How to Make Coffee Without a Coffee Maker

Not everyone has a coffee machine, and that’s totally fine! It can be either because you’re on a tight budget, you’re traveling somewhere, or you can’t access gadgets due to a power outage. So, this is the reason you should learn how to make coffee without a coffee maker.

To support your enthusiasm, today we’ll take a look at how to make coffee without a coffee maker, anywhere! No fancy equipment, no extra hassle, just enough work to get yourself a fine cup of coffee with 10 different methods.

Method #1: Basic Stovetop Coffee

The stovetop method is the most standard, and it can go with almost any type of freshly ground coffee beans, but it’s better if you opt for a medium-coarse ground. This method can work at home and when you’re traveling and making coffee on a campfire.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons of ground coffee
• Pinch of salt
• An electric kettle or a stove
• Small pot
• Any kind of straining method

Why The Salt?

When you’re making coffee without a coffee maker, there’s a high chance that your coffee will turn out bitter. However, the bitterness gets reduced when you add a dash of salt into the mix.

The salt also helps you to round out the flavor of your brew, even when you’re using a primitive coffee brewing method.

Instructions

• Boil the water with the method you have at hand
• Put the coffee and pinch of salt in a coffee mug or a small pot
• Add a bit of boiling water to the grounds and let it sit for 30 seconds to bloom
• After blooming, add the amount of water you need for coffee and stir
• Brew the coffee for 4-5 minutes
• Strain out the grounds using any available methods before drinking

Coffee Straining Methods

Though using a standard metal filter mesh strainer is the best way to go, it’s also possible that you don’t have a strainer at hand when you’re outside.

The best way to strain your coffee right away is to pour a bit of cold water on top of the coffee just brewed. The cold water makes the ground sink to the bottom. But this technique has its downsides.

After you manage to sink all the grounds to the bottom with cold water, the resulting coffee will offer you a crunchy sip. So most of the magic of the original cup is lost.

If you don’t want to ruin the integrity of your coffee cup, the best way is to let the coffee grounds sink to the bottom by letting it rest for a couple of minutes. Then, you can use a lid to prevent the heat from escaping, so you can drink a hot cup of coffee afterward.

Straining won’t always get ALL the grounds out of your coffee, but it’s helpful to have the majority of big coffee chunks removed from your cup of joe.

Method #2: Cold Brew

Cold-brew is the best way to make coffee without a coffee maker that lasts a longer period. In addition, the cold brewing method requires even less equipment than standard coffee, and all you need to invest here is your time and patience.

Ingredients

• Coffee grounds
• A large jar to contain the coffee
• Water in room temperature/ cold water
• A freezer or a well-ventilated room
• 12-24 hours of time
• Your patience

Instructions

• Put coffee grounds and water in the jar together
• Stir the grounds a bit to ensure all the grounds are soaked properly
• Lock the lid, so it stays airtight
• Leave the jar in a freezer or any well-ventilated room for 12-24 hours
• Strain the cold brew coffee in a mug to enjoy

Method #3: Cowboy Coffee

If that first word made you think of certain spaghetti western movie scenarios, you’re awesome.

The Cowboy method is basically coffee made over a campfire with limited resources. Though the method can come off as primitive (cause, let’s face it, cowboys are history now), the coffee flavor will take you back to the good old days of yee-haw action.

But first, let’s take a look at what you’ll need

Ingredients

• 12-13 ounces of water for every cup you make
• 2-3 tablespoons of coffee grounds
• A saucepan
• Campfire

Instructions

• Take the amount of water you need based on how many cups you’re brewing
• Measure the amount of coffee. You need a tablespoon of coffee for every 5 ounces
• Put the coffee and water together in the saucepan
• Set the saucepan on the campfire, or any method of open flame
• Keep heating up the combination till it starts boiling
• After boiling for around 45 seconds, slowly stir the coffee mix
• After boiling for 2 minutes and stirring, remove the saucepan from the heat source
• Let it brew for 3 minutes while the ground sinks to the bottom
• Strain your coffee into a mug and enjoy

Method #4: Turkish Coffee

A coffee that’s considered an art form, this traditional Turkish coffee drink can be prepared without any coffee maker, but it’s best made at home.

You need Turkish coffee for this brewing process since Turkish coffee has a finer ground than regular coffee grounds and offers a rich flavor profile. You can either grind the coffee by yourself or buy the pre-ground version.

Ingredients

• Filtered cold water
• Turkish coffee
• Cezve (Special wide-bottomed copper pot)
• Granulated sugar
• Salt (If you’re planning for a different flavor twist)
• Turkish coffee cups (to complete the aesthetic look and feel)

Instructions

• Take 5 ounces of filtered cold water
• Pour the water into the pot, and heat it up on medium heat.
• Add one teaspoon of coffee to the pot, but don’t stir
• Add the desired amount of sugar, and again, don’t stir. (You can use salt here as well, just don’t add too much)
• After reaching a certain temperature, the coffee will naturally start sinking, and the sugar will dissolve. Stir the mix while slowly lowering the heat, so it simmers without boiling
• When the mixture begins foaming at the top, wait for it to get thicker and cool down. Once it’s done, pour the coffee into the cup, sip, and enjoy.

If you seek more wisdom about regional coffee industries, here is our Brazilian coffee article suggested for you.

Method #5: Coffee Bag

On a first look, you may feel like the coffee bag method is a bit too much, but trust me when I say it’s pretty easy. The bag method is like brewing tea, but you’re using a makeshift coffee bag instead of a teabag.

