I think they meant for you to tear off a big piece of paper towel and somehow mold it to the bottom of the brewer basket. I've had my Bonavita 5-cup that looks like your big boy for six years now. I bought a glass carafe for it and recently the pouring spout broke off but I can still pour from it.
Lol, thanks for the flashback! I 100% used the “paper towel as filter” emergency hack, but it was back in the pre-Select-A-Size days, so the paper towel was larger. No cutting, definitely no tape (🤦♀️), just lay it atop the (in my case) Mr. Coffee filter basket & punch it down. (Okay, maybe a bit of ripping the extra away so the basket would slide into place.) Also works for cone-shaped baskets: fold into square, turn & insert (one side will have 3 layers, the other will have 1), and rip/trim off extra. This hack is strictly for the “🤬, I forgot to get filters (or payday isn’t here yet) and I NEED coffee to function but don’t have time/money to hit my coffeeshop” moments. (Lol, in my case, this was also pre-Starbucks, at least in the Midwest.) Enjoy!
I've not seen someone over think a thing more than the paper towel filter in quite some time, amazing. All you need to do is lightly screw up a sheet, flatten it back out and then put it in pushing it to fit and fold in the overlapping edges.
Morgan, can you do a series of will it latte art? I've been wondering how non-dairy creamers like Coffee Mate would perform compared to standard milk, but it'd be interesting to see how other liquids hold up too
That's an interesting idea. Coffee Mate and other "non dairy" creamer powders do contain dairy components like casein ironically enough and give cheese its melt and stretch.
For my personal brewing, I kept one coffee filter in a ziploc & separate from the rest of the package. I called it my “a$$hole” filter because I attached a note to the front of the bag that said “buy more coffee filters, a$$hole!”. It worked VERY well.
I think the paper towel filter idea was considering full sheets and not the select-a-size ones. Because that you could just shove into the filter area and then cut off the excess. Not sure it would've been much better however
I’ve used this hack once… on a camping trip Because I was desperate and that’s all I had 😂 Honestly worked out for me in my aero press for the first two cups, but I messed up the third one and it was… crunchy coffee
Ahhh that's what it is, I used to do this quite frequently in my days as a college student. I then separated the plys so that one sheet makes two. The thinner ply brews better coffee.. maybe a little on the dark side. I was so poor back then, laundry was done in my bathtub, food consisted of frozen burritos and coffee was made using paper towels I brought home from work.
It is based on full-size sheets. I’ve been using that in a pinch since before there was select-a-size paper towels. I’d show up for a meeting, find that there were no coffee filters, and use a paper towel instead. It’s not great on the whole, but it’s great if your choice is paper towel filter or no coffee.
Fun fact, the reason orange and mint sounds so worrying is the gut deep memory of toothpaste and orange. However, the thing that makes orange juice taste bad is not actually the mint flavour of toothpaste, it's the sodium laureth sulfate in the paste. Orange juice and mint are actually an amazing combination, and highly underutilized.
Since coffee filters are actually insanely expensive where i live, i use the paper towel thing on the daily. Normally i just fold a single sheet in half and form it into a rough conical shape, don't need to cut and tape it out. Holds enough grounds for a single cup at a time but the grounds do stick to the paper so you need to dump it and use a fresh for the next cup so it's not efficient when making multiple at a time buuuuut it works incredibly well and i have almost no fines
@@DocXango Metal filters allow fine grounds to get through, so the coffee ends up kind of sludgy. I've used paper towels before, and they make much better filters than metal ones.
@@grabble7605 ??? If metal filters have gaps big enough to allow finer grounds to go through, how exactly would that suddenly stop happening if you run it through multiple times? The gaps are still there which means the finer grounds will still get through. And honestly, if I have to run it through multiple times, I'd rather just cut out the hassle altogether and run it through a paper towel once.
I thought the fibers and layers from paper towels get connected with some sort of adhesive, so watching this hack I was concerned about potential health risks. But then I actually have no clue how paper towels get made, and reading comments of you and other people who do this, I might just be overly careful (I live in Germany where there are pretty strict rules on food safety, so I guess that might be where the carefullnes comes from). Did you do some research or is you and other people doing it proof enough that its safe? Anyways, super fascinating to know it works!
@@emamezihorakova9399 paper and paper towels are made by creating a slurry with wood pulp and water, then rolled out onto a steam blasted conveyor belt and essentially baked to dry, and cut. There's no glue involved at all. It's not necessary
I wonder if the orange drink mix would benefit from something like a cocktail shaker or mixer to dilute and chill it, and THEN pouring it into the drinking vessel. That way you could capitalize on the space a little more without losing so much to ice.
I'm amazed at how you considered not to get sharpie ink in your brew, but then just accepted tape-glue getting in there without as much of a single word :D Seriously though, I have brewed a few paper towel brews in my life and you can either just cram the entire untrimmed paper into the basket and press it against the walls until the bottom is flat or put in the extra effort and fold neat little pleats into the sides. Either way, don't put sticky tape in your filter. The paper towels are made to withstand being soaked to some extent, so they won't disintegrate. At the same time, their soak-abilities make sure that the water can get through well enough. They are decent-in-a-pinch coffee filters!
Agree about not using “select-a-size”. Also, paper towel works better if you peel apart the plies and use a single ply (still, only in a case of real need).
I'm glad you tried out that orange coffee! I've seen a lot of Dina's videos lately and I've been so curious if they actually taste good or if they were purely aesthetic
It is actually a really good combo (espresso + orange juice) and is common during summer in coffee shops. At least it is so near me. Also espresso + tonic. 🙂
The orange drink, I would do in a chilled short glass without a straw. Freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp and some zest on top is enough citrus. Also not using a straw in a short glass will allow you to smell the mint as you drink, making it very fresh (basically how a mojito works).
