Best non-Keurig way to make a single cup of coffee?

[Brilliant]

I don't use my regular coffee maker in the afternoons because it's just me, and the minimum is supposed to be 4 cups.

 

So for a single cup, I tried Keurig but mine died. (and the one I bought my parents died, and their replacement died...)

 

For years (before & after the Keurig) I've been making myself a single cup of coffee using one of those mug-top cone filters. The coffee is insipid but it's better than nothing. I think it drains through the filter too fast.

 

What other options are there for a single cup of good coffee at home?

[Twigs]

coffee singles

[Spy Car]

A small French Press. So elegant. Great result. Good for the planet.

 

Bill

[BrookValley.]

A small French Press. So elegant. Great result. Good for the planet.

 

Bill

 

 

Yep, this. Much more versatile than a Keurig, too.

[Runningmom80]

French press. Keurig coffee doesn't even come close.

[Cosmos]

I like the AeroPress. It's a little different from a French press.

[In the Rain]

Another vote for a small French press.

[Liz CA]

Or very simply a filter, a strainer and a cup. Put filter paper in strainer, pour coffee grounds into it and pour boiling water over it.

[Tree Frog]

I like the AeroPress. It's a little different from a French press.

 

 

This is what I use. It doesn't leave the sludge in the bottom of the cup the way my French press does.

 

ETA: The paper filters that come with it last a long time. I purchased my AeroPress in January and am on my second filter (the first was accidentally tossed in the garbage.) I rinse it out after each use, place it back in the piece it belongs in, and let it dry.

[solascriptura]

Pour over coffee. I switched and I love it. I use a melitta one and it costs about 3 dollars.

[Harriet Vane]

The very best option, and one that is far superior to Keurig, is definitely a French press. You can get all sizes, including one cup. I usually boil water in a teakettle on the stove (or you can microwave), then pour over the grounds and let sit for four minutes. Depress the plunger and pour. Easy and delicious.

[catz]

The french press is very good. But sometimes, we use a cheap espresso machine too and that's great as well.

[happypamama]

Or just get a smaller coffee maker; ours makes up to four cups and works just fine to make one or two.

[ktgrok]

depends if you are a coffee snob or not.

 

If not, the single cup coffee concentrate things by Barnies are YUMMY. I love the flavored ones. They are in the instant coffee section of the grocery store, and because they are liquid not a powder they mix up fully and easily, even with cold water if you want iced coffee. LOVE THEM.

 

If you are a coffee snob than try the Aero Press. My husband likes it a lot.

[KungFuPanda]

Mug-sized French press:

 

[skimomma]

Use a coffee cone! They are only about $3 and you can get them in different sizes, including one cup. We use them with a re-usable cloth filter but you can get paper filters too. Best coffee ever and we are huge coffee-snobs. We drag it all (including our hand-crank ceramic burr bean grinder) with us everywhere we go because....like I said....coffee snobs.

[Laura Corin]

We have two options. We have a small, one-cup Italian stove-top espresso maker like this. We also have plastic cones that you just put the coffee and filter paper into and place on the warmed cup to pour the water through.

 

Laura

[Pawz4me]

Use a coffee cone! They are only about $3 and you can get them in different sizes, including one cup. We use them with a re-usable cloth filter but you can get paper filters too. Best coffee ever and we are huge coffee-snobs. We drag it all (including our hand-crank ceramic burr bean grinder) with us everywhere we go because....like I said....coffee snobs.

 

 

Agreed. I use a Melitta single cup cone.

[kubiac]

Ha, love what SpyCar said about French press being good for the environment. I pour out my used coffee grounds in a different part of the backyard every day and it's one of my favorite parts of my coffee ritual.

 

Note: You need a rough grind of coffee beans for a good cup of French press. You can either grind at the store on one of those machines, or you'll need a burr grinder for home. The usual little coffee grinders don't produce the right texture of coffee.

[mara61]

We use a French press camping and when our power goes out. For daily use I have a Breville that can make a single cup or a pot with 4-12 cups.

We actually have a Keurig Vue but I tested that so I got to keep it and my husband and kids took it over, lol.

[ebunny]

If you don't mind a bit of adventure, How about a steel filter like http://arunathetemptations.blogspot.in/2010/01/aroma-of-south-indian-filter-coffee.html

It's what everyone uses to make coffee in Southern India. (Land of coffee snobs).

 

 

ETA: fixed link

[Seasider]

If you don't mind a bit of adventure, How about a steel filter like http://arunathetemptations.blogspot.in/2010/01/aroma-of-south-indian-filter-coffee.html

It's what everyone uses to make coffee in Southern India. (Land of coffee snobs).

