A month ago my glass coffee pot broke from my electric coffee maker. I thought about purchasing a new one, but I am trying to do more with less. I like to maximize my space on the counters. The next morning in desperation for coffee, I tried making coffee in my cast iron tea kettle, and it was very good! With a little experimentation, I discovered that the grounds sink to the bottom when the water is left to come to a rolling boil, taken off the heat immediately, and then left to sit for a minute or two. I don't even need to strain the grounds. The tea pot is well seasoned, so clean up is very easy, just a rinse and quick scrub.
I cook two cups of coffee with half a pot of water and two heaping spoons of grounds. So easy! And I've got more counter space now, not to mention no glass coffee pot and coffee maker to clean.
11 comments:
Have I seen this described as cowboy coffee??
Probably...I guess they used the beans? I wonder if this would work with beans? I'll try this next. :)
Cowboy coffee was/is made with grounds. You can sometimes find hand cranked grinders at antique shops.
We have been making coffee this way ever since I broke our last glass carafe, about two years ago, lol!
Once you get used to the taste of cowboy coffee, drip machine brew seems incredibly weak and watery. :-P
Good for you- making do with what you have on hand. :-)
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Good to know. Yes! It does taste better. The coffee tastes richer and more full bodied in the iron pot.
One trick for "cowboy coffee" is to add rinsed egg shells to settle the grounds. Don't know why it works, but it does!
I just read this online when I looked up cowboy coffee. Thanks! I haven't had this problem though - seems to sink after it's well heated. I thought I'd have to strain it, but it has been fine.
I'll try that, about the eggshells, it would beat having to strain through a cloth like I do now. :-)
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I just came across this thread as I searched how to season my new (to me) cast iron coffee pot. It was rusty when I bought it, so I cleaned the whole thing with naval jelly, seasoned it inside and out, and if it were a frying pan or dutch oven, I would be good to go. My question is, how do you keep up something that all sources say don't use water, in, but you're using it to boil water in? I don't want greasy coffee, but I don't want rust coffee either. Any hints?
I'm not sure I understand? Why can't you boil water in it?
I was a dyed-in-the-wool Chemex man, once I stumbled on this way of making coffee (which is a modification of Greek or Turkish coffee) , the Chemex makers went in the cupboard and I never looked back!
Here are a few suggestions from my experience with this simple, much cheaper, and tasty way of "cooking coffee":
1 Grind the beans as fine as you can (turkish grind) This one is more a rule than a suggestion!
2 Put grounds in 1/2 minute before boiling.
3 Stir with a wooden spoon prior to boiling.
4 Add Ceylon cinnamon.
5 Let sit in pan/pot for 5 min before pouring into (8-12oz) cups two (just like in your post!)
6 Avoid the "last gulp" in the cup as it will have a bit too much sediment.
Water will rust the iron but if you drain out the water and place the pot with no lid back on a warm burner and let the remaining water evaporate you should have no problem. When cooking with cast iron food tends to be darker in color as some iron leaches out. Since cooking with cast iron I have never been low in iron. Also remember to cook at a bit low temperature as the cast iron gets hotter and stays hotter longer.
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