Five Ways to Brew Coffee Without Electricity

How to Make a Better Brew Using Manual Coffeemakers

Aug 28, 2009 Deb Powers

Making coffee is an art as well as a science. These manual coffeemakers turn back the clock in an effort to brew the perfect cup of coffee without using electricity..

As concerns rise about the amount of power and energy that society uses for everyday conveniences, many people are turning the clock back to find non-electric ways to do common household tasks. A generation raised on Mr. Coffee is rediscovering the older methods of making coffee, and learning that coffee tastes so much better when it's brewed with old-fashioned attention to detail. These five coffee making methods have stood the test of time.

French Press Coffee Maker

The French press is one of the most highly regarded methods of making coffee, widely touted as the best way to brew flavorful, rich coffee. It's a very simple contraption made popular in the Seattle and San Francisco coffee houses of the early 1980s. A French press consists of a glass coffee pot with a tight-fitting cover fitted with a plunger mechanism.

How to Make Coffee with a French Press

1. Put 1 to 2 tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee bean in the glass pot.
2. Add water that has been brought to just under a boil (192-195 F.)
3. Stir coffee to distribute grounds in water.
4. Cover French press and allow coffee to steep for about 3 minutes.
5. Press plunger to force coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot.
6. Pour coffee and enjoy.

Stovetop Moka Pot

A stove-top moka pot, sometimes called a stove-top espresso maker, brews rich, dark coffee that is as close to espresso as you can get without a real pupmp-driven espresso machine. The moka pot consists of three pieces - the bottom water reservoir, the filter basket and the coffee pot itself. The stove top moka pot makes coffee by forcing steam from boiling water up through ground coffee in the filter basket. The steam then condenses in the top chamber, making coffee.

How to Make Coffee with a Moka Pot

1. Unscrew the three parts of the moka pot.
2. Fill the filter basket with finely ground coffee.
3. Fill the bottom part of the pot with cold water.
4. Put the filter basket in place and screw the top part of the coffee part onto the base.
5. Place on stove burner and heat until water in the bottom is boiled away and coffee fills the top.

Spanish Coffee with a Colador

A colador is a cloth coffee strainer that is often used in Spanish households to make coffee. Sometimes called a coffee sock, the colador is a long, cone-shaped fabric tube with a handle. It is used to strain coffee grounds from coffee that has been boiled in a saucepan on the stove. There are many variations of Spanish coffee. This recipe is typical of coffee made in Puerto Rico.

How to Make Coffee with a Colador

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a simmer in a non-aluminum saucepan.
2. Measure 1-2 teaspoons of ground coffee per cup of water into the hot water.
3. Stir coffee in water for 3-5 minutes, keeping it just below a boil.
4. Strain coffee through a colador into coffee cups.
5. Rinse pan and fill with 1 cup of milk.
6. Add sugar to taste, and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved and milk is foaming at the edges.
7. Add sweetened milk to coffee.

One Cup Coffee Filter Holder

Popularized by Melitta Coffee in the 1980s - and much earlier in Europe - the single cup coffee filter holder may be the simplest way to make coffee without using electricity. The cone-shaped coffee filter is made of either plastic or porcelain and is meant to sit on the rim of a coffee mug or coffee cup. It uses #2 cone paper coffee filters to hold and strain the coffee grounds.

How to Make Coffee with a One Cup Filter Holder

1. Line the coffee filter holder with a #2 cone filter.
2. Put 1-2 teaspoons of ground coffee into paper filter.
3. Pour boiling water over coffee, allowing it to drip into the cup below.

Vietnamese Top Hat Coffee Maker

Vietnamese coffee as made in most US Vietnamese restaurants is a treat for both the eyes and the palate. It's usually brewed into a tall glass using a Ca Phe, a three piece stainless steel mug-top coffee pot that looks a bit like a top hat. A Ca Phe makes coffee that is somewhere between drip coffee and espresso in body, intensity and flavor.

How to Make Coffee with a Vietnamese Ca Phe

1. Unscrew and remove the filter top from the pot.
2. Place 1-2 teaspoons of coffee in the bottom of the pot.
3. Replace the filter and screw it down into place. The more tightly the filter is screwed down, the longer the coffee will take to brew and the stronger the coffee will be.
4. Place Ca Phe on top of glass or cup.
5. Fill with water that is just below boiling temperature.
6. Cover Ca Phe and allow water to drip through.

Many coffee enthusiasts prefer coffee that is brewed by one of these old-fashioned methods to brew made in an automatic drip coffee maker. It may take a little more time and effort, but the results are well worth it.

The copyright of the article Five Ways to Brew Coffee Without Electricity in Beer, Cocktails & Beverages is owned by Deb Powers. Permission to republish Five Ways to Brew Coffee Without Electricity in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Make Fresh Brewed Coffee the Old-fashioned Way.

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Sep 16, 2009 6:34 PM

Yuen Kit Mun :

The coffee sock is also used in Malaysia and Singapore. Didn't know it was Spanish. Maybe we started using it in South East Asia when the Portuguese were here before the British.

It's less commonly used in households now, but the local coffee shops still use them to make coffee in large tin jugs. It's also used to brew tea.

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