Coffee makers are some of the most popular devices in America, and some people may be wondering if they can abandon the coffee maker and make their coffee manually. However, making coffee without a coffee maker is possible and very easy.
To make coffee without a coffee maker, add coffee grounds and water in a ratio of 2 teaspoons of grounds for every 6 ounces of water to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, pour your coffee through a filter and enjoy.
If you’re interested in making coffee while coffee maker-less, there are several different methods. In this article, we’ll go through a couple in more detail to help you select which method is right for you. Now let’s get to it!
Can You Make Coffee Without a Coffee Maker?
You may be surprised to learn that making coffee without a coffee maker is possible. This makes sense, as the actual drink of coffee is older than the coffee maker. Since the mid-15th century, coffee has had a long history of being made even before the invention of electricity.
In modern times, there are several ways at your disposal to brew coffee without a coffee maker. Let’s go through a couple of ways to brew coffee using just stuff you likely have around your home.
How to Make Coffee in a Saucepan
If you’re particularly low on supplies, you can make coffee using a saucepan. All you need for this method is a saucepan, water, coffee grounds, and a coffee filter. To begin:
- Add both water and coffee grounds to your saucepan. The ratio of coffee grounds to water you should use is the same you would use for your coffee maker. If you’ve never made coffee before, a ratio of 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds for every 6 ounces of water you add is recommended for beginners.
- Once your coffee grounds and water are in the saucepan, you need to bring the mixture to a boil. Set the burner to medium-high and let the mixture boil for about 2 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Once you’ve boiled your coffee, you must strain all the coffee grounds. For this, you can use the same paper filters you would use for a coffee maker. Put the filter on a container and pour the coffee into the filter.
After this, you should have some nice, manually-brewed coffee. And if you don’t have paper filters either, just use something like a hand-towl, but you’ll lose a lot of coffee to absorption, so over-brew if you’re planning to do this.
How to Make Coffee in a Mason Jar
For people who want a nice-looking craft project, you can make a sort-of coffee maker using a simple mason jar (on Amazon). For this method, you need a mason jar, a cotton cloth, a strong rubber band, coffee grounds, and water.
First, you need to make the coffee maker. Begin by grabbing your mason jar and putting the cloth on top of it. Next, you need to secure the fabric over the top of the jar using the rubber band. If you don’t have a rubber band, you can use any clip to keep the cloth in place.
Now to make coffee:
- Begin by bringing some water to a boil. Make sure to measure out the water to the same ratio you’d use for a regular coffee maker.
- While the water is boiling, put your coffee grounds (measured using the same ratio) on top of the cloth you secured.
- Once your water is boiling, take it and pour it over your coffee grounds and into the jar. By running your water through the coffee grounds, you are essentially making coffee the same way an automatic drip coffee maker does.
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
Making cold brew coffee without a coffee maker is one of the simplest methods, although it takes a good amount of time. To do this, you need a cup, cold water, coffee grounds, and a refrigerator.
- Begin by adding your coffee grounds and cold water to the cup using the same ratio you regularly use.
- Stir the mixture, and then stick it in your refrigerator. Allow it to refrigerate for around 24 hours.
- After this time has passed, pour the mixture through your filter of choice to filter out the coffee grounds, add ice if you would like, and then enjoy.
How to Steep Coffee in a Bag
If you’ve ever made tea using tea bags and wished that you could make coffee in the same way, this is the method for you, although you will have to make your own coffee bags. To make coffee using coffee bags, you’ll need a coffee filter, grounds, water, and twine.
- First, you’ll want to make your coffee bags. To do this, you want to measure out your coffee using your regular ratio and then place the grounds into the center of a coffee filter.
- You then need to bring the ends of the filter together and tie them with twine. Think of the shape of a tea bag for this step. You now have a nice homemade coffee bag.
- Now, you need to boil some water. Again, measure out your water using your regular ratio before boiling. Put a little water in your coffee mug and place the coffee bag in the water. You want enough water to soak the coffee grounds.
- Let the bag soak in the water for around 30 seconds, and then pour the rest of your water into the mug. Allow this to steep for about 4 minutes, and then remove the bag. After this, you will now have coffee brewed using a coffee bag.
How to Make a Faux French Press
If you like french pressed coffee but don’t want to spend the money on a french press, this is the section for you. It may surprise some, but it is possible to make french press-tasting coffee without a french press.
You may also be surprised that this method doesn’t require anything you wouldn’t already have in your home. In order to do this, you need a bowl, a spoon, water, and coffee grounds.
- First, use a saucepan to bring some water to a boil. Then, while the water is boiling, place your coffee grounds in the bowl.
- Once your water is boiling, pour a small amount of water over the grounds in order to saturate them.
- After that, pour enough water for the amount of coffee you added, and then push the coffee grounds to the bottom of the bowl using your spoon.
- Continuing to press down the coffee grounds, pour the coffee from the bowl into your mug of choice, and then enjoy.