I think for the paper towel one, it works better to use one square piece without cutting it. The sides might be a little stuffed but if they are high enough the ground can't escape. And it might work best with cone filters.
With cone filters you can fold the paper towel into quarters, center point down, and then pull one corner out from the other three and it's fairly well contained. White "home" paper towels have a tendency to rip, but brown "industrial" types add a nasty bitter note to the coffee.
If you ever revisit this with the Paper Towel coffee filter, there a technique in baking where you fold the paper into triangles then cut a curve, unfold to reveal a near perfect circle... I'd also go with a larger size (like that of a flattened out flat bottom filter) and just let it self crimp under the weight of the grounds and water
Can't wait to see the MorganDrinksSoySauce video! Edit: To get a stronger/better extraction on the french press espresso you could scale up the recipe until there's enough volume to get compressed by the plunger. That would get you a different taste (probably) closer to espresso, since it would push some of the liquid absorbed by the grounds out which is an element of espresso's high pressure extraction, and wouldn't water it down. It would still have the same problem with a lot of grounds in your cup though.
Great video. I just wanted to mention that I bought an OXXO French press on your recommendation some years ago, and that thing has been a workhorse. I really love it to the point that when I use a different French press, it's a little jarring for me. Thanks for the good work!
@@morgandrinkscoffee It really is awesome and as a roaster working with Belco on a regular basis, I can say that this edition's coffee is a banger. Absolute beast of a coffee.
First love your shorts series. To use a trendy term, they spark joy. I am by no means a coffee expert (or even novice) but I do bake, and do a fair bit of paper folding and i love brainstorming. If you don't care about that, stop here and enjoy the complement. ☕☕☕☕☕ A trick that you could use for the paper towel filter is to make a square, then fold in half using the center of your square as the axis. fold several times then hold the point in the center of your circle, and trim the folded parts a little beyond the edge of your circle. You end up not with a circle, but an "n-gon" that is about perfect, slightly oversized (by design). For the sides, i would have done a long rectangle about an inch or so taller than your sides. Cut short tabs along the bottom edge where it will meet your bottom and wrap it around with the tabs inside your circle. the relief cuts will allow them to bend and overlap instead of bunch up at the bottom. That and the slightly oversized bottom (which will go up the sides a little bit) should give you a much better seal against ground infiltration.
Morgan used Kikkoman that is way too expensive for that purpose. I guess using it is on par with specialty espresso blend moneywise. I suppose it is not that hard to obtain gallon of cheap stuff in a Chinese or HoReCa shop
Maybe less waste but soy sauce is not cheap in The Netherlands 😂 maybe use cheap instant coffee? Or European Coffee Trip suggested cocoa powder with water. I received my first ever espresso machine last Thursday (The Bambino thanks to your review!) and trying to build my latte technique. So I am definitely trying this tip because I already have a fair amount of waste milk that I want to use for oatmeal lol.
A hack I like that my Gramps taught me was, to put salt in your coffee filters to take away the bitter taste. I don't know if it's just a placebo effect or what, but I feel like it actually works.
I used to use the paper towel filter method when I was broke. It works best for cone-shaped baskets; fold a square in fourths, and then put the grounds in one of the "pockets."
Morgan, with your tasting of the paper towel brew I think you've applied a too stringent a criteria for good coffee. I have used paper towel coffee three times in life and each time the choice has been paper towel coffee or no coffee at all since no more filters were available. So the criteria should be - will the paper towel coffee work in a pinch. My answer, Yes!
Hey so heads up, my bonavita recently died because the heater pot inside it was heavily corroded and was depositing all sorts of strange metal salts into my coffee, which I was ingesting on a regular basis. I highly recommend pulling the bottom panel off your brewer and checking the heater unit for corrosion and stopping use immediately if there is any sign of it. They are not made of stainless steel like they should be and are instead made of cheap pot metal. Mine is not the only unit that has done this, and they seem to be trying to scrub any mention of it off the interne, as all the pictures are being taken off of review sites where people are reporting this. Its a real shame too because it made really nice coffee.
I definitely appreciate both your sacrifices and successes here. An imitation espresso that I make involves measuring out enough grounds for two pour over servings. Putting the grounds in the bottom of a preheated food jar. Add 5 or 6 oz of boiled water. Stir it together. Screw the lid on and let it steep. I warm the milk using a microwave. After two minutes is up, I carefully pour the steeped coffee (imitation espresso) through a pour over set up into a preheated 12 oz mug. Add a flavor shot or two with the warmed milk and boom: Closest I ever came to a latte without an espresso machine. Cheers!
I think that french press grind with just more coffee and less water could get you smething drinkable and REMOTELY espresso-like. Also, i am quite sure that author of hack may tried it succefully, but with bladed grinder, instead of proper one with burrs.
i have used paper towels I use a full sheet and just cram it in there into the coffee brew basket. It works. No need to fuss. It doesn't fit perfectly but as long as coffee can sit inside and theres a wall of paper towel it works.
You use a whiter paper towel laid over the top of the basket push it down into the basket and toe it’s touching the bottom and then carefully smooth it around the edge of your coffee basket and then carefully add a little bit of water to the edge of the basket and your paper towel and then after that shape to the basket cut off the excess put your coffee in your coffee basket and boo your coffee and make sure that the paper towel is touching the edge of your coffee basket and if it’s hanging over the top of the coffee basket a little bit that’s fine it’ll stick down to the basket and it will keep your coffee grounds in the basket as you pull your coffee
If you take your regular filter, and flatten it out, you'll find that it's a circular piece of paper. That's the size circle to cut out of the paper towel.
