Can I successfully make my own coffee (think tea) bags for steeping single cups of coffee?

They already have those , seen them at hotel rooms, for the little coffee maker they keep in each room.

Not the question, @SQUEEKY2.

I am using these, but they are expensive. Can I make my own?

I don’t want the little coffee maker like in the hotel room.

I have something like this that I have been using happily for years.
I also have a small French Press I use as well.

ETA: I know you said you didn’t want more stuff, but the making of the bags seem to require more work (and waste, from filter scraps, etc) than a small device.

The pour-over device gives me an idea, @canidmajor.
I have a 4-cup coffee maker in the basement that uses the #4 filters. I don’t want to make the room for the coffee maker, but I might be able to use just the cone over the glass.

There ya go! I’m guessing that would work very well. :-)

I’ll give that a shot, @canidmajor.

I was looking at the kitchen counter today, and if the coffee habit is back to stay, I think I can make room for the little 4-cup pot.
I was trying to get myself over the hump without drinking 2–3 commercial coffee bags a day.

Get the French Press. Makes the best cuppa Joe ever. I have one that is to go

There are “press pot” tops for go-cups, available at REI and at Peet’s Coffee on line. You put the grounds in the cup, pour boiling water over, steep for four minutes, then plunge and you have a French Press cup.

And really, @ibstubro, the counter footprint of a 4 cupper isn’t much, a few inches in diameter, at most.
Brew a little pot, I’ll be over after shoveling for a cuppa! :-)

I agree with the French press option. Mine is an 8-cup, enough for two good-size mugs or travel cups full.

Here’s my coffee altar with the press @gailcalled gifted me with, with mug for size reference.

You should be able to make your own single use “coffee bags” though you might have to experiment a little to get good extraction from the coffee. I would think the thickness of the coffee filter paper that you use and the fineness/courseness of the coffee grind would make a difference in the result you get. You also might try a tea infuser if you have one lying around.

Have you ever heard of the “Clever Coffee Dripper”?

It is so named because, unlike the usual Melitta-type cones where the coffee starts pouring out as soon as the water is poured in, this has a release valve which (like the French Press ) allows you to actually brew the coffee with the hot water for however many minutes you prefer to get the strength you want.

Then, unlike the French press in which you have to clean all the coffee grounds from the filter each time, this uses the cone filters so just take out and dump.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a demo/review.

https://youtu.be/6rZwVHYpZMg

And if you want more info about coffee, brewing , other methods and all kinds of other coffee tips and info here’s the guys website. Enjoy.

www.coffeedetective.com

Saw this at Target just now. $4.99 for 100 DIY stuffable tea bags. I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t work for coffee.

You can try putting ground coffee into a tea ball type of thing. Those metal balls with the chain that you can put loose tea in – try putting coffee in it and hanging it in a cup of boiling water.

I have so much hotel coffee I don’t know what to do with it. I have the little plastic trays with the single use round packets and the larger bags of loose coffee. I take it because I’m not sure if they’ll throw it out but I don’t have the coffee maker for the little tray.

The next 2nd hand French-press I see, I’m going to give one a try, @Cruiser & @Seek. I think that’s the same thing Cruiser uses, isn’t it, @zenvelo?

I have to rearrange the entire kitchen counter to roll out noodles, my counter is so limited, @canidmajor. But I do have some great Gevalia coffee tucked in the cabinet!
I did my shoveling bit 3 days ago.

I have a big box of Melita #4 cone coffee filters, @lillycoyote, and a big ball of cotton string. I was afraid of too much residue from a tea infuser?

Come to think of it, I’m using a deep Bodum tumbler, so I could probably get by with using the cone filter in it?

^^ I’m going to try that improvisation, @Buttonstc. Thanks for the link, I’m just rejoining the coffee drinker’s club. lol

Excellent, @Seek. I’ll look for them. As a matter of fact, I have a friend that was doing “teas” and making her own tea blends…maybe I can get some bags from her to try.

I’m afraid the tea ball will let too much residue leach from the coffee? @jca.
I recently threw all those single-use coffee bags from the hotel away! lol I wasn’t drinking coffee, and the tiny things just were a nuisance at the time.
And here I was proud of myself for purging something that wouldn’t get used! lol

@ibstubro

You’re right about the tea ball and residue. But FYI: you’ll face the same residue problem with using a French press.

The only way to prevent that is by paying mucho bucks for a precision coffee grinder which will produce large enough grounds to not slip through the FP metal filter.

Or you can wrap the bottom with a paper coffee filter (which is what I used to do) but then why not just use a cone filter method to begin with?

I absolutely can’t stand having any residue in the bottom of my coffee cup as I like to drink it to the last drop. I guess that FP drinkers get used to leaving the last inch or so with residue in the bottom of the cup and tossing it out. That just didn’t work for me.

Anyhow, that’s why I like the Clever Coffee Dripper. It gives the exact same advantages as the FP (longer flexible brew time) without the dregs in the cup bottom. And it’s as easy to clean as any of the other cone types.

What I used to do before I discovered the CCD was to use a large Pyrex cup to boil the water and make my coffee in. Then when it had steeped long enough I just poured it all through a Melitta cone filter.

The main problem was that if I didn’t wait long enough to add the coffee grounds to the boiling water, there was a massive overflow from a still rolling boil reacting to the addition of the grounds. Not fun.

