have a re-usable K-cup filter that I can put my own ground coffee into for a more economical approach. But so far I haven't felt a need to use it on a regular basis.

 

[magic_clean]

Been

using this Melitta single serve setup for years. Works great for up to 16 ounces of coffee.

http://https//shop.melitta.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=64+007&Cat=