Zero Waste Wednesday: Coffee! part II

Coffee. Mmm! It's not only the reason all my people are still alive, it's also delicious and definitely a health food.

Um, I guess?

So you guys, for years I had the traditional electric coffee pot sitting on my counter, making me my morning (or afternoon, or evening) cup of joe. It never occurred to me not to have one until I started cleaning out my kitchen and suddenly realized that the less I had on my counters, the better I felt.

Well, it's nice not being overwhelmed by your belongings is all.

Pre-coffee cone days.
Ron Swanson is now my work mug. It makes me happy.

Anyway, I didn't think that I had a choice, really, when it came to my coffee pot, even though that last one I had wasn't exactly what you would call a stellar performer. I need coffee to live. That's not even hyperbole. It might be slightly hyperbole. Let's not worry about that right now. The point (wait, what?) is that one happy, fine day, I walked into my local coffee roasters to get my magic jar of beans, and lo and behold, I spied a display of these wonderful pour over coffee cones:

Source.
OMG, you guys, Google "coffee cone" and you get A LOT of coffee
ice cream pictures. Life just got way more awesome.

In case it doesn't translate, that's a Melitta Perfect Brew Filter Cone (and FYI, I didn't pay even $4 for mine, so shop around). I wrote about that experience here, in case you feel like reminiscing with me. (Good times!)

In the year-plus I've owned this thing, I have never looked back. I'll get to the pros and cons in a minute, but basically I'd just like to announce this little device has changed my life.

Here's how I make my coffee these days:

Step 1: Good morning!

Step 2: Start water to boil in my tea pot.

Step 3: Liner time. I like getting a bigger filter for the cone, since sometimes accidents happen, my friends. They just do, and having a larger filter helps a lot in these situations:

That's the mug I got on our Very Washington
Vacation. I couldn't resist that thing. The old
siren logo is just so ugly and awesome.

Step 4: Put coffee into the filter. You have a coffee pot. You know how this works.

Step 5: Pour hot--but not boiling--water over coffee grounds. If the water is too hot, it makes a bitter cup of coffee. Let that be a lesson to you, kids.

Step 6: Remove cone, add cream!

The prettiest sight I've ever seen.

Step 7: So that took basically three minutes of your life and your coffee is perfect. Kitchen dance!

...And now you're all, that's great, Trish, but what about when you have guests and want to brew a pot of coffee? Well, that's simple. I have a carafe from my Pampered Chef days that I use instead (although I'm THIS CLOSE to tossing that thing in the rummage pile). But honestly, you can brew coffee in a quart jar, or a pitcher, or whatever. No, it will not stay hot if you do that. That's why God gave us microwaves. Also: That assumes you'll have leftover coffee. And if you do, you're doing it wrong. ;)

Pros
Easy to store
Easy to pack
Uses less electricity
Cheap alternative to traditional coffee maker
Less bound for landfill later
...And to the thrift store*
Filters are compostable
Coffee grounds are too
Makes a great cup of coffee, which is the entire point

Cons
NONE. The end.

*Have you ever seen the Goodwill coffee pot display? It's depressing as hell.