A manual coffee maker can be used to make only one cup of coffee at a time.
A manual coffee maker represents one of the easiest ways to make coffee. If you know how to measure by the tablespoon and can boil water, you can easily make great coffee with this simpler and often cheaper machine. Manual coffee makers can be used to brew a single cup of coffee, and some are designed just for that purpose. Alternatively, larger styles can be used to brew up to eight cups of coffee at a time.
In most cases, the larger type of manual drip comes with a glass pot, which you can use to pour over the coffee. The drip part is a conical shaped basket, where a coffee filter is normally placed. The basket is then filled with the desired amount of coffee. For stronger coffee, a generous tablespoon per cup is generally recommended. The basket stays in the jar or in an individual cup in small sizes.
When the basket is full and the water is boiling in any available pot or pan, the hot water is gradually added to the basket, creating very fresh coffee. Please be patient when adding water. Too much water can flood the coffee, causing stains in the final result or causing the coffee to drip too quickly into the sink.
On large manual drippers, try pouring one cup at a time, as the basket only has a small hole in the bottom for the drip. The coffee should not float on top of the manual drip basket, but should begin to stick to the sides of the filter. An eight-cup pot of coffee will probably take about four minutes to brew, plus the time it takes to boil the water.
Since many people prefer to brew only one cup of coffee at a time, some individual coffee packs sold resemble tea bags. Veteran and demanding coffee drinkers may find these bags a bit flimsy. Instead, they can choose to add coffee themselves to control the strength. With a single-cup manual dripper, about a quarter cup should be added at a time to prevent powder swamping and substandard coffee.
Many find the small and large manual coffee makers very easy to use and certainly inexpensive. There is no risk of burning the coffee as it is never exposed to an open fire. Newer coffee makers also have coffee burners that now shut off to prevent this, but this is likely to be a drain on your pocketbook and can cost up to US$100 or more. A manual drip device, on the other hand, can usually be had for less than $10.