Can You Make Pour Over Coffee Without a Dripper? (Solved!)

Here are three different ways to make pour over coffee or a similar style without a dripper:

1. Make your own filter and use the pour over method on top of your cup or mug
2. Use the Cowboy Coffee method of brewing on your stovetop
3. Tie up your own coffee bag and steep your coffee in hot water

The rest of this article will provide a more detailed explanation of each of these brewing methods.

How to Make Pour Over Coffee with a DIY Filter

Even if you don’t have a Chemex-type brewer to make pour over coffee, you can improvise by making your own filter and fitting it to the top of your drinking vessel of choice.

Necessary Materials for a Homemade Pour Over Coffee Filter

Assemble your materials by making sure you have a coffee cup, coffee beans, a grinder, some binder clips or rubber bands, a kettle (preferably one with a long spout), water, measuring tools (preferably a kitchen scale), and either the kind of paper filter that is used for a coffee drip machine or else a handkerchief or other cloth of similar texture.

When choosing a paper filter to use, be sure to avoid any flimsy paper filters that are too thin to stand on their own. A fabric-like filter is preferable and will help you avoid spilling grounds into your coffee. When choosing the amount of coffee, remember that the typical ratio for pour over coffee is about 29g of coffee for every 415g of water.

Setting Up Your Improvised Pour Over Filter

Place the paper filter or handkerchief flat over the rim of your mug and affix its edges to the side of the coffee cup using the binder clips or rubber bands, which should hold the filter firmly in place.

Grind your coffee to the grind size that you would normally use for pour over coffee, typically medium to medium-fine, then spread the grounds out as evenly as possible across the area of the filter.

Meanwhile, use a kettle (either electric or stovetop) to boil water; once the water has reached boiling, take it off the heat and let it sit for about 30 seconds in order to let the temperature drop to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which is within the ideal window for brewing coffee.

Brewing Pour Over Coffee Using an Improvised Filter

Pour just enough hot water onto the coffee grounds to get them all wet, then let them sit for 30-45 seconds. This process, called blooming, will lead to a greater flavor extraction from the coffee during the brewing process. Once the coffee has bloomed, slowly pour water on the grounds, beginning in the center and working outward in concentric circles.

Go slowly enough for the coffee to gradually drip through your makeshift filter until you have used up all the water. Once the remaining coffee has dripped through your improvised filter, you can remove it from the cup and enjoy your coffee.

Making Your Pour Over Coffee Last Longer

If you want your coffee to stay hot during the brewing process and retain its heat better while you are drinking it, you can preheat your mug with a splash of boiling water. After a few minutes, dump out this water. Less of the heat from your hot coffee will be transferred into a preheated mug while you are brewing and drinking it.

Making Coffee Without a Dripper, Cowboy Style

If you still want the smooth flavor of pour over-style coffee but don’t have any kind of filter or microfiber cloth, you can take a page out of the camping playbook and brew yourself some cowboy coffee.

Necessary Materials for Cowboy Coffee

To make cowboy coffee, you will need coffee beans, a grinder, a small pot or saucepan, water, measuring devices (either a kitchen scale or measuring spoons), and a heat source (such as a stovetop burner). According to Daily Kitchen Life, you will need to use perhaps 50% more water than you would for either normal pour over coffee or brewing with a DIY filter.

How to Brew and Serve Cowboy Coffee

Boil your water in the saucepan or pot while you grind your coffee beans to a medium or medium-fine ground, just like you would if you were making coffee with a Chemex brewer. Once the water has reached a boil, take the pot or pan off of the heat and let it sit for 30 seconds so that the temperature can drop to 200 degrees.

Add the coffee grounds and, without putting a lid back on the container, let the grounds brew in the hot water. Once the grounds have sat in the hot water for two minutes, give the coffee a stir and let sit for another two minutes. The longer the coffee brews, the stouter it will be, so experiment with what brewing time suits your preference.

After brewing is done, you can use a classic cowboy trick to make sure the grounds settle to the bottom of your pot or pan. Pour a small amount of cold water around the edges of your cooking vessel, which will force down the grounds that have clung to the sides so you can pour yourself a cup of delicious black coffee from the top of the pot.

Brewing Coffee with a DIY Coffee Bag

While it is more like steeping than the pour over method, it is possible to brew with a coffee bag that you can make for yourself in a pinch.

What You Need to Make Coffee with a Homemade Coffee Bag

For coffee made with a coffee bag, you’ll need beans, a grinder, a kettle (electric or stovetop), a paper coffee filter, and string. Use your kettle to boil water, then remove it from the heat source if using a stovetop. Grind as much coffee as you would for a normal cup from a drip machine, about two tablespoons for every six ounces of water.

How to Assemble a Coffee Bag

Once ground, place your coffee inside your paper filter, which you must tie shut using your string. While your knot should be tight, leave a bit of room inside the bag itself for your grounds to expand during the brewing process.

Set your makeshift coffee bag into a cup and pour your hot water over it, completely submerging the bag so that the grounds are uniformly wetted. After 3-4 minutes of steeping, use the string to remove the coffee bag and enjoy your cup of coffee.