Saturday, October 25, 2008

Less coffee, same yum

Since coffee comprises an actual percentage of our bloodstream at this point in its pure form, I have tried a couple of suggestions that I've experimented with to get a good cup of coffee by using less.

The first tip came from the Tightwad Gazette: Use your original coffee grinds and add 50% of the original amount fresh on top of the old ones. Aside from the microbiological element to this process (ewwy) I thought for those consecutive half-pots from one part of the day to the next (yes, terrible I know) this might suffice. I tried it, and it does not work. Not hardly. Blech.

The second tip has worked very well and I now recommend it to you all. On a website, I found a tip about doubling up the filter and using less coffee, so as to cause the water to steep the coffee longer. This has worked quite yummily. It took a few tries to get the measurements right, but it's pretty straightforward. This has helped us to use 33% less coffee per pot without compromising any flavor at all, for the fraction of a fraction of a penny that a filter costs.

When I'm feeling exceptionally frugalgeeky, I will calculate the savings.

2 comments:

  1. I use a french press, which is the same sort of concept of steeping longer. And I agree, it does take less coffee. I know, then you have to go and buy a french press and that costs money. But I really love it. I feel even more endeared to you, knowing that you are an addict too.

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  2. I have a press. I just found it while unpacking garage stuff. I should definitely experiment!

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