Have you ever wondered if you can use paper towel as a coffee filter? Have you brewed cold brew in a saucepan? Ever found a weird looking piece of coffee equipment stashed in a cupboard? Today we’re taking a look at these weird and maybe not-so-wonderful ways to brew coffee!
Making Coffee With What You’ve Got
By far the best example of a weird way to brew would be the paper towel method. If you think about it, coffee filters are a bit like paper towel anyway, so can you brew with this cleaning implement? The answer is… sort of. See, it really comes down to your paper towel. If it’s weaker, it’ll probably fall apart under any kind of load. However, if you have strong enough paper towel and a way to shape it like a funnel you might just be able to make it work. The biggest issue you’ll run into is water temperature. Hot water might disintegrate the paper towel, so you’d need to use warm but not hot water, which will result in under extraction. It won’t be a great cup of coffee, but it might just work!
Cold Brewing
Did you know that you can cold brew with pretty much anything? Having a dedicated cold brewer is great because they’re usually very affordable and make the process much easier. That said, all you really need is a saucepan, mason jar, or any kind of container, and your water! If you use something like this you’ll want to make sure to shake up or stir the grounds every couple of hours to ensure proper extraction. You’ll also need a way to remove the grounds at the end, with some kind of filter or other tool. All of this can, in theory, create great cold brew, but it’ll be much easier with a dedicated brewer!
Siphons and Percolators
A coffee siphon is a really fun way to brew that resembles a science experiment as much as a coffee maker! This impressive glass brewer is heated, causing the water to rise up into a hopper where it brews with the coffee grounds. It then naturally drains back down into the bottom, creating a delicious pot of coffee. Percolators work in a similar fashion. Boiling water is driven up into the brew chamber, raining down on the coffee. The difference is the heat at play. Because they’re simpler in design, percolator water is so high heat that it tends to scorch the coffee, creating a burned taste. This can be acceptable for some darker roasts that are already smoky or earthy, but it’s not good at all for lighter coffees with more delicate flavor profiles. Sadly, there’s a reason why these tools are mostly found collecting dust in cabinets instead of being used every day. What are some of the weirdest ways you’ve brewed coffee?
