Alternative Coffee Filters (Makeshift)

my name is TheMonkey, and i’m addicted to coffee.

slowtwitchers: “Hello Monkey”.

this morning, at a hotel, i pull out my stash. a dime bag of my favorite coffee from home. carefully ground in anticipation to be equipped with a personal coffee machine in the hotel. the machine is there, but i have no filters! DAMN!

i don’t panic, because i know i can rig something. i’ve rigged before. the hotel room provides rations including a packet style coffee bag. i tear a chunk out of the bag and i empty the nasty dirt into the toilet. all of it. i can’t have even 1 granule of hotel coffee. my senses have become finely tuned. i carefully put my precious nectar into the bag, and perform origami on the hole in the bag.

it worked perfect. and as i sat back and drank my coffee, i reckoned all the ‘whackier’ makeshifts that i have done in the past. mostly at home when i had a drip maker before i got a super-automatic. i’d also be interested in knowing what others have done.

historical makeshifts in order of effectiveness:

wife’s stocking - some grinds passed through, but pretty effective. i had to sneak this one. she does not understand that coffee > stockings.

dress sock - i used a clean one once. it ruined the sock, and i had a pretty grindy cup of coffee. flavor seemed to be in tact regardless of the sock.

toilet paper - only good for a couple cups before disintegration, and it’s a tricky balance… fewer layers so it filters and passes flavor, yet enough layers that it can survive the hot water.

nothing - that’s right. just let it steep.

One of my client-types probably stole the filter to strain their stolen cold pills through. Court appointments are probably payback for something wrong I’ve done.