It's always a treat to see another coffee hacks video. And since you asked, for the first option wouldn't it be easier to use a mug of akin size and use that as the mold?
re: paper towel filter: if you unfold a flat-bottom filter, it'll primarily lay flat. to replicate that with a paper towel, turn the basket upside down and kinda drape+shape the paper towel over+around it. add some creases where the paper bunches up. then, lift the paper towel construction off the inverted basket, flip the basket over to the correct orientation, flip the paper towel over and press+shape it into the basket. add the grounds to hold the paper towel filter down,, and trim or fold any excess paper that rides up above the basket. then brew away! [the wider, square sheets work better than the thinner rectangular sheets (altho you can use two sections of the thin sheets if you add a lil origami fold to strengthen the center and keep the perforation from splitting open when the water hit it.] but yeah, it really just takes some gangster origami skills.
I recently did paper towels on my pour over and just take 2 strips, make an X and go. It absorbs a little flavor but totally works with the same easy cleanup.
ive used the paper towel hack before but it was in a pour over scenario and i just put the paper towels in whole and it worked pretty well! I think the hack is better suited for that cause you can watch and make sure the towel isn't moving/the coffee isn't going around or over it.
In emergency cases, sort of, I’ve done the first jack but, I didn’t fashion a filter, just took the paper towel and pressed it against the basket just checking the whole basket was completely covered and this way is easier and better, no coffee ground leaking at all. Bests regards from a Venezuelan follower!
One hack I came up with is combining the grind prep of a moka pot and French press by using a flour sieve. It may not be perfect but works well enough. The fines go well in the moka pot and the French press gives you a much cleaner coffee.
I know, I'm not the only one commenting on the paper towel trick 😂 but I'm coming as a "paper towel user in times of need", kind of a paper towel coffee expert if you will. Usually, this trick is being used for coffee machines whose brewers would be triangular, not so much with a flat bottom like yours. This means that we don't have to round and shape and tape the paper towel, we just shove it in and the coffee and let the machine do the work. Though I WILL say that you're right, it doesn't extract the same way. There is however no coffee ground leakage, because there are no taped holes to exploit for a coffee prison break 😁
Tbh while it might work in an emergency.. i wouldnt want all the chemicals and residues leftover from the manufacturing of the paper towels. I really don't know if paper towels would be the most food safe thing to use. might actually try something more akin to a cheesecloth or muslin or something if I have some at hand..
I use the aeropress with the prismo + paper filter every day for my coffee to simulate espresso, while it's not espresso, it is a million times better than what I could get from a french press to simulate espresso, also way easier to clean imo
I am confused for the latte art practice hack. It doesn`t waste milk and coffee but it does waste at least soy sauce. Like water and a lil dish soap, yeah, definetly less wasteful than milk I´d say but coldn`t the soy sauce also be at least diluted by some water?
I think with the french press hack you probably want to use it with a small 2-3 cup plunger instead of that big boy you have there. 20g of finely-ground coffee in a small french press will almost feel like you're using an aeropress when you go to plunge. Having done it though (edit: usually by accident, back when a french press and a blade grinder was all I had) I'm with you, just get an aeropress, especially if you're only making coffee for one.
For the French press I simply use the hario cloth filter that’s attached to the loop. It takes out all the super fine bits but leaves all the coffee oils intact.
I've been using paper towels in conical pour over filters for years. Just fold it into quarters and then open it out so it's 1/4 on one side and 3/4 on the other to make the little pocket. Works fine.
The paper towel filter works a lot better with full sized sheets, not half width as you have, and in a cone filter brewer instead of the basket type. Just fold the sheet diagonally twice and you have a cone filter. I like to rinse it with boiling water before use, as there’s always some paper taste to it, and it keeps it in place. It’s the go to hack every time I run out of filters, or if I need a paper filter in a funnel for some reason.
Cool!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Here are some of my thoughts while watching this: 10:47 - In theory, it's a *sick* substitute. 😂 14:16 - That blonde girl looks like a Sado Queen. And I Adore Sado Queens. 🥰🤣 14:27 - Well Mint works Great with Lemon, so Why not with Orange? As for the combination with Coffee = well, _ez_ a kérdés = *nagyon* jó. 😅 17:12 - Yeah. Looks good. I would not pay $15 for this, but 8 or 9 - sure.🙂❤️🍊
When I go camping, I prepare a coffee that I call "instant". I grind the beans as fine as I can then grind the result with a mortar and pestle to make a fine powder. I pack that and once out in the rhubarb, I make boiled water and put in a tablespoon or so in my cup (strong) and stir briskly -basically making a suspension. wakes me up whether I want to or not :) I do not taste/feel any grounds at all.. but a toilet source should not be far away
For the paper towel trick: I have used this many times with my moka pot as a way to keep the grounds more contained and it works well enough. Ideally I would use an aeropress filter for this. I've also used it to filter my french press coffee (shut up I only have a french press and moka pot and I'm not always in the mood for that level of chew). For that I make an origami cone, put it into a funnel to hold it, and pour my coffee through that. Again, works well enough. The plastic and adhesive from the tape may be throwing off the flavor.
As an emergency hack, I think just the paper in the bottom is all you'd need. Sure, you'll get some grounds. But it was an 'emergency' so that's probably fine. You're not trying to design a long-term replacement for filters, just something to get you by. The grounds will settle and you'll at least have something drinkable. Definitely not worth the hassle of trying to add the side riings.
Funny - when I was in college I tried both the napkin coffee filter and the French press espresso tricks to save a few bucks. I had luck with the paper filter for pourover coffee - usually I would split it in such a way that there was one leaf of napkin paper on one side and the rest on the other and then make a cone with it, but it depends on the napkin. I had plenty of brews that broke the napkin midway through. The French press espresso was sad to the point where I just bought a small espresso machine from Target to get my fix.