 

 

ETA: fixed link

 

 

I enjoyed this link! Since I am a cafe-au-lait girl, it sounds especially delicious!

 

I am also looking for a new coffee system. Best things I have used in the past were an old stainless steel drip pot inherited from my dad and an electric percolator I picked up at Bed Bath & Beyond. Love the way that percolator made my house smell.

[nmoira]

Cold brew. Keep the resulting concentrate in the fridge, and you can have a great cup of coffee in the time of takes to boil a kettle. :)

[momofkhm]

Note: You need a rough grind of coffee beans for a good cup of French press. You can either grind at the store on one of those machines, or you'll need a burr grinder for home. The usual little coffee grinders don't produce the right texture of coffee.

 

Thank you for this! We had a French press at one point and were not liking as much as everyone here thought it would be and this must be the reason. We ground our coffee at the store but in a regular drop type grind not a courser one.

[Brilliant]

So many recommendations for the French Press I can't quote them all! We actually have one which my dh uses. I think the coffee is too muddy. Perhaps it's because we're not using the right grind? I grind at home, but next time I'll grind at the store & see if that makes a difference. Or maybe I will try the Aeropress which sounds like it might remove the sludge better.

 

And recommendations for the cone filter, which is what I mentioned I've been using. Sadly, I'm not as enamored of it as some of you. The coffee is just too weak - it doesn't get a chance to "brew" during its brief stay in the cone.

 

Cold brew: I just googled this and will give it a try.

[Orthodox6]

I don't use my regular coffee maker in the afternoons because it's just me, and the minimum is supposed to be 4 cups.

 

So for a single cup, I tried Keurig but mine died. (and the one I bought my parents died, and their replacement died...)

 

For years (before & after the Keurig) I've been making myself a single cup of coffee using one of those mug-top cone filters. The coffee is insipid but it's better than nothing. I think it drains through the filter too fast.

 

What other options are there for a single cup of good coffee at home?

 

 

I use a mug-top cone filter for single-servings. With an unbleached filter, good-quality coffee of the right grind, and sufficiently hot water, I obtain a cup of coffee that rivals any other. Perhaps you could experiment more with these elements and see if you enjoy the results.

[Spy Car]

So many recommendations for the French Press I can't quote them all! We actually have one which my dh uses. I think the coffee is too muddy. Perhaps it's because we're not using the right grind? I grind at home, but next time I'll grind at the store & see if that makes a difference. Or maybe I will try the Aeropress which sounds like it might remove the sludge better.

 

And recommendations for the cone filter, which is what I mentioned I've been using. Sadly, I'm not as enamored of it as some of you. The coffee is just too weak - it doesn't get a chance to "brew" during its brief stay in the cone.

 

Cold brew: I just googled this and will give it a try.

 

French Press, even with the right grind, does tend to be a little muddy. If you like really "clean" tasting coffee the "cold brew" method is really very good. Just be careful with the concentrate after you make it (as it is really easy to OD :D).

 

Another really "clean" method is to use a vacuum method set-up. It is a bit of a process, but makes a sparkling clean coffee.

 

Bill

[lluv]

Love "cold brewed" coffee, especially during the summer for iced coffee! The concentrate lasts in the fridge for a good while too.

[BrookValley.]

See, I think the sludge is the best part. When i get to the bottom of my mug, it's like the dessert to my cup of coffee. :)

 

I love to make iced coffee, too. I must research this cold brew stuff.

 

The best coffee I ever had was brewed one cup at a time through the toe of a tube sock in Costa Rica. That may have had more to do with the quality of the coffee than the method of brewing, though.

[Pawz4me]

And recommendations for the cone filter, which is what I mentioned I've been using. Sadly, I'm not as enamored of it as some of you. The coffee is just too weak - it doesn't get a chance to "brew" during its brief stay in the cone.

 

Like with a French press, the grind is what makes the coffee with a cone. You need it very finely ground. And IME to get it stronger/weaker you just use a bit more/less coffee.

[Spy Car]

See, I think the sludge is the best part. When i get to the bottom of my mug, it's like the dessert to my cup of coffee. :)

 

I love to make iced coffee, too. I must research this cold brew stuff.

 

The best coffee I ever had was brewed one cup at a time through the toe of a tube sock in Costa Rica. That may have had more to do with the quality of the coffee than the method of brewing, though.

 

The cold brew is the best for iced coffee since it starts cold and is concentrated so it stands up to dilution with milk and ice.

