Tried boiling my coffee instead of dripping it, got a cup of mud water

Last Sunday I ran out of paper filters for my drip machine and thought I'd just boil the grounds in a pot like cowboy coffee. I used 3 tablespoons of medium grind for 2 cups of water and let it sit for 4 minutes. The result was this thick, gritty sludge that tasted like burnt tire rubber and left a film on my teeth. I strained it through a clean sock but it still had chunks floating around. Learned that the mesh size matters way more than I ever gave it credit for. Has anyone else tried a weird brew method and ended up with something that bad?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella_murray10d ago

Wait, you actually TRIED to make cowboy coffee with medium grind and only let it sit 4 minutes? Thats literally the opposite of how its supposed to work. You gotta use a coarse grind like for a french press and let it steep way longer like 8-10 minutes minimum. Also straining through a sock is a rookie move, next time use a fine mesh sieve or a clean t-shirt if you gotta. The grit and film you got is from the grind being too fine, not the method itself.

anna_fox710d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back a little on the 8-10 minute thing. If you let cowboy coffee steep that long with medium grind it's gonna be even more over extracted and bitter, not less. The real trick for cowboy coffee is actually to let the grounds settle after boiling, not steep them longer. You bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, add the grounds, stir once, and then just let it sit for like 2-3 minutes so the grounds sink. Then you add a splash of cold water or an ice cube to help them drop faster. That film and grit comes from all the fines getting stirred up when you pour it, not really from the grind size alone.