You may want to avoid using tape since the hot water may or may not also extract stuff from the tape and adhesive which you probably don't want to be drinking
flatten an actual filter, and use those dimensions for your paper-towel filter. Then fold up the sides as best you can by making pleats folding in a zig-zag way. Or just fold in half several times to get a similar effect. Fun video!
the way i've done the paper towel hack when i moved and couldnt find my filters was to take two of the paper towel strips and basically make an X with them. Never got grounds or paper in the cup. Yes, it does make it a little thick at the bottom but this is meant to be a last resort not an every day solution.
I have done this several times in past when I was broke! But it was also before they started making split sheet paper towels so not as much work. Just put the whole sheet in the basket and all your base are covered without all that work plus cutting. Just place it in the basket add the ground beans without grounds in your coffee most of time.
I have used a bounty full size paper towel as a coffee filter. It is 2 ply, so I separate the 2 ply’s. I then lay it in the machine, trim around the top and brew. No tape needed. I ran out of my paper filter and needed my coffee before going to get more filters. It worked in a pinch, I wouldn’t do it daily.
I guess you could also avoid soy sauce waste and just use water with food colouring. That way you could also make fun different coloured "lattes". If it's just for practice it doesn't have to be brown.
kids, Don't use paper towels as they are not food-grade & likely contain chemical residues. Re-use your paper filters if you have to. Aeropress filters can be re-used many times so others probably can too.
I have used the paper towel hack many a time. I use in on my pour over where I can keep an eye on it all the way through. And it’s the right shape so I can just make a cone from the paper towel and use that.
I've done the paper towel hack before, it involved more of me taking the whole sheet and just folding it until it fit properly, less waste that way too
instead of using tape you can try the parchment paper trick which makes a perfect circle but instead of cutting it you can kind off bent it to fit the kraft properly .hope this helps 😁😁❤❤.
I really like the Orange idea! I felt your video this time had a lot of cuts in it though, sounds better just hearing you talk sometimes, awkward pauses and all!
the paper towel bit is very funny, in my experience just shoving a paper towel where the filter goes and brewing normally works. It's not ideal, and does taste a bit different, but it'll make you coffee.
A paper towel filter would probably work in a pinch for pour over. And James's video that I think you're referencing was using a paper towel to catch smaller grounds when using a cheaper grinder so you have a more even grind size in the actual coffee maker,
You can tell why she made it so far in the barista competition when she's using a marker and scissors on the paper towel lol. The vast majority of us would have quickly shoved a few papers in so we can get our coffee fix and move on with our day 😂
For a billion health reasons.. can’t recommend using scotch tape to make a coffee filter.. buying the scotch tape… buying the paper towels would quickly exceed the cost of jsut buyijgna pack of paper filters..
Fold the paper towel in four. Open the three of the quarters and stick the paper towel funnel in the basket. No tape, no sharpie. You just fold the excess over the edge of the basket
I really love your videos! You are so awesome and insightful. Hey, I have a content idea! Probably terrible idea, but I noticed you have the Rancillo Silvia Pro, I have the origin Silvia and love it. I also have their Rancillo Rocky grinder and they are a great pair. Keeping on rocking in the free world friend!
No one else should drink paper towels and tape. Only I’m allowed to do that. Emphasis on the tape.
"I don't want to get any sharpie in the coffee" [steeps tape adhesive in water]
So where does the tape glue lay on the flavor wheel? I'm guessing it adds some astringency to the brew. 👀
I think they meant for you to tear off a big piece of paper towel and somehow mold it to the bottom of the brewer basket. I've had my Bonavita 5-cup that looks like your big boy for six years now. I bought a glass carafe for it and recently the pouring spout broke off but I can still pour from it.
Lol, thanks for the flashback!
I 100% used the “paper towel as filter” emergency hack, but it was back in the pre-Select-A-Size days, so the paper towel was larger.
No cutting, definitely no tape (🤦♀️), just lay it atop the (in my case) Mr. Coffee filter basket & punch it down. (Okay, maybe a bit of ripping the extra away so the basket would slide into place.)
Also works for cone-shaped baskets: fold into square, turn & insert (one side will have 3 layers, the other will have 1), and rip/trim off extra.
This hack is strictly for the “🤬, I forgot to get filters (or payday isn’t here yet) and I NEED coffee to function but don’t have time/money to hit my coffeeshop” moments. (Lol, in my case, this was also pre-Starbucks, at least in the Midwest.)
Enjoy!
But what if you think the slight notes of adhesive pair well with the chocolatey undertones? /s
I've not seen someone over think a thing more than the paper towel filter in quite some time, amazing. All you need to do is lightly screw up a sheet, flatten it back out and then put it in pushing it to fit and fold in the overlapping edges.
i was thinking in the same line.. lol. just crumble it up and it'll fit. then cut the excess.
@@sadianaheen7270 or don't cut off the excess. Grew up with a drip machine without a removable basket, the corners give you a handle to pull it out
@@brianargo4595 🤦♀why didn't I think of them as handles. Great idea, thanks!
Yeah all I could think about was the hot water dissolving all that glue on the tape. Tasty 😆
It was most painful to watch lol! Just tear off a few sheets, push into the basket, add coffee, done.
Morgan: *Slides* Hello there.
Me: Nice slide
Morgan: That was not a great slide
Me: Oh yeah no that was a bad one
It's a sliding scale...
Morgan, can you do a series of will it latte art? I've been wondering how non-dairy creamers like Coffee Mate would perform compared to standard milk, but it'd be interesting to see how other liquids hold up too
Great idea! Will put in the books for next year!
Omg yes!
That's an interesting idea. Coffee Mate and other "non dairy" creamer powders do contain dairy components like casein ironically enough and give cheese its melt and stretch.