Anyhow, I’m sure you’ll figure out something.

There are tons of very happy French press users all over the world for whom a bit of sediment isn’t that much of a problem (apparently). I just wasn’t one of them :)

Different strokes for different folks…

French Presses are great. You will hardly get any grinds in the coffee if you ground it coarse. Ask any coffee connoisseur and they will tell you French Press is the way to go because there is no paper filter to take out the oil and the oil is what makes coffee rich.

Thirding (fourthing?) everyone who said French press! The coffee comes out so much stronger, and you don’t need to use any paper products.

Okay.
I’m on the hunt for a french press.

Enjoy your dregs :)

You can’t say you weren’t warned :)

lol

The worst than can happen is having to pour the coffee through a filter, @Buttonstc.
(Maybe sift out the dregs beforehand?

There’s a very thin residue that escapes the filter. Two ways to avoid it:

1. Grind your own beans, a big bigger than commercial pre-ground.

2. Don’t drink the last sip at the bottom of the mug.

Actually, @Seek, I’m using the individual coffee bags now, and I can’t drink the last drink at the bottom of the glass due to residue.

I dragged my mini coffee pot up from the basement. Seems to be about 18–20 oz. Although it does not please me, I’ll give it a go in the morning.

The drip cone is attached to the pot. I might be better off heating the water in the microwave a glass as a time, and pouring it through the filter into the pot.

@ibstubro

Is that the Melitta electric coffee maker from about 10 or more years ago?

If um not mistaken, they were given as a free premium for signing up with Gevalus?

If it’s the one I’m thinking of, they are actually highly regarded by coffee mavens so I’d be interested to know.

This is the one I’m talking about.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252240886745

In case you’re curious about why so highly regarded. It’s about optimum brew temp. (Most die hard lovers of quality coffee have low regard for most of the drip machines currently on the market regardless of size because of that factor. They just don’t get and keep the water hot enough to get the best flavor out of quality coffee.)

Anyhow, here’s the opinion of Coffee Geek.

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/drip/melittabcm4/bodum_fanatic

@Buttonstc and @ibstubro: That’s my favorite thing about the French Press. You boil the water (or you can boil the water) and then the coffee is really hot. As hot as you want it to be.

YUP! @Buttonstc, that’s IT! My “Melitta four cup automatic coffee maker for Gevalia Kaffe, model BCM-4C in white.”

I used the heck out of it at the time. Guessing 15–20 years ago, but kept it clean and serviced (vinegar rinse, etc.) I was so paranoid of breaking the carafe and not being able to replace it that there is a second pot around somewhere – friend’s rummage sale for $2, never used.

It made a great cuppa this morning, and the fill size is (again) a perfect fit for me. The biggest problem I have is it’s a “lefty” fill, and the sink/cabinet doesn’t work well with that. I might try to re-jigger so it’s on the other side of the sink.

I had no idea I had a diamond in the rough. lol

I’m still looking for a cheap, used, French press to try, @jca. It kills me that I’ve passed up 3–4 Bodum all-glass teapots @ under $5. Who knows how many French presses. lol

I found the second Melitta/Gevalia coffee maker, as well, @Buttonstc.
Right where I thought it was. I’m sure they were freebies, although I paid at least $1 for #2.

Now I’ll be hunting them, seeing them sell for $40 on eBay. lol

Yeah, they just don’t make them like they used to anymore. We’re I to buy a modern 4 cup Mr. Coffee or similar I’d be lucky to get 3 solid years of use before it gave up the ghost.

And yet these are still chugging along with 10÷ years and counting.
————————————-
Here’s another one to keep an eye out for if you’re in a thrift shop. The Krups Brew master Jr. Model 170
..
..
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-KRUPS-White-4-Cup-Coffee-Maker-Type-170-Plus-reusable-Filter-/262257990516?nav=SEARCH
——————————————————————-

These are from the 80s and still going strong. And no small wonder. The first ones were made in Germany ( but later ones in Mexico) but still good. Not flimsy Chinese cap.

But they are getting scarcer and harder to find (Most likely due to glass carafe breakage)

People are bereft when they break the carafe and have written glowing accounts of how much they relied upon and loved this little workhorse.

But it has a more open design than the Melitta and certain small carafes can be substituted.

So if you encounter one sitting lonely on a shelf looking dated, SCOOP IT UP FAST and it will outlast any modern one you can find.

I have one and love it. And mine was made for hotel room usage with heavy duty cord and instructions printed on the side (not that they’re all that necessary) ha ha.

If I want more than just the single cup coffee dripper, this is what I use (with a Melitta in storage tucked away as a spare :)

The day will come when they’ll be next to impossible to find even on eBay and they sure aren’t making any as good as these two anymore.

The Krups doesn’t look familiar, although the design has the same elements as the Melitta.
I’ll pay attention to the pictures…I see a lot of single carafes.

Remember, too, @ibstubro, that if you can’t replace a broken carafe, in a pinch a large mug u dear the drip works just fine.

Thanks, @canidmajor, my sweet. :-)

Day 2 of Gevalia coffee from my vintage Melitta brewer! Ah, heaven.

Ack! “Under” the drip! I really need to read my stuff more carefully, Sweetie! ;-)