No Coffee Filters? Neandercaff To The Rescue!

[Ben]

I have a Chemex on my desk at work.  Just gotta plan ahead on the filters.

I'm probably confused on the definition of a "drip coffee maker". I always associate them with Mr Coffee style machines, but I reckon something like the Chemex is technically a drip coffee maker?

[dogmush]

Nah, A Chemex is pour-over.  You immerse the grounds and let them drain.  Good stuff.

A buddy of mine has a YAMA cold brew tower, which is technically a drip brewer.  That thing makes good coffee, but I'm not patient enough.

http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/yama-cold-brewer.html

[Ben]

Nah, A Chemex is pour-over.  You immerse the grounds and let them drain.  Good stuff.

So the coffee drips into your cup as it drains?

I understand the difference though - just funnin' with you. :)

[MillCreek]

You use a drip coffee maker? Is it some kind of special one that takes up 1/4 of your kitchen?  

I always thought coffee aficionados avoided drip coffee?

I use a french press, Aeropress, Chemex and the Zojirushi drip for coffee; and the Pasquini Livia 90 for espresso.  If it was up to me, I would use the french press and Chemex exclusively, and I do use them on the weekends, but during the work week, the drip machine wins out for speed.  It is one of the drip machines that reaches the proper 195-205 degrees F temp for correct brewing.  And since I roast my own beans and use a good grinder, that has more of an impact on the coffee than the brewing method.

There are a lot of really good drip machines on the market these days, and you can get very good cups from them.

[tokugawa]

Just fold a paper towel and use that for a filter.. Works fine.

[dogmush]

I use a french press, Aeropress, Chemex and the Zojirushi drip for coffee; and the Pasquini Livia 90 for espresso.  If it was up to me, I would use the french press and Chemex exclusively, and I do use them on the weekends, but during the work week, the drip machine wins out for speed.  It is one of the drip machines that reaches the proper 195-205 degrees F temp for correct brewing.  And since I roast my own beans and use a good grinder, that has more of an impact on the coffee than the brewing method.

There are a lot of really good drip machines on the market these days, and you can get very good cups from them.

See I just use my Aeropress for work week at home.  A cup to get dressed with and a cup for the drive in gets me to work and my Chemex.  I really like how fast the Aeropress is, especially since Mrs. Mush drinks tea in the mornings so the water is already getting heated.

[Nick1911]

Just fold a paper towel and use that for a filter.. Works fine.

I've done this in a pinch

[wmenorr67]

Just fold a paper towel and use that for a filter.. Works fine.

Could just use an old, dirty sock also.

[230RN]

Not liking the idea of a permanent filter.  Bad enough when the carafe only gets cleaned annually.  ("You'll ruin it and kill the flavor if you scrub out the stains in the pot and run vinegar through the machine.")  

More guns, cameras, small boys and coffeepots have been ruined by excessive cleaning than any other single cause.

Terry

[K Frame]

Not liking the idea of a permanent filter.  Bad enough when the carafe only gets cleaned annually.  ("You'll ruin it and kill the flavor if you scrub out the stains in the pot and run vinegar through the machine.") 

I rinse the filter out with warm water after using it, and run it through the dishwasher every other week or so.

[K Frame]

Here's what you need... A siphon coffee maker.

Only takes 4 times as long to brew a pot of coffee, and only costs 10 times more than a more than adequate drip style...

Neat looking, though. And siphon makers do generally make a decent cup of coffee. Just not THAT good.


http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-2491090/kitchenaid-kcm0812ob-siphon-8-cup-manual-coffee-brewer.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=SMALL%20ELECTRICS&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=61813824&CID=shopping15&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_qW9BRCcv-Xc5Jn-26gBEiQAM-iJhVbgjvj8o1i4XqWckfTTYVCjjDfqeDAYqrh7WTtSmIwaAhLK8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJHn95HitM4CFQJHDAodfE8GyQ

[MillCreek]

^^^I have played around with some vintage siphon/vacuum coffee makers, and it is not worth the hassle.

[230RN]

Isn't the siphon type the same as an old-fashioned percolator?

Funnel on bottom to collect and direct the steam/water up the center pipe to above the coffee basket, where it sprays out onto the grounds and drips back down into the pot?

[zxcvbob]

Isn't the siphon type the same as an old-fashioned percolator?
Funnel on bottom to collect and direct the steam/water up the center pipe to above the coffee basket, where it sprays out onto the grounds and drips back down into the pot?  