Totally
There are "Barrista" type un-milks in all of the source types; oat, soy, and others as well that seem like they are intended to be frothed
For my personal brewing, I kept one coffee filter in a ziploc & separate from the rest of the package. I called it my “a$$hole” filter because I attached a note to the front of the bag that said “buy more coffee filters, a$$hole!”. It worked VERY well.
I think the paper towel filter idea was considering full sheets and not the select-a-size ones. Because that you could just shove into the filter area and then cut off the excess. Not sure it would've been much better however
What about tea towel (cut in proper shape)?
@@Bllairy I only make espresso. I was just spitballing. Also I have no idea what a tea towel is
I’ve used this hack once… on a camping trip Because I was desperate and that’s all I had 😂
Honestly worked out for me in my aero press for the first two cups, but I messed up the third one and it was… crunchy coffee
Ahhh that's what it is, I used to do this quite frequently in my days as a college student. I then separated the plys so that one sheet makes two.
The thinner ply brews better coffee.. maybe a little on the dark side.
I was so poor back then, laundry was done in my bathtub, food consisted of frozen burritos and coffee was made using paper towels I brought home from work.
It is based on full-size sheets. I’ve been using that in a pinch since before there was select-a-size paper towels. I’d show up for a meeting, find that there were no coffee filters, and use a paper towel instead. It’s not great on the whole, but it’s great if your choice is paper towel filter or no coffee.
Fun fact, the reason orange and mint sounds so worrying is the gut deep memory of toothpaste and orange. However, the thing that makes orange juice taste bad is not actually the mint flavour of toothpaste, it's the sodium laureth sulfate in the paste. Orange juice and mint are actually an amazing combination, and highly underutilized.
Since coffee filters are actually insanely expensive where i live, i use the paper towel thing on the daily. Normally i just fold a single sheet in half and form it into a rough conical shape, don't need to cut and tape it out. Holds enough grounds for a single cup at a time but the grounds do stick to the paper so you need to dump it and use a fresh for the next cup so it's not efficient when making multiple at a time buuuuut it works incredibly well and i have almost no fines
@@DocXango Metal filters allow fine grounds to get through, so the coffee ends up kind of sludgy. I've used paper towels before, and they make much better filters than metal ones.
@@thelemurofmadagascar9183 Just put it through more than one filter, or put it through multiple times.
@@grabble7605 ???
If metal filters have gaps big enough to allow finer grounds to go through, how exactly would that suddenly stop happening if you run it through multiple times? The gaps are still there which means the finer grounds will still get through. And honestly, if I have to run it through multiple times, I'd rather just cut out the hassle altogether and run it through a paper towel once.
I thought the fibers and layers from paper towels get connected with some sort of adhesive, so watching this hack I was concerned about potential health risks. But then I actually have no clue how paper towels get made, and reading comments of you and other people who do this, I might just be overly careful (I live in Germany where there are pretty strict rules on food safety, so I guess that might be where the carefullnes comes from). Did you do some research or is you and other people doing it proof enough that its safe? Anyways, super fascinating to know it works!
@@emamezihorakova9399 paper and paper towels are made by creating a slurry with wood pulp and water, then rolled out onto a steam blasted conveyor belt and essentially baked to dry, and cut. There's no glue involved at all. It's not necessary
Best hack in this video - putting a bit of the coffee bag into the canister to keep track of what it is!
I wonder if the orange drink mix would benefit from something like a cocktail shaker or mixer to dilute and chill it, and THEN pouring it into the drinking vessel. That way you could capitalize on the space a little more without losing so much to ice.
Can we all agree that Morgan is just really wholesome? The shorts especially, they always put me in a good mood. :)
I bet the paper towel would be a bit easier using a conical brewer such as a V60 or Chemex ‘cause it’s easy to make a cone from one
I love these "professional tries hacks" videos and I'm so happy you keep returning to them. Looking forward to whatever you're up to next!
I'm amazed at how you considered not to get sharpie ink in your brew, but then just accepted tape-glue getting in there without as much of a single word :D
Seriously though, I have brewed a few paper towel brews in my life and you can either just cram the entire untrimmed paper into the basket and press it against the walls until the bottom is flat or put in the extra effort and fold neat little pleats into the sides. Either way, don't put sticky tape in your filter.
The paper towels are made to withstand being soaked to some extent, so they won't disintegrate. At the same time, their soak-abilities make sure that the water can get through well enough. They are decent-in-a-pinch coffee filters!
Agree about not using “select-a-size”. Also, paper towel works better if you peel apart the plies and use a single ply (still, only in a case of real need).
I'm glad you tried out that orange coffee! I've seen a lot of Dina's videos lately and I've been so curious if they actually taste good or if they were purely aesthetic
It is actually a really good combo (espresso + orange juice) and is common during summer in coffee shops. At least it is so near me. Also espresso + tonic. 🙂
The orange drink, I would do in a chilled short glass without a straw. Freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp and some zest on top is enough citrus. Also not using a straw in a short glass will allow you to smell the mint as you drink, making it very fresh (basically how a mojito works).
James Hoffman would've definitely let his intrusive thoughts win and tried a sip of that soy sauce-soap "coffee" 😂
I just couldn’t. I definitely thought about it.
And Hames Joffman would’ve had a blast with the footage!
Let me be your voice of reason people. Don’t drink soap.
I think for the paper towel one, it works better to use one square piece without cutting it. The sides might be a little stuffed but if they are high enough the ground can't escape. And it might work best with cone filters.
With cone filters you can fold the paper towel into quarters, center point down, and then pull one corner out from the other three and it's fairly well contained. White "home" paper towels have a tendency to rip, but brown "industrial" types add a nasty bitter note to the coffee.
