Make Your Own > BeveragesSeptember 06, 2004

Make Your Own Coffee Filter

Wake up looking forward to your coffee and realize you've run out of filters? Can't decided whether you should cry and hug the maker or drop and kick it? Well if you've got plain white paper towels you've got coffee (your secret best-friend) to get you through. Just make it into the shape of a cone and trim excess paper towel from top. Viola! Now get your cranky behind a cup of Joe and don't forget to pick up filters on the way home from work.

By Suzanne S.

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By
03/26/2011

I agree with the person about using things not intended for human consumption. Paper towels, toilet paper & the like, are often impregnated with oils to make them softer. This is why using paper towels to clean windows often leaves streaks.

I have, in a pinch, used those micro fiber cloths to strain things. I have a bunch, they are really well washed & used & when I wash them, I use stuff that gets out grease & bacteria & they are rinsed till the water runs clear. There isn't anything to leach into the food.

Years ago, I had very old dish cloths, pure cotton & I used them for drying meat & straining things. Since they were well washed, they left no lint. I even do this with very old dish cloths, to drain meat on, to dry. The meat then browns very well. Just an fYI.

cmt

By
03/26/2011

When you use products for food that are not intended for food use, you take the chance of chemical poisoning. Especially something like dryer sheets. How much are you really saving if you don't buy coffee filters? A penny? I have used a paper towel in a pinch but to use one all the time is, in my opinion, not a good idea.

By
04/16/2010

You can also do it the 'old cowboy way'. Put the grounds into the water and crack an egg into it at the boiling point and the grounds go into the egg. Add ground egg shells to make a super smooth coffee as the ground grounds reduce the acid.

By
04/16/2010

I find just using unscented paper towels works well for me when I'm out of coffee filters.

By
03/27/2009

Jimjam: this is funny because I always eye the softener sheets for second uses. Guess it depends on whether the scent is compatible with the coffee variety! MMM..hazelnut lightly scented with mountain fresh!
Seems like they really WOULD be the perfect texture, but a little scary due who knows what the fibre content might be as well as the scent. - I think I'd stick to muslin or any other scrap of clean, fairly loose weave cloth in a pinch. Just don't use old underwear if its not clean :-) (Don''t worry, I'm not on the internet right now either)

It's amazing some of the things I've done in a coffee emergency -My filterless french press has been sitting there waiting in the wings for just that that reason. And works during electric coffeemaker failure emergencies too.

By Chad (Guest Post) 10/22/2008

Yay, my morning is saved. :D

By Alli (Guest Post) 10/07/2008

You just fixed my morning. I LOVE YOU for this! *coffee lovers hug*

By (Guest Post) 04/23/2008

sweet salvation

By Jimjam (Guest Post) 03/24/2008

Um, well, I'm going ask anyway since this is anonymus. My question: Is it possible to use dried fabric softer plys for substitute coffee filters? I'll check back later for the answer when nobodies on the internet.

JimJam

By JUlie (Guest Post) 12/01/2007

Thanks to you, I have got my mojo workin' now.

By david (Guest Post) 09/01/2007

i didnt have filters or napkins so i use a new piece of cloth. aside from a ruin piece of cloth the coffee was rather good

By Rene C. (Guest Post) 05/09/2007

How I love you Suzanne S.

By Matt (Guest Post) 03/13/2006

I'm sure that paper towels are the key... I didn't have any so I used a white napkin. It got too soggy and clogged my coffee maker. Paper towels, however, wouldn't sog up like the napkin did. What coffee it DID make, though, saved my day. Thanks!

By Jan (Guest Post) 01/03/2006

This morning would of been a disaster, thanks so much

By (Guest Post) 10/31/2005

thanks...great idea!

By
10/07/2004

When our old coffee maker quit, the new one I bought was a filterless one. No more coffee filters. It does let a few of the very very fine grinds out though but those settle to the bottom of the pot of coffee.

By Robi (Guest Post) 09/30/2004

Thanks...you prevented a bad morning.

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