Brewing Coffee Manually

Better coffee. One cup at a time.

Tag: manual brewing (Page 1 of 6)

Ceramic coffee mug beside coffee beans and a pour over notebook on a kitchen counter

5 years later…Hello, I’m Back

May 7, 2026 / / 6 Comments

Hello?

It has been quite a few years since I’ve made a post. I knew you all would still be out there brewing, talking about and drinking good coffee so I went and checked on the situation.

I fired up Instagram, talked to some coffee friends, and read some coffee articles.

Wow…

Things have changed a bit since I last wrote about coffee.

Where Have I Been?

I started Brewing Coffee Manually a few months after my son was born. (He turns 12 in June). My boy was my second child and his arrival coincided with household coffee consumption increasing dramatically. It was also at a time in my life where I felt like writing and creating something. I was already very interested in manual coffee brewing processes and seemed to be discussing it with friends constantly. A coffee blog is where I ended up.

Over the years, I had a lot of fun running the blog. I liked researching, writing and taking pictures of coffee apparatuses. I liked meeting people and talking about coffee. Some really cool people reached out and introduced themselves to me, some even sent me coffee and gear. The coffee scene developed and changed around me and I enjoyed and rode the wave. Then life got a little wild.

My wife and I welcomed two more daughters to our family. We remodeled our house, built an addition and then moved. We then remodeled the new house. Work got busy. Life got busy. I had to set some things to the side and I gave up writing about coffee.

Right around the time I decided to put my coffee adventures on the back burner, my blog started gaining a little traction. I was getting more visitors than ever and I didn’t have the capacity to contribute to it. I also didn’t have the heart to shut it down.

I tried to revive it once or twice when I got a little margin, but the margin did not last long. I also had a few other hobbies and interests sneak in and vie for my attention. Eventually, I left the coffee blog to gather dust on the shelf and moved on to other things.

I haven’t posted or written a thing about coffee in five years.

Still…

Every couple weeks someone will ask me my opinion about something coffee related or want to discuss some coffee topics.

Every November it is time to pay my hosting and website fees.

Every time I reached a decision point for the blog, I can not bring myself to scuttle it all and let it sink into the abyss of things internet past.

This year I had finally resolved to let it die on its November anniversary. A couple weeks ago a changed my mind.

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How to Brew with the Kalita Kantan-Brew Guide and Informational

September 23, 2016 / / 4 Comments

Last week, I championed the Kalita Kantan as a great coffee-on-the-go solution for those looking to keep it simple and disposable. This week I wanted to post my Kantan brew guide along with some tips for brewing with minimal equipment (away from your home coffee bar).

What is the Kalita Kantan

The Kalita Kantan is a 3.5 inch by 4 inch disposable pour-over brewer made of cardboard and an attached filter. They are sold in packs of thirty and are completely flat prior to folding for use. At about a quarter a piece (6.80 for thirty on Amazon right now), there is really no other brewer that is as portable, simple or disposable.

Last week Sharon from the Magic Coffee Truck pointed out that Coffee Blenders has a device that is similar to the Kantan but comes preloaded with coffee. While not necessarily a bad thing, it is best to have complete control of what coffee you use and when it is ground.

If you are looking for a great way to make about 200mL of pour-over coffee, the Kantan fits the bill pretty swimmingly.

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3 Things I Learned From a Year of Writing About Coffee

November 10, 2015 / / 9 Comments

Tomorrow is November 11, 2015, which marks the one year anniversary of my very first blog post “Getting Started- Drip Brewing 101.” In honor of this milestone, I thought it would be an appropriate time to write a bit about what a year of writing about coffee has brought about.

A summary of the year by the numbers:

3 Things I Learned from a Year of Writing about Coffee

The Best Way to Learn Something Is to Teach it

I have heard the old adage, “The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else” countless times in my life. However, I have never been as acutely aware of it’s impact until I tried to explain a few coffee concepts on the blog.

For me, the most obvious example of this would have to be three articles I wrote in succession at the beginning of the year (Green Coffee Explained, Coffee Origins- How Geography Relates to Taste and Understanding and Selecting a Great Roasted Coffee). My goal was to write a brief article about each subject as a resource I could point people towards as well as a building block for future discussions.

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