The original “drip coffee maker”

For many of us, there is one man we can count on to keep us company each and every morning. “Mr. Coffee.” He’s loyal, reliable and requires very little attention. We feed him a paper filter and some ground coffee, plug him into the electric outlet and wait for him to deliver a fresh carafe of drip coffee. What would we ever do without him? Well, here in Costa Rica there is an alternative to the electric drip coffee maker. You might say it’s one of the original drip coffee makers and is still widely used. It consists of a simple stand with a round hole at the top into which you slip the cotton “sock.” You put some coffee grounds into the sock and pour in hot water. Fresh, hot coffee immediately starts seeping out the bottom into your cup. Want another cup? Add a little more coffee and a little more water. No electricity. No problem. Heat your water on a propane stove or over the open fire. Fast, easy and energy efficient. Move over “Mr. Coffee” there’s a new man in town.