If you want to make this method work when traveling, you’ll need to plan ahead and keep some filters and coffee grounds on you beforehand.

Ingredients

• Paper filters
• Preferred type of coffee grounds
• A kettle or a pot
• Hot water

Instructions

• Place the coffee filter on your kitchen counter or any flat surface to make the coffee bag.
• For a single cup of coffee, put in two-and-a-half tablespoons of coffee in the filter.
• Wrap all ends of the coffee bag to tie them together
• Check the bag for any gaps through where coffee grounds might leak out. The final result looks like a big coffee-filled dumpling
• Put the coffee dumpling in the mug
• Boil water separately
• Pour a bit of hot water into the cup to let it bloom for 30 seconds
• After it’s done blooming, pour the rest of the water into the cup
• Let the coffee steep for around 4 minutes. Let it steep for longer, but not more than 6 minutes if you want more caffeine.
• Scoop the bag out of the cup, and toss it away to enjoy your fresh hot coffee.

Method #6: The Strainer

Another useful method if you don’t have coffee filters at hand, but you need to be careful not to let the grounds seep into your coffee. To do so, you either need a strainer that has very small holes, or you need a double-layered mesh strainer that only lets the water pass.

Ingredients

• Mesh strainer
• Filtered water
• Coffee grounds
• A saucepan/ water pot/ kettle
• Coffee mug

Instructions

• Pour the amount of water you need into the kettle or the pot
• Boil the water
• Add in the coffee grounds depending on how much you need to brew
• Stir the pot to mix the coffee with hot water
• Boil for two minutes
• Remove the pot/ kettle from the heat
• Hold the strainer above your coffee mug, and pour the coffee in the mug through the strainer to prevent the grounds from ending up in your cup.

Method #7: The Hanky

This method is also really old-fashioned, but the result is worth it. Also, if you wanna look extra cool while doing it, consider using a mason jar instead of a coffee mug to fit the theme.

Ingredients

• A hanky
• Binder clips/ paper clips/ rubber band (to hold the hanky in place)
• Coffee grounds
• A scoop
• A tablespoon
• Hot water
• Coffee mug/ mason jar

Instructions

• Place the hanky across the mouth of the coffee mug or jar
• Use the clips or bands to attach the hanky to the corners of the mug, so it doesn’t move or slip away when making coffee
• Place the coffee grounds on top of the hanky with the scoop. Depending on how much coffee you need, you can also do it with tablespoons.
• Boil water separately
• Pour a small amount of hot water on the coffee grounds, and saturate them for 30 seconds.
• Slowly start pouring the rest of the water. If you pour too fast, the cloth might slip off.
• If the cloth still keeps slipping away, readjust it
• Once you’re done pouring the required amount of water and filling the mug, slowly lift the hanky along with the grounds. Your coffee is ready.
• Throw away the leftover grounds, and wash the hanky properly if you want to brew another batch later.

While people make their coffee at home, they often make mistakes. To get rid of it, read out our common coffee-making mistakes to avoid article.

Method #8: Microwave

If you’re not feeling adventurous and just want to get the job done when all you have is a microwave, you can use the microwave to brew yourself a cup of coffee.

Do keep in mind that it may not taste as amazing as some other methods.

Ingredients

• A microwave (obviously)
• Coffee grounds
• Tablespoon
• Coffee mugs

Instructions

• Fill the mug with the amount of water you need, and place it in the microwave.
• Microwave the mug full of water for 2 minutes
• Put the coffee grounds in, and stir slowly to mix all the grounds with hot water.
• Allow the mug to sit for around 3-4 minutes, allowing the coffee grounds to gather up at the bottom.
• If you don’t want coffee grounds in your mouth, I suggest skipping the last sip.

Method #9: The Imposter

We live in a world where every time we read the word “Imposter,” only one thing comes to mind.

The only difference is the goal here is to trick your tastebuds rather than your friends. With this method, you can mimic the taste of a classic French press coffee with simple kitchen equipment.

Ingredients

• Deep bowl
• Coffee Grounds
• Tablespoon
• Filtered water
• Kettle

Instructions

• Put a tablespoon of coffee grounds in the deep bowl. If you are going for more than one cup, put in one more tablespoon of coffee grounds for each cup.
• Boil the amount of water you need
• Slowly pour a bit of hot water to saturate the coffee grounds
• Start adding the rest of the water after the grounds are saturated
• After pouring in the water, let the coffee steep in the bowl for a couple of minutes
• Once complete, hold down the settled ground using the spoon and slowly pour the coffee mixture into a mug.

Method #10: Instant Coffee

Considering this is the least favored method among coffee lovers, I decided to save this one for last. Consider this as a last resort when you absolutely need the coffee fix without the hassle of a coffee maker.

Ingredients

• Instant coffee
• Coffee Mug
• Kettle/Pot
• Filtered water

Instructions

• Boil the water
• Pour the instant coffee powder into the coffee mug
• Pour the boiled water into the mug over the instant coffee
• Stir slowly to mix all of the instant coffee granules with hot water
• Enjoy your coffee

If you are ready to make your coffee without a coffee maker,

Then you must read out our how to save money on coffee article.

Bottom Line

Even when you don’t have a coffee maker, there’s always more than one way to enjoy an amazing coffee cup by using simple tools and a bit of genius.

We hope your coffee brewing experience goes smoothly even without owning a coffee brewer.

Cheers!

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