Make your own zero waste coffee filter. Yes, you can make a great coffee without coffee pods, plungers or coffee machines. This was a little hack I discovered when trying to figure out how to make a great coffee when our coffee machine broke down. It may be slightly unusual, but it makes a seriously awesome cup of coffee.
Why on earth would I even do this? Well, our coffee machine has been broken for a while now and neither of us know how to repair it or even if it can be repaired. Having had some big bills lately, this is not considered a necessity, plus we are trying to become more sustainable. I really can't throw the machine in the bin! I need to know for sure that it can't be fixed, at which point I will take it to our local e-waste drop off point so the components can be made useful again.
We have had several coffee machines break down and I am not in a hurry to go out and purchase yet another one that will only last a couple of years.
How to Create Your Own Coffee Filter
Simply using a bit of material and a rubber band, you can create a DIY makeshift coffee filter that fits to any cup and makes a lovely brew in a matter of minutes. This is a little bit risky as the rubber band could slip off, so take care if you plan on trying it. I haven't had it fail yet.
Next, add your ground coffee beans, using the same quantity you would use in a coffee machine. Slowly pour hot water through the coffee, and leave it to sit for a minute or two. The coffee grinds should be in the water, but won't go through the fabric. VERY carefully remove the rubber band, and filter full of coffee and squeeze with a teaspoon. I think this tastes way smoother than a machine made coffee, and I don't feel so sad that ours broke.
***UPDATE #1 ***
After getting some feedback on social media, I have to agree with the criticisms that this is not exactly the ideal fabric. Given that it is synthetic and dyed, I really don't know what might be leeching into my coffee. I've been playing around with cheesecloth, which is very awkward, but a much better choice although more difficult to clean. I've even heard of people using old socks to brew a coffee, so I guess this is an option too, but it's not really appealing to me yet!
***UPDATE #2***
I've since found a brilliant solution that is safe and works even better than my somewhat crazy hack.
I'm now using food safe organic cotton coffee bags (useful for loose leaf tea too) which have a drawstring to keep the coffee grounds out of your brew. I use these inside out so that it's easy to clean out the coffee grinds afterwards and just hang on the tap to dry. My partner says this zero waste method tastes FAR better than the coffee machine.
You can get a set of these from my Etsy Store here.
What do you think? would you try any of these DIY coffee filter options? maybe an old sock!?