Having looked at the rather expensive and fragile LifeVenture coffee filters, and desperate to ensure a decent brew wherever I am, I plumped for a CapheVn filter kit. (http://www.caphevn.co.uk/). Prices start from £2 each, and sizes go up to 8 mugs worth.
The filter comprises three parts: the main filter, a small filter sheet to act as a press, and a lid. I ditched the lid at once because I can't see the point of it. For a while I wondered how to carry it without the extra bulk, then I hit on the idea of filing off the knobs on either side of the filter (took just a minute) and as you can see below, it fits beautifully inside a LifeVenture mug (sorry, I don't appear to have permissions to put the photos straight into the thread).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3621754018_ef5e93d65b.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3621754230_b850d03cae.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3621754410_92abe1bc4c.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3621754610_0ba14fbd7b.jpg?v=0
There's enough space in there to fit a dozen brew's worth of coffee at least.
Making the coffee is very simple. Put a teaspoon of grounds in the bottom, and place the press on top. Add a small splash of water and let it soak into the coffee. Then fill it up. It takes two fills to make the brew in this mug, and tastes fantastic - I think because it soaks through very slowly, gently cooking the coffee as it goes (a bit like the cowboy coffee approach). The difference is, this doesn't have that Turkish coffee 'hit' of grounds in the bottom of the mug, in fact with a standard filter grind there is hardly any debris at all.
I much prefer this to the disposable filters - it's smaller, more environmentally friendly and tastes better.
(I've no connection to CapheVn, just a happy customer).
Happy brews!
Tobes
The filter comprises three parts: the main filter, a small filter sheet to act as a press, and a lid. I ditched the lid at once because I can't see the point of it. For a while I wondered how to carry it without the extra bulk, then I hit on the idea of filing off the knobs on either side of the filter (took just a minute) and as you can see below, it fits beautifully inside a LifeVenture mug (sorry, I don't appear to have permissions to put the photos straight into the thread).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3621754018_ef5e93d65b.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3621754230_b850d03cae.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3621754410_92abe1bc4c.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3621754610_0ba14fbd7b.jpg?v=0
There's enough space in there to fit a dozen brew's worth of coffee at least.
Making the coffee is very simple. Put a teaspoon of grounds in the bottom, and place the press on top. Add a small splash of water and let it soak into the coffee. Then fill it up. It takes two fills to make the brew in this mug, and tastes fantastic - I think because it soaks through very slowly, gently cooking the coffee as it goes (a bit like the cowboy coffee approach). The difference is, this doesn't have that Turkish coffee 'hit' of grounds in the bottom of the mug, in fact with a standard filter grind there is hardly any debris at all.
I much prefer this to the disposable filters - it's smaller, more environmentally friendly and tastes better.
(I've no connection to CapheVn, just a happy customer).
Happy brews!
Tobes
