So back when I was first living on my own. I of course had no money and I still needed coffee. So I just started doing what I would call cowboy coffee. Where the hot water and grounds are just combined. Then the grounds settle to the bottom. I have had a number of people find this quite uncouth and have tried to make me change. So I just got curious about what everyone here thought.
And just as a point of order. I like it and have no plans to change. Any attempt to sway me will fall on deaf ears. Though I am quite willing to accept the title of heathen if people decide so.
If you like it who cares? It’s basically French press without the last filtering step. It’s also basically how professionals grade coffee in “cuppings”.
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the “fancy” version of cowboy coffee is Turkish coffee with a LONG tradition – and, according to Wikipedia at least, boiled coffee was the primary method of preparation until the 1930s
Fuck yeah I am moving up in the world. From now on I am going to tell everyone that it is Turkish style.
It’s poor man’s Turkish coffee. Proper Turkish style requires beans ground way finer than usual, and boiled either directly over an open flame or on a hot sand pan. Boiling coffee is fine, if you don’t have an alternative. But don’t try to upsell it as something it is not. You like it? Good. No one will take that away from you. But accept that few share your taste and some will look down upon it. There’s a reason nobody boils coffee anymore.
If you want cheap poured coffee, get a cloth filter. They sell them for like, a dollar. Or you can improvise it with a wire cloth hanger and a piece of cheese cloth filter (also absurdly cheap) or just a piece of an old cotton T-shirt with no stamped graphics. Cut it in a square and fold it in two, tie it as a cone around a loop of wire about the size of a cup or pot. Put the coffee inside the cloth then pour the boiling water into it while holding it over a pot. That’s how we improvise it in South America, and with practice you can get a quality brew that will rival any fancy method and will leave anything Starbucks in the dust.
This is basically the bell curve meme.
Low end: I put grounds in hot water
Middle: NO, YOU HAVE TO FILTER IT OR ELSE YOU’LL BE DRINKING THE GROUNDS etc.
Top end: I put the grounds in hot water.
There is a brand that packages “instant Turkish coffee”. You can’t drink the last half inch or so unless you like having coffee mud in your throat. It was good though. Anyone telling you that you can’t make coffee your way is a dumbass too. In cooking as long as it tastes good and follows food safety practices, anything else goes.
Turkish coffee is not quite boiled. The roast (dark) and the grind (very fine) are different too from the coffee normally done in percolators (or boiling). While I find Turkish coffee enjoyable, similar to espresso, boiled or percolated coffee is quite different, and not my cup of … well… coffee.
I’m a pretty big coffee nerd, and work as a barista. I have no patience for snobbery. If someone wants to learn more about coffee, the effects of roasting, immersion, percolation, espresso, I’ll gladly infodump to them and share the knowledge I’ve accrued over the years.
If someone is content with their venti soy mocha thing from Starbucks, or their double double from Timmies, or even store-brand instant coffee, and they don’t feel the need to jump into the coffee world, that’s fine by me. The idea that you must like a certain type of coffee to enjoy it “properly” is silly to me. I’m not yucking anyone’s yum.
I am not yucking at anyone’s yum
I am going to use that for the rest of my life.
If you’re bringing the water to a boil then taking it off the heat and mixing in the coffee grounds (like how you would do tea), then that’s just a French press. Letting the grounds settle out on their own is actually the preferred method. The press just has a wire mesh that prevents the grounds from coming out when you pour. This is a fantastic method for great coffee. On small change I’d make is don’t bring the water to a full boil. Coffee burns at over 185F (85C) so if you have a kitchen thermometer you can check the temp with that would be best.
If you’re bringing the water to a boil then adding the grounds and letting it keep boiling (similar to how you’d cook pasta), that’s closer to a percolator and will probably taste much more burned/bitter.
I actually have an electric kettle that has both temp and auto timer. So the temp is set to 175°(which is somewhere between 175° and 180° depending on how the kettle feels that day). Then I pour the water over the grounds that are in my cup. I am no coffee aficionado, but I know a little bit.
To spare others the same googling: 175f = 79.4c, 180f = 82.2c.
What you’re doing is called cupping! I’ve seen it used mostly to set up tastings of multiple different coffees at once. Generally it’s recommended to stir the crust at some point so that the grounds fall to the bottom of the cup. Also, you’re brewing at a pretty low temp though. Even for dark roasts, I would consider brewing a touch hotter and see what you think.
There are also people who use your method out of pretentiousness
I drink a fair bit of french press coffee, which is like yours, but strained through steel mesh
The biggest difference between yours and mine is yours has more mud at the bottom
This is basically a percolator without a filter. It’s also called ‘Camping’ coffee and ‘Farmhouse’ coffee.
Why be stubborn just for the sake of it? I’d make coffee like this if there was no other option. Other methods will maximize your beans and provide a more refreshing cup of joe. I won’t call you a heathen lol just confused, life’s too short for mediocre coffee
I feel like maybe you didn’t read my whole post. I like it better that way.
As for why I like that way. It is super easy, I literally pour hot water over the grounds in my cup. But more importantly it tastes different, more bold. I think this is because fines don’t settle. They are much too fine to notice when drinking but I think it adds to my experience.
Have you ever tried it? Maybe you should before calling it mediocre.
It’s “bold” because you’re extended steeping the grounds. I’ve had it like that camping but I’m not really into gritty textured beverages, thanks. I assumed you were just being contrarian to ‘coffee filters’ but if you actually legit enjoy it who cares. May it grow much hair on your chest
May it grow much hair on your chest.
Wait… what?
An idiom of the same class as “it is character building”. It roughly decodes to “it’s a manly way of doing it” or “it’s hard, but you’ll be a better person for doing it”
Do it whatever way you feel is the best, really
Don’t let other people tell you how to enjoy your coffee (unless you are looking for advice). Do what makes you happy.
It’s disgusting to get grounds in your mouth, no? It’s not uncouth but it can be unpleasant if you ever get it wrong.
Just get a French press - it’s the same thing as you’re doing basically except you have a metal filter to push the grounds down in the jug so the grounds don’t pour in your cup with the coffee.
There is saving money and then there is extremes. A French press is a one time purchase that will last years, mostly just rinse clean but it’s easy to disassemble and clean more thoroughly as needed.
I personally like an aero-press which is basically the same but extremely easy to clean and gives a nice cup of coffee.
Edit: I note that you have no intention to change. You do you, but these tools exist to make it easier to make nice coffee. It’s not about being a heathen or sophisticated - it’s just about having a nice cup of coffee. I hate grounds in my mouth personally.
Okay so I know it’s hard to believe but grounds in the mouth is not a problem. I am not saying it never happens but it is very rare. I have found a brand and grind the settles very easily with just a quick stir (or shake as I have a lid most of the time) and they really do stay at the bottom. The two things I have to remember is to not tip the cup up too fast to drink and to not drink the bottom of the cup. Both of which I never have to think about anymore.
I have used French presses and they are fine but honestly I don’t find them necessary.
Put some chicory in dar.
It works and I’ve done it when camping but it is far from my preferred method.
Still better than instant. Is it ready to avoid getting a moth full of grounds?
Very easy, the grounds settle and do actually stay at the bottom of the cup. Just don’t drink to the bottom
Sounds like a reasonable solution then. I mean, this is basically how the pros do cupping.
Nothing wrong with that, look up “coffee sock”. It’s used exactly as you describe, except they put this filter down first, then lift it out with the grounds after it’s done brewing. All the other methods mentioned here are valid too, coffee is coffee!
No, you are a coffee madlad and a hero in my eyes.
You’re good in my book. ☕
