How to Make Coffee Sock Hot and Cold Brew

Author: Melissa Collins

Updated: April 2, 2023

It’s no secret that the degradation of our environment is a serious issue. Disposable paper products, just like that coffee filter you are using, are a big part of this problem.

Luckily, it’s a simple part of the environmental problem to fix. A coffee sock can replace that disposable filter, making our world a much cleaner place, and making you a great cup of rich coffee.

What is Coffee Sock Anyways?

The coffee sock was a device created by a group of people that had been traveling and didn’t have the means to make their coffee. All they had was a chemex and a chorreador sack. A Chemex is usually a glass vessel used in making pour-over coffee.

A chorreador is a method of making coffee by pouring water through a cloth sack filled with coffee. This was made popular by Costa Rica.

They combined these to make their coffee and then turned that idea into the coffee sock once they were back home. The coffee sock they created is an organic, reusable cloth coffee filter that is economical and efficient.

They are made from unbleached cotton to keep it as environmentally friendly as possible, and the process doesn’t negatively affect the taste of your coffee.

The fabric is tightly woven and is usually attached to a wireframe. This makes it incredibly light so you can take it wherever you need to. They come in many different shapes and are extremely affordable.

Can I Use a Coffee Sock as a Coffee Filter?

Yes, the coffee sock can be used as a normal coffee filter, and it is highly encouraged that you do. They are designed to replace the more traditional paper filters. While paper filters are made to be biodegradable now, millions of coffee drinkers still use them every day.

That’s a lot of trees that have to be cut down and processed to make all those filters. The coffee sock is made from cotton or cellulose so that it can be reused several