Pablo Luna
Imagine the scene; you wake up one morning and make your way to the kitchen to brew your morning coffee. You hit the button and prepare for your usual ritual of begging the water to boil faster, but you notice that nothing is happening. Your trusty coffee machine has finally stopped working. Now, what do you do? Panic? Probably. But there is hope yet. If you have some basic kitchen equipment you can make a coffee at home without too much effort.
Make coffee with a strainer
Many coffee machines use strainers or filters, and if this is the case then this is a simple option for you. If you don’t have any strainers, then you’ll need to make a quick trip to the store! Ideally, you need a fine strainer that will stop any ground coffee from getting through.
To get started you will need a kettle or pan to boil your water, ground coffee, a strainer with fine holes and your mug. Step one is to boil your water, either on the hob in a pan or with a kettle. Add the correct amount of water for how many cups of coffee you would like. If using a kettle pour the water into a pan and then add the coffee to the boiling water and then let this simmer for a couple of minutes. After boiling to your desired strength simply take the coffee and pour it through the strainer into your mug. The strainer will catch any coffee granules and leave you with a coffee far cheaper and just as good as Starbucks Singapore could make.
Coffee through the hanky technique
If you are craving a coffee but you find yourself out of the kitchen, perhaps you’re in the middle of a hike or camping at a festival, then this is the technique for you. Prepare in advance if possible and make sure that you take your coffee, a way to boil water, some pins and a hanky you don’t mind getting covered in coffee with you.
Prepare your mug by taking your hanky and placing it on top. You’ll need to leave enough room to place the ground coffee in the top, and then secure it in place with some pins. If you take a mason jar with you, you can simply use the lid on the top of the jar to seal the hanky in place. Once this is prepared, boil your water and add a scoop of coffee into the hanky. When boiled, pour enough water on the coffee to saturate it, and then start slowly pouring water over the coffee. The water will filter through and leave you with perfect coffee ready to drink. When you’re done you can remove the hanky and dispose of the coffee grounds, ideally somewhere they can decompose properly and then wash your hanky for the next coffee. This is a great way to make coffee without a machine and minimizes any waste!