If you ever revisit this with the Paper Towel coffee filter, there a technique in baking where you fold the paper into triangles then cut a curve, unfold to reveal a near perfect circle... I'd also go with a larger size (like that of a flattened out flat bottom filter) and just let it self crimp under the weight of the grounds and water
Can't wait to see the MorganDrinksSoySauce video!
Edit: To get a stronger/better extraction on the french press espresso you could scale up the recipe until there's enough volume to get compressed by the plunger. That would get you a different taste (probably) closer to espresso, since it would push some of the liquid absorbed by the grounds out which is an element of espresso's high pressure extraction, and wouldn't water it down. It would still have the same problem with a lot of grounds in your cup though.
NASA inspired design with a French press made to look like a rocket that reads "Ground Control". You can have that idea for free! Another great vid!
Great video. I just wanted to mention that I bought an OXXO French press on your recommendation some years ago, and that thing has been a workhorse. I really love it to the point that when I use a different French press, it's a little jarring for me. Thanks for the good work!
I finally decided to get it as it went on sale during black friday and I know my 2-cup V60 will be collecting dust, now.
one of our winter seasonal lattes is a mixture of orange, mint, cardamom, and cinnamon. it’s very yummy :)
Congrats on getting featured in the 29th Standart's edition ! I'll surely enjoy reading everything you had to say as soon as it's delivered !
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it, Standart is such a lovely magazine :)
@@morgandrinkscoffee It really is awesome and as a roaster working with Belco on a regular basis, I can say that this edition's coffee is a banger. Absolute beast of a coffee.
First love your shorts series. To use a trendy term, they spark joy.
I am by no means a coffee expert (or even novice) but I do bake, and do a fair bit of paper folding and i love brainstorming. If you don't care about that, stop here and enjoy the complement.
☕☕☕☕☕
A trick that you could use for the paper towel filter is to make a square, then fold in half using the center of your square as the axis. fold several times then hold the point in the center of your circle, and trim the folded parts a little beyond the edge of your circle. You end up not with a circle, but an "n-gon" that is about perfect, slightly oversized (by design). For the sides, i would have done a long rectangle about an inch or so taller than your sides. Cut short tabs along the bottom edge where it will meet your bottom and wrap it around with the tabs inside your circle. the relief cuts will allow them to bend and overlap instead of bunch up at the bottom. That and the slightly oversized bottom (which will go up the sides a little bit) should give you a much better seal against ground infiltration.
Now I want to know about the wastefulness of 1 oz of espresso vs 1 oz of soy sauce.
Morgan used Kikkoman that is way too expensive for that purpose. I guess using it is on par with specialty espresso blend moneywise. I suppose it is not that hard to obtain gallon of cheap stuff in a Chinese or HoReCa shop
I love your shorts! Relatable and wholesome/cute! Haven't watched many of your full length videos but it looks like my cup of... Coffee!
Maybe less waste but soy sauce is not cheap in The Netherlands 😂 maybe use cheap instant coffee? Or European Coffee Trip suggested cocoa powder with water. I received my first ever espresso machine last Thursday (The Bambino thanks to your review!) and trying to build my latte technique. So I am definitely trying this tip because I already have a fair amount of waste milk that I want to use for oatmeal lol.
You can use black food coloring, i live in Argentina and its the cheaper option here that our economy is too bad to go around wasting food or drinks.
A hack I like that my Gramps taught me was, to put salt in your coffee filters to take away the bitter taste. I don't know if it's just a placebo effect or what, but I feel like it actually works.
It does work! James Hoffman made a full video about salt in coffee.
I used to use the paper towel filter method when I was broke. It works best for cone-shaped baskets; fold a square in fourths, and then put the grounds in one of the "pockets."
Morgan, with your tasting of the paper towel brew I think you've applied a too stringent a criteria for good coffee. I have used paper towel coffee three times in life and each time the choice has been paper towel coffee or no coffee at all since no more filters were available. So the criteria should be - will the paper towel coffee work in a pinch. My answer, Yes!
Hey so heads up, my bonavita recently died because the heater pot inside it was heavily corroded and was depositing all sorts of strange metal salts into my coffee, which I was ingesting on a regular basis. I highly recommend pulling the bottom panel off your brewer and checking the heater unit for corrosion and stopping use immediately if there is any sign of it. They are not made of stainless steel like they should be and are instead made of cheap pot metal. Mine is not the only unit that has done this, and they seem to be trying to scrub any mention of it off the interne, as all the pictures are being taken off of review sites where people are reporting this.
Its a real shame too because it made really nice coffee.
Morgan Drinks Acetate is my new favorite channel.
Lintfree paper towel works brilliantly cut for aeropress in a pinch. I've used double layer of Torky many a time when I've run out of filters.
I've discovering you today, I love your shorts, and I CERTAINLY LOVE your passion for coffee xD
I definitely appreciate both your sacrifices and successes here. An imitation espresso that I make involves measuring out enough grounds for two pour over servings. Putting the grounds in the bottom of a preheated food jar. Add 5 or 6 oz of boiled water. Stir it together. Screw the lid on and let it steep. I warm the milk using a microwave. After two minutes is up, I carefully pour the steeped coffee (imitation espresso) through a pour over set up into a preheated 12 oz mug. Add a flavor shot or two with the warmed milk and boom: Closest I ever came to a latte without an espresso machine. Cheers!
i love watching your videos when i get home from school and this was perfect timing! thanks and have a great day :)
I’ve never seen your channel before but omg I wish I had sooner
I think that french press grind with just more coffee and less water could get you smething drinkable and REMOTELY espresso-like. Also, i am quite sure that author of hack may tried it succefully, but with bladed grinder, instead of proper one with burrs.
i have used paper towels I use a full sheet and just cram it in there into the coffee brew basket. It works. No need to fuss. It doesn't fit perfectly but as long as coffee can sit inside and theres a wall of paper towel it works.
you remind me of my sister, she moved out a few months ago and these videos always comfort me, thank you
You use a whiter paper towel laid over the top of the basket push it down into the basket and toe it’s touching the bottom and then carefully smooth it around the edge of your coffee basket and then carefully add a little bit of water to the edge of the basket and your paper towel and then after that shape to the basket cut off the excess put your coffee in your coffee basket and boo your coffee and make sure that the paper towel is touching the edge of your coffee basket and if it’s hanging over the top of the coffee basket a little bit that’s fine it’ll stick down to the basket and it will keep your coffee grounds in the basket as you pull your coffee
My favorite hack was finally buying that awesome French press!
