So back when I was first living on my own. I of course had no money and I still needed coffee. So I just started doing what I would call cowboy coffee. Where the hot water and grounds are just combined. Then the grounds settle to the bottom. I have had a number of people find this quite uncouth and have tried to make me change. So I just got curious about what everyone here thought.
And just as a point of order. I like it and have no plans to change. Any attempt to sway me will fall on deaf ears. Though I am quite willing to accept the title of heathen if people decide so.
If you’re bringing the water to a boil then taking it off the heat and mixing in the coffee grounds (like how you would do tea), then that’s just a French press. Letting the grounds settle out on their own is actually the preferred method. The press just has a wire mesh that prevents the grounds from coming out when you pour. This is a fantastic method for great coffee. On small change I’d make is don’t bring the water to a full boil. Coffee burns at over 185F (85C) so if you have a kitchen thermometer you can check the temp with that would be best.
If you’re bringing the water to a boil then adding the grounds and letting it keep boiling (similar to how you’d cook pasta), that’s closer to a percolator and will probably taste much more burned/bitter.
I actually have an electric kettle that has both temp and auto timer. So the temp is set to 175°(which is somewhere between 175° and 180° depending on how the kettle feels that day). Then I pour the water over the grounds that are in my cup. I am no coffee aficionado, but I know a little bit.
To spare others the same googling: 175f = 79.4c, 180f = 82.2c.
What you’re doing is called cupping! I’ve seen it used mostly to set up tastings of multiple different coffees at once. Generally it’s recommended to stir the crust at some point so that the grounds fall to the bottom of the cup. Also, you’re brewing at a pretty low temp though. Even for dark roasts, I would consider brewing a touch hotter and see what you think.
There are also people who use your method out of pretentiousness
I drink a fair bit of french press coffee, which is like yours, but strained through steel mesh
The biggest difference between yours and mine is yours has more mud at the bottom