Brewing Coffee Manually

Better coffee. One cup at a time.

Month: November 2020 (Page 1 of 2)

gifts for coffee lovers

A Guide to Coffee Gifts- How to Buy Gifts for Coffee Lovers

November 24, 2020 / / 5 Comments

Buying gifts for coffee lovers can be a bit overwhelming . The coffee gift space is vast. It runs the spectrum from punn-y cat mugs to the super obscure Bripe, a manual coffee brewing pipe. How do you find the right gift for a coffee enthusiast? Hopefully I can help.

How to Buy Gifts for Coffee Lovers

Finding the best gift for a coffee enthusiast starts with some observation. Not all coffee lovers are the same. Some are really into espresso, some are into pour-overs, some just really love good coffee. There are coffee nerds, coffee snobs and the ‘everyman’ coffee lover. You can start by observing what your gift recipient values.

A great way to make these observations is to turn a conversation towards the coffee sphere. Most coffee lovers will like to talk about their passion, so ask them a few questions. These questions can be simple, direct or more covert.

Where do you go from there? The more you know about the person you are buying a gift for, the easier it will be to pick a gift.

If you don’t know much about your coffee enthusiast, don’t despair. Here are some ideas from a wide range of the spectrum. From coffee subscriptions to coffee artwork, the Brewing Coffee Manually blog has you covered.

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mud coffee in a garden

How to Make Mud Coffee- What even is Mud Coffee?

November 17, 2020 / / 24 Comments

While I was doing some research for another post, I got lost down a somewhat obscure rabbit hole (something not unusual for me). I came across some information on a style of coffee most commonly referred to as “Mud Coffee”. It was intriguing. Mud coffee meets the basic definition of a manual brewing method so I felt compelled to head to the brewing coffee manually labs and do a little experimenting. 

I should mention that mud coffee is not the same thing as the popular coffee substitute, Mud\WTR.  

Let’s get one other thing clear. There is no mud in this beverage. Please excuse the misleading nature of the cover photo.

Well, what is mud coffee and how do you make it? I will give you my version in the post below. 

What is Mud Coffee?

Mud coffee is manual coffee brewing at its most basic. To make it,  combine hot water with ground coffee in a mug or glass. Drink your coffee once it cools and the grounds have (hopefully) sunk to the bottom.

It is pretty simple. 

There are quite a few origin stories surrounding mud coffee. The Polish, who call it “Kawa Plujka,” claim it was a result of learning to make do with what you have. In Indonesian, it is called “Kopi Tubruk.” They add a little sugar to the mix. People have also referred to Turkish and Greek coffee as mud coffee, although they use an Ibrik and also include sugar. 

Since brewing mud coffee is about the simplest form of making a cup of coffee, I am not surprise there are a few cultures who claim it’s origin.  

For the purpose of this post, I am going to be exploring the Polish, “Kawa Plujka” version. I put my own mark on the recipe by nailing down some important parameters like coffee dosage, water temperature and grind size. 

Kawa Plujka roughly translates to “Spit Coffee.” This is a reference to the fact that if you drink a cup of this coffee down to the dregs, you will get a mouthful of coffee grounds and have to spit it out. (Something you may have already experienced if you get a lot of drive-thru coffee.)

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Finding the Perfect Mug

Best Coffee Mug and How to Choose the Right One

November 12, 2020 / / 2 Comments

Choosing the right coffee mug can have a dramatic impact how you enjoy your coffee. To many manual coffee brewers drinking coffee is more than just a daily habit, it is a ritual. A favorite coffee cup is part of that ritual. For me there is nothing better than having a thick, ceramic diner style coffee mug to drink coffee out of in the morning (and afternoon and night…).

While most coffee mugs are chosen rather serendipitously (gifts, random purchases at coffee shop and tech conference swag), there are a few things to consider if you are actively looking for a new favorite coffee mug. 

In this post, I will be discussing the various things you should consider when on the hunt for a vessel to hold your precious manually brewed coffee as well as recommending a few of my favorite mug and cup designs to point you in the right direction. 

I would love to hear from you guys about what you look for in a coffee cup and where your favorite mug came from. Let me know if there are mugs that should be on my list. 

2026 Update: The Best Coffee Mug? Five Years Later, This Is the One I Still Use

It has been about five years since I wrote this post, and I have enjoyed many cups of coffee in that time. You may be wondering what coffee mug (or coffee cup) I actually use every day in my home. Although I own more coffee mugs than any reasonable person probably should, the notNeutral Lino remains the standout.

My colorful collection of Lino mugs has become a constant companion during my morning (and afternoon) coffee rituals. I started with a few Lino mugs featuring local roaster branding and used them so frequently that I would find myself pulling them out of the dishwasher mid-cycle rather than reaching for a clean mug in the cupboard. A few years ago, I bought my wife an 8-color variety pack as a gift (totally for her…maybe to share…) and we have been using them daily ever since. 

The Lino is comfortable to hold and I keep a few out as kitchen decor. They look great sitting on the shelf above my coffee station as we haphazardly rotate through colors based on availability. The Linos have proven to be durable over the years. I only just recently broke my first one through gross negligence. I appreciate the flat platform thumb-rest handle, and guests seem to like them too, as I get quite a few comments and questions about them. 

I have updated the mug recommendations later in this article, but my advice remains unchanged. For me, I much prefer the Lino. For you, the objective is to find a mug that you genuinely enjoy drinking coffee from. If possible, find one that leaves you disappointed when it’s in the grasp of your dishwasher instead of your hand. 

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