How to Easily Brew Coffee from a K-Cup without a Keurig

K-cups are undoubtedly tiny lifesavers that save you the trouble of coffee runs and messy instant coffee, but you don’t have to miss your coffee break just because there is no Keurig insight. There will be times when your best Keurig machine wouldn’t be available or you run out of instant coffee. But not to worry, you can still get caffeinated with a K-cup and lo and behold, it tastes quite awesome with a little effort.

METHOD 1: The Pour-over Technique

This method simulates the functioning of a coffee brewing machine but it could be messy and you need to spare some time.

You will require:

• A K-cup
• Hot water (The hotter the better)
• Two coffee cups or mugs (One for steeping and one for serving)
• A pair of scissors
• Milk or creamer and any other additives of your choice.

Step 1

Remove the foil from the top of the K-cup. You can use a pair of scissors to carve it out. Empty the coffee from the K-cup into a cup or mug.

Tip: You can blend different coffee varieties and add flavours to the ground coffee at this point.

Step 2

Cut off the entire base of the K-cup using a pair of scissors, preferably quarter way up the height of the cup. You don’t have to be perfect, just hollow out the cup to provide passage for the coffee as shown in the image below, but be careful not to pierce the filter in the K-cup.

Step 3

Fill the cup containing the ground coffee with hot water. I cannot stress enough that the water should be hot enough to brew quality coffee. Leave the mixture to sit for 2-4 minutes to steep it sufficiently.

Step 4

Carefully hold the top of the K-cup at the brim over the serving cup/mug and slowly pour the steeped coffee mixture from the first cup through the filter to remove the coffee grounds. You must pour it slowly to avoid mess.

Tip: Some coffee machines have a spigot for hot water on the side, so you can leave the ground coffee in the K-cup and run hot water from the spigot through it to save yourself the trouble of boiling water. This could however take longer.

Step 5

Add in your creamer, milk or favorite additives to complete your hand-brewed K cup coffee.

METHOD 2: Teabag Style

This method is less messy than the first one and there is really not much to it.

You will require:

• A K-cup
• A coffee cup or mug (Only one this time)
• A coffee filter or paper towel
• A piece of clean string (The longer the better)
• Hot water (The hotter the better)
• Milk or creamer and any other additives of your choice.

Step 1

Open your K-cup at the top, enough to allow you to empty out the ground coffee.

Step 2

Pour the ground coffee into the filter. Again you can go all in and blend different varieties and flavors.

Tip: In the absence of a coffee filter, a clean paper towel is a viable alternative.

Step 3

Bunch up the top of the coffee filter and twist it tightly to keep the coffee in the filter. It is important to leave enough room for the ground coffee and not to compact it so that the water and coffee can mix freely in the bag.

Step 4

Tie the string tightly where you twisted the coffee filter in such a way as to keep the bag closed. Leave enough length of string to hang out of the cup when the bag is inside.

Step 5

Add hot water of your desired amount and dangle the bag in there using the string until the coffee is well steeped. Do this for 3-5 minutes. You can use a teaspoon to squeeze the bag repeatedly for faster results.

Tip: For a quick coffee fix, you can tie the bag to the cup handle such that it is suspended inside the cup and add cold water such that the bag is fully soaked in water. Heat in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes or until the water is hot. Dangle the bag around as earlier shown for a well steeped coffee.

Step 6

Discard the bag and add in your creamer, milk or favourite additives for a heart-warming mug of coffee.

Extra tip

You could also consider getting a French Press coffee maker. It sounds very fancy but it is in fact a very simple appliance that brews ground coffee and it won’t break the bank. It is a mechanical device and therefore does not require electricity. They come in a variety of sizes in very elegant shapes. You can get a really small one (brews a mug or two) to use on the go or in the office.