 

Nothing beats tube sock coffee :D

 

Bill

[MissKNG]

My Mr. Coffee never failed making a good cup of coffee for me. I bought the 5 cup model at Walmart for $20 and that makes a nice mug full.

[AMJ]

Sigh. My MIL, my SIL, and I each got a basic Keureg for Christmas a couple of years ago. (Other SIL had a different system, not sure what.) SIL's broke, mine's testy, and MIL's is little-used and so undiagnosed. Mine gets used primarily for heating water for instant oatmeal, tea bags, hot chocolate, etc. and not for actual K-cups. As it is, mine every so often dumps half the water into the spill tray directly and overheats the rest.

 

I rarely drink coffee because the oils in it upset my stomach. I'm more of an herbal tea, chai, hot chocolate, or hot cider person. DH rarely drinks hot bevs at all. I'm thinking of replacing mine with something else for the kids and us to use to heat up pre-measured water, but haven't picked anything yet. I might invest in some coffee singles to offer others on occasion.

 

Oh, and my personal trainer's Keureg also broke. I'm losing confidence in them rapidly.

[Catwoman]

If you're as lazy as I am, get a jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee and call it a day. :D

[somo_chickenlady]

We have had THREE Keurigs die on us, even after doing everything they suggested, so we refuse to buy another one. I just stick to instant coffee for single cups. I think the store brand ones taste identical to brewed coffee, especially since I add creamer and sugar. I also REALLY like those Maxwell House instant cappuccino/latte things, the vanilla nut (vanilla and hazelnut) flavor is my favorite!

[violamama]

I'm confused. Why would I ever only want one cup of coffee?

[Pod's mum]

I'm confused. Why would I ever only want one cup of coffee?

 

 

I think maybe not everyone is so familiar with that zippy, bouncing off the walls feelings and it makes them uncomfortable.

What a sad way to live. :crying:

[violamama]

This is a great little video that clearly explains how I (and Bach, apparently) feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC5KpmK6oOs

 

When the Soprano comes in (after her dad complains for a while about things going in her one ear and our the other creating "a thousand muddles") she sings this:

Liesgen:

Herr Vater, seid doch nicht so scharf!

Father, don’t be so hard!

Wenn ich des Tages nicht dreimal

If three times a day I can’t

Mein Schälchen Coffee trinken darf,

drink my little cup of coffee,

So werd ich ja zu meiner Qual

then I would become so upset

Wie ein verdorrtes Ziegenbrätchen

that I would be like dried up piece of roast goat.

 

And so... my husband regularly asks me if I've had my bowl of coffee or if I'm feeling Goatly. It's practically a prescription.

[KungFuPanda]

Sigh. My MIL, my SIL, and I each got a basic Keureg for Christmas a couple of years ago. (Other SIL had a different system, not sure what.) SIL's broke, mine's testy, and MIL's is little-used and so undiagnosed. Mine gets used primarily for heating water for instant oatmeal, tea bags, hot chocolate, etc. and not for actual K-cups. As it is, mine every so often dumps half the water into the spill tray directly and overheats the rest.

 

I rarely drink coffee because the oils in it upset my stomach. I'm more of an herbal tea, chai, hot chocolate, or hot cider person. DH rarely drinks hot bevs at all. I'm thinking of replacing mine with something else for the kids and us to use to heat up pre-measured water, but haven't picked anything yet. I might invest in some coffee singles to offer others on occasion.

 

Oh, and my personal trainer's Keureg also broke. I'm losing confidence in them rapidly.

 

 

You need a water boiler. I've kept mine running all day, every day for 6 years (it sleeps at night). It's still going strong. It has three preset temps that keep water just right for brewing tea. It would work well for cocoa and instant oatmeal too.

 

[Catwoman]

I really like the idea of the water boiler thingie. :thumbup:

[Pod's mum]

We use a similar concept to the water boily thingy.

It is a thermos.

We spend a fair bit of time without mains power cooking on bottled gas, so in the mornings I warm and fill a big thermos.

By the way I had to look up French Press, we call them Coffee Plungers. I've 'downgraded' from stove-top percolators to this and love it.

I too think the residual mud is like remaining tea leaves and an integral part of the experience.

And like tea, one is not enough. ;)

[ktgrok]

This stuff tastes great, if you aren't opposed to an instant style. LOVE it, and you can get it at walmart, grocery store, where ever. http://www.amazon.com/Barnies-CoffeeKitchen-Pronto-Liquid-Coffee/dp/B00ATSPWXS