Not the same.  A percolator recirculates the coffee over the grounds over and over.  A vacuum pot forces all the hot water thru the grounds at once.   All the water goes up the center pipe, then you take it off the heat and a vacuum forms in the lower chamber and pull it back through a ground glass filter.  (at least that's how my parents' all glass one worked way back when)

I use an old aluminum version of this: http://www.lindysstainless.com/lindys-stainless-steel-drip-coffee-maker.html

[K Frame]

Isn't the siphon type the same as an old-fashioned percolator?

Funnel on bottom to collect and direct the steam/water up the center pipe to above the coffee basket, where it sprays out onto the grounds and drips back down into the pot?

No. Not even remotely close.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_coffee_maker

[K Frame]

"A percolator recirculates the coffee over the grounds over and over."

Even worse, a percolator boils the coffee over and over and over.

[zxcvbob]

I still like the coffee from a 30-cup electric percolator.  I don't use it very often tho', because that's a lot of coffee even for me.

[Ben]

"A percolator recirculates the coffee over the grounds over and over."

Even worse, a percolator boils the coffee over and over and over.

The trick is to, as soon as the coffee starts to boil, turn the heat down so it percolates at a lower temp. Percolated coffee that boils for ten minutes tastes awful. Percolated coffee that percolates at a lower temp tastes not much different than french press coffee. At least to an unrefined guy like me.   

I can't argue that french press coffee edges it out, but I like to use the percolator for a number of reasons, including non-flavor reasons like nostalgia. I do mine on an induction cooktop. I start on high and stick around for about three minutes until I see percolating just starting and see steam coming out, then I turn the heat to medium low and set the timer for seven minutes. I make my breakfast for the seven minutes and the coffee and me are done at the same time.

[Andiron]

If one doesn't want to settle for Ranger Coffee,  try the Canadian method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAItDEaBR-U


I shameless stole the Starbucks Via idea from those guys.  Makes being away from electric and coffee a hell of a lot more fun.



Step *expletive deleted*ing One: Adopt a firing position and make sure there are no *expletive deleted*ing insurgents around. Nothing *expletive deleted*s up good coffee like *expletive deleted*ing insurgents.

[RocketMan]

I've got a Hamilton Beach single cup coffee maker.  You just pour a couple of tablespoons of ground coffee into a metal filter cup.  There is a coarse mesh in the cup, and a finer mesh in a second cup just below that.  It percolates the water through the grounds one time and into your cup.
It makes a pretty good cup of coffee to my taste. Better than the stuff you get at Starchucks.  I guess that makes me a heathen.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Nobody else has used a tea ball infuser?

I went through a coffee phase and when the coffee maker broke, I made the mistake of teaching Dad my trick.

*sigh* Needless to say, he destroyed the infuser. I don't know why I let him in the kitchen.

[Perd Hapley]

My wife is determined to have a coffee maker that uses K-cups. She used some Christmas cash to buy an off-brand machine, which promptly failed. It got clogged, somehow, and we never did get the line cleared. Now she is saving to get one of the Mr. Coffee machines that will do a full pot, or a K-cup.

She also went through a French press phase, which thankfully passed. She occasionally does the cold-water toddy thing, which I find quite inconvenient, and I don't much like the coffee she gets out of it.

[Ben]

My wife is determined to have a coffee maker that uses K-cups. She used some Christmas cash to buy an off-brand machine, which promptly failed. It got clogged, somehow, and we never did get the line cleared. Now she is saving to get one of the Mr. Coffee machines that will do a full pot, or a K-cup.

I had a Keurig for a while. Actually three of them. The convenience of k-cups was not worth the low life expectancy of the expensive machines (though Costco swapped one of them for me for free).

[zxcvbob]

Wife got a Kuerig for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago.  Not the cheapest model, but maybe the next to cheapest.  It's still going strong.  She only uses bottled water in it; bulk RO water from the dispenser at Walmart or HyVee.  I'm pretty sure it would have died a long time ago if fed a steady diet of our hard tapwater.

[Ben]

Wife got a Kuerig for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago.  Not the cheapest model, but maybe the next to cheapest.  It's still going strong.  She only uses bottled water in it; bulk RO water from the dispenser at Walmart or HyVee.  I'm pretty sure it would have died a long time ago if fed a steady diet of our hard tapwater.

All I ever used was bottled water. Mine all broke with the same failing - they would randomly fill a cup with a few drops, 1/4 cup, full cup, half cup, or just sit there and make noise. Two of them lasted 1-2 years, one of them did that right when I bought it.

I will say mine were all purchased probably in the mid to late 2000's time frame, so they may have improved since then. When they worked,  I actually liked them for a quick and easy cup o Joe before I left for work. I still broke the french press out on the weekends though.