I'm a little bit clueless but also a little bit brilliant

hopehacker

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OK, so here's the not so intelligent part: Yesterday I went to the grocery store and bought some coffee. I thought it was Instant Coffee because it was in a smaller plastic container, even though I didn't see the words Instant Coffee on it. Last evening I decided I wanted a cup of coffee, so I nuked some water in the microwave and put in a tablespoon and a half of coffee in the boiler water, put in some creme and amaretto flavouring, and stirred it up. I took a drink of it, and about died. It was filled with chunky coffee grounds. I was talking to my sister and trying to figure out why it wasn't working. She asked me if it said "Instant Coffee" on the container, and I looked and couldn't find that anywhere, so I sad no. She said that I had purchased regular coffee, not instant. Now that was pretty dumb of me.

Well, I don't own a coffee pot or a coffee maker, so I thought I was out of luck. All day long today I have been craving Amaretto Coffee, so I thought and thought of some way I could make this coffee. Then it came to me, that perhaps if I put a paper towel over the coffee cup, and the grounds in the paper towel, then pour boiling hot water ove that, that perhaps I could get coffee. I mean the coffee makers have then little paper cups that work like that. So, I tried it, adding aluminium foil with holes cut in it under the paper towel to keep the towel from breaking up. Would you believe it worked? I ended up with a perfectly brewed delicious cup of coffee. Now I think that was pretty smart of me, if I don't say so myself.
 

gayef

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You ARE brilliant! I would never have thought of this!

Hope, next time you happen to go into Target, they sell a single-cup Plunge Pot that makes a perfect cup of coffee every time. It is in the kitchen gadget section and costs less than $5.00. I bought one for those times when a full pot would be wasted, but I really want a cup of coffee. If the paper towel thingie works for you, then good! But if you are like me and are always forgetting to actually buy paper towels at the store, then the Plunge Pot is a good thing to have. *grin*
 

fwan

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Thats a good idea Hope!

I dont have a coffee machine, and the American brewing coffee machine broke on my mother after she used it for the 5th time or so. I miss having my italian coffee! That sounds like it could work good!
 
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hopehacker

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It does work very well, just remember to pour the hot water in slowly, because if you watch a coffee maker, the water drips down slowly, and also it's less likely to break the paper towel. I didn't get one coffee ground in my coffee. It was perfect.

I'll look for that single cup maker as well.
 

callista

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You can get "coffee bags" too. They're like tea bags; only you put them in your cup of hot water for a while and then dunk them for a minute or so. They taste like real brewed coffee!

Also, you can use coffee grounds in the way you described above (creating a cup of coffee with grounds in it), and then pour the whole lot into your cup through a coffee filter you've spread across the bottom of a small sieve.

There are gadgets that hold a coffee filter over the top of a cup so you can pour hot water through--but the improvised version is more economical. (Although, if you can find a gadget with very fine plastic mesh, which doesn't use coffee filters, then that's even more economical, depending on whether it'll pay for itself in coffee filters you didn't need to buy before it wears out.)

Me=poor, but caffeinated, college student.
 

trinettec

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Originally Posted by Callista

You can get "coffee bags" too. They're like tea bags; only you put them in your cup of hot water for a while and then dunk them for a minute or so. They taste like real brewed coffee!
We used those Folder's Singles on the semi truck all the time. They work great. I did the paper-towel and strainer quite a few times when the coffee maker would break. It isn't as fast as instant but I think it tastes better!!
 

wookie130

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Once and a while we'll run out of filters for our pot at home, and we'll take a paper towel, and make a cone, and use it as a filter.

You are clever!!!
Glad to hear you could get your coffee fix!
 

theimp98

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nice idea. as a side note, never make coffee in the dark, and mix up the normal coffee with the espresso. it can make a big mess.
 

hilda>^..^<

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Originally Posted by gayef

I bought one for those times when a full pot would be wasted, *grin*
Just wanted to note on this part of your message...if there are times when you've just made too much coffee, please don't waste it. If you happen to have outdoor roses or any other acid-loving plant (such as hisbiscus, gardenias or rhododendrons), just pour your leftover coffee around the trunk of your plants...s'wonderful for them! I also add the grounds around the plants. Of course it goes witout saying that you should do either of these two things after the coffee or grounds have cooled off.

Hope...wonderful, inventive idea! Good for you!

Hilda >^..^<
 

emily_325

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Hope I think you just talked me into making a pot of coffee this morning. Yep...going into the kitchen right now.


Good job on the papertowel contraption.
 

sicycat

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Good work Hope!!


I've had brewed some coffee before and somehow the filter would fold over and I'd end up with coffee grounds in my coffee
So I would just pour it back into another cup filtering it with a coffee filter. Pretty much the same concept as a paper towel!
 

tavia'smom

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Very inventive. I don't drink coffee so I haven't encountered the need for such contraptions but I do know that my mom use to have one of those old stove top coffee makers and she said that the coffee from them was the best. She preferred it to the automatic coffee maker. My aunt she is weird she makes coffee in an old electric perculator and then poors it into an automatic one to keep it warm to me that seems like a lot of needless effort.
 

yosemite

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Excellent.

Hope, I would just caution you to NEVER heat a cup of water in a microwave. Always add something to it like sugar, lemon or anything really. I'm not very technical minded, but the microwaving puts some sort of stress on the surface of the water from the way it heats and the water can literally explode into your face and on your hands. There have been reported cases of this happening.

So, please be careful.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Scroll down to the "1 cup stainless filter coffee maker"
http://fantes.com/coffeemakers_manualdrip.htm#stainless
these are what colin and i use everytime we make our coffee. You've never lived till you've had awesome vietnamese coffee
You boil hot water, put coffee ground in the little cup- put the cup on top of your glass and pour the hot water over it- it takes a few minutes to drip down- you keep adding water to it till it's gone (you then add sweetened condensed milk to it and sugar if you want. put it on ice and it's AMAZING
) or you can not put it on ice eithor way. When we run out of the coffee we normall use - we use Cafe du Monde
it's great!
You can make any coffee using this though.It's sort of the same technique you used earlier with the paper towel and aluminum foil- but it works better
They're not expensive eithor- you should get a set at your local asian market or online- you'll never go back to a regular coffee maker! (it's great for tea also!- you can use fresh tea leaves or a tea bag in it
) It's a manual drip coffeemaker
 

theimp98

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

vietnamese coffee
You boil hot water, put coffee ground in the little cup- put the cup on top of your glass and pour the hot water over it- it takes a few minutes to drip down- you keep adding water to it till it's gone (you then add sweetened condensed milk to it and sugar if you want. put it on ice and it's AMAZING
) or you can not put it on ice eithor way.
/yea, sounds about right, Most of SE asia makes there coffee that way. alot stronger, and more favor then most western coffee.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by theimp98

/yea, sounds about right, Most of SE asia makes there coffee that way. alot stronger, and more favor then most western coffee.
it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!! and the aroma is just amazing! i love it!!!! i REALLY love spending time with Colin's mom when she's in town or when we're there visiting. (unlike a lot of girlfriend/mil types- we get along really well) we spend hours in the kitchen cooking together- she teaches me all these vietnamese dishes and how to fix them and it's just sooo much fun! all of the Pho resturants around here (vietnamese noodle soup) serve their coffee that way
 
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