If you take your regular filter, and flatten it out, you'll find that it's a circular piece of paper. That's the size circle to cut out of the paper towel.
Paper filters are very expensive where I live but historically people brew their coffee in cloths in my region! so never needed a paper towel hahaha
I find brown paper towels or napkins, work best. And you don’t need to do all the arts and crafts just stick it in there and foaled the top down.
Best hack: Mix Splenda and Stevia
Too powerful
NO…. LEAVE… THE DOOR IS THAT WAY..
splevia
It's always a treat to see another coffee hacks video. And since you asked, for the first option wouldn't it be easier to use a mug of akin size and use that as the mold?
re: paper towel filter:
if you unfold a flat-bottom filter, it'll primarily lay flat. to replicate that with a paper towel, turn the basket upside down and kinda drape+shape the paper towel over+around it. add some creases where the paper bunches up. then, lift the paper towel construction off the inverted basket, flip the basket over to the correct orientation, flip the paper towel over and press+shape it into the basket. add the grounds to hold the paper towel filter down,, and trim or fold any excess paper that rides up above the basket. then brew away!
[the wider, square sheets work better than the thinner rectangular sheets (altho you can use two sections of the thin sheets if you add a lil origami fold to strengthen the center and keep the perforation from splitting open when the water hit it.]
but yeah, it really just takes some gangster origami skills.
I recently did paper towels on my pour over and just take 2 strips, make an X and go. It absorbs a little flavor but totally works with the same easy cleanup.
ive used the paper towel hack before but it was in a pour over scenario and i just put the paper towels in whole and it worked pretty well! I think the hack is better suited for that cause you can watch and make sure the towel isn't moving/the coffee isn't going around or over it.
I love how 1 hack is not like the others… soap… and soy sauce…
In emergency cases, sort of, I’ve done the first jack but, I didn’t fashion a filter, just took the paper towel and pressed it against the basket just checking the whole basket was completely covered and this way is easier and better, no coffee ground leaking at all. Bests regards from a Venezuelan follower!
Wrangle about 3 pieces of paper towel (still connected), un-wrangle, and it will neatly line inside the chamber
One hack I came up with is combining the grind prep of a moka pot and French press by using a flour sieve. It may not be perfect but works well enough. The fines go well in the moka pot and the French press gives you a much cleaner coffee.
I know, I'm not the only one commenting on the paper towel trick 😂 but I'm coming as a "paper towel user in times of need", kind of a paper towel coffee expert if you will.
Usually, this trick is being used for coffee machines whose brewers would be triangular, not so much with a flat bottom like yours.
This means that we don't have to round and shape and tape the paper towel, we just shove it in and the coffee and let the machine do the work.
Though I WILL say that you're right, it doesn't extract the same way. There is however no coffee ground leakage, because there are no taped holes to exploit for a coffee prison break 😁
Tbh while it might work in an emergency.. i wouldnt want all the chemicals and residues leftover from the manufacturing of the paper towels. I really don't know if paper towels would be the most food safe thing to use. might actually try something more akin to a cheesecloth or muslin or something if I have some at hand..
I use the aeropress with the prismo + paper filter every day for my coffee to simulate espresso, while it's not espresso, it is a million times better than what I could get from a french press to simulate espresso, also way easier to clean imo
You made that paper towel coffee filter way to complicated. 😂
Just lay the 2 one in each direction. Works fine.
I am confused for the latte art practice hack. It doesn`t waste milk and coffee but it does waste at least soy sauce. Like water and a lil dish soap, yeah, definetly less wasteful than milk I´d say but coldn`t the soy sauce also be at least diluted by some water?
I think with the french press hack you probably want to use it with a small 2-3 cup plunger instead of that big boy you have there. 20g of finely-ground coffee in a small french press will almost feel like you're using an aeropress when you go to plunge. Having done it though (edit: usually by accident, back when a french press and a blade grinder was all I had) I'm with you, just get an aeropress, especially if you're only making coffee for one.
For the French press I simply use the hario cloth filter that’s attached to the loop. It takes out all the super fine bits but leaves all the coffee oils intact.
That orange coffee drink sounds delicious, thanks for including that!
The slide is rated on a sliding scale.
I've been using paper towels in conical pour over filters for years. Just fold it into quarters and then open it out so it's 1/4 on one side and 3/4 on the other to make the little pocket. Works fine.
The paper towel filter works a lot better with full sized sheets, not half width as you have, and in a cone filter brewer instead of the basket type. Just fold the sheet diagonally twice and you have a cone filter. I like to rinse it with boiling water before use, as there’s always some paper taste to it, and it keeps it in place. It’s the go to hack every time I run out of filters, or if I need a paper filter in a funnel for some reason.
Cool!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Here are some of my thoughts while watching this:
10:47 - In theory, it's a *sick* substitute. 😂
14:16 - That blonde girl looks like a Sado Queen.
And I Adore Sado Queens. 🥰🤣
14:27 - Well Mint works Great with Lemon, so Why not with Orange?
As for the combination with Coffee = well, _ez_ a kérdés = *nagyon* jó. 😅
17:12 - Yeah. Looks good. I would not pay $15 for this, but 8 or 9 - sure.🙂❤️🍊
When I go camping, I prepare a coffee that I call "instant". I grind the beans as fine as I can then grind the result with a mortar and pestle to make a fine powder. I pack that and once out in the rhubarb, I make boiled water and put in a tablespoon or so in my cup (strong) and stir briskly -basically making a suspension. wakes me up whether I want to or not :) I do not taste/feel any grounds at all.. but a toilet source should not be far away
For the paper towel trick: I have used this many times with my moka pot as a way to keep the grounds more contained and it works well enough. Ideally I would use an aeropress filter for this. I've also used it to filter my french press coffee (shut up I only have a french press and moka pot and I'm not always in the mood for that level of chew). For that I make an origami cone, put it into a funnel to hold it, and pour my coffee through that. Again, works well enough. The plastic and adhesive from the tape may be throwing off the flavor.
23:04 I believe that particular concoction would be a coffee soup 🤔
As an emergency hack, I think just the paper in the bottom is all you'd need. Sure, you'll get some grounds. But it was an 'emergency' so that's probably fine. You're not trying to design a long-term replacement for filters, just something to get you by. The grounds will settle and you'll at least have something drinkable. Definitely not worth the hassle of trying to add the side riings.
Oh my gosh the wiggly cup!!
Totally reminds me of the ones we had as kids with the plastic straw that was impossible to clean!
Funny - when I was in college I tried both the napkin coffee filter and the French press espresso tricks to save a few bucks. I had luck with the paper filter for pourover coffee - usually I would split it in such a way that there was one leaf of napkin paper on one side and the rest on the other and then make a cone with it, but it depends on the napkin. I had plenty of brews that broke the napkin midway through.
The French press espresso was sad to the point where I just bought a small espresso machine from Target to get my fix.
I did the paper towel trick once, fold it stick it in the bottom then wet it. use your brewing time to get a screen out for those big bits.
You may want to avoid using tape since the hot water may or may not also extract stuff from the tape and adhesive which you probably don't want to be drinking
flatten an actual filter, and use those dimensions for your paper-towel filter. Then fold up the sides as best you can by making pleats folding in a zig-zag way. Or just fold in half several times to get a similar effect.
Fun video!
the way i've done the paper towel hack when i moved and couldnt find my filters was to take two of the paper towel strips and basically make an X with them. Never got grounds or paper in the cup. Yes, it does make it a little thick at the bottom but this is meant to be a last resort not an every day solution.
I have done this several times in past when I was broke! But it was also before they started making split sheet paper towels so not as much work. Just put the whole sheet in the basket and all your base are covered without all that work plus cutting. Just place it in the basket add the ground beans without grounds in your coffee most of time.
I have used a bounty full size paper towel as a coffee filter. It is 2 ply, so I separate the 2 ply’s. I then lay it in the machine, trim around the top and brew. No tape needed. I ran out of my paper filter and needed my coffee before going to get more filters. It worked in a pinch, I wouldn’t do it daily.
I guess you could also avoid soy sauce waste and just use water with food colouring. That way you could also make fun different coloured "lattes". If it's just for practice it doesn't have to be brown.
kids, Don't use paper towels as they are not food-grade & likely contain chemical residues. Re-use your paper filters if you have to. Aeropress filters can be re-used many times so others probably can too.
I have used the paper towel hack many a time. I use in on my pour over where I can keep an eye on it all the way through. And it’s the right shape so I can just make a cone from the paper towel and use that.
Thanks for the Video Morgan, I hope you have a great day.
I've done the paper towel hack before, it involved more of me taking the whole sheet and just folding it until it fit properly, less waste that way too
I love local coffee. the cafe near me suggested I try "The Cat’s Pyjamas" by Seven Miles Coffee Roasters. :D loved it
instead of using tape you can try the parchment paper trick which makes a perfect circle but instead of cutting it you can kind off bent it to fit the kraft properly .hope this helps 😁😁❤❤.
17:10 it seems like it may be better to just get the juice out of the orange and then mix everything in a cup but it definitely wouldn’t look as nice
I really like the Orange idea! I felt your video this time had a lot of cuts in it though, sounds better just hearing you talk sometimes, awkward pauses and all!
the paper towel bit is very funny, in my experience just shoving a paper towel where the filter goes and brewing normally works. It's not ideal, and does taste a bit different, but it'll make you coffee.
is the slide scale a sliding scale?
This is a good question
A paper towel filter would probably work in a pinch for pour over. And James's video that I think you're referencing was using a paper towel to catch smaller grounds when using a cheaper grinder so you have a more even grind size in the actual coffee maker,
i think i would have tried just shoving the paper towel in there and weighing it down with the coffee before i went all arts and crafts about it lmao
You can tell why she made it so far in the barista competition when she's using a marker and scissors on the paper towel lol. The vast majority of us would have quickly shoved a few papers in so we can get our coffee fix and move on with our day 😂
For a billion health reasons.. can’t recommend using scotch tape to make a coffee filter.. buying the scotch tape… buying the paper towels would quickly exceed the cost of jsut buyijgna pack of paper filters..
Fold the paper towel in four. Open the three of the quarters and stick the paper towel funnel in the basket.
No tape, no sharpie. You just fold the excess over the edge of the basket
I really love your videos! You are so awesome and insightful. Hey, I have a content idea! Probably terrible idea, but I noticed you have the Rancillo Silvia Pro, I have the origin Silvia and love it. I also have their Rancillo Rocky grinder and they are a great pair. Keeping on rocking in the free world friend!
Paper towels are thick but they don't restrict flow; it's coffee fines that cause trouble.
The adhesive in the tape brewing with the coffee made me physically recoil
I think the paper towel trick will work better with a conical brewer. Fold the towel in half twice, and then pull one sheet out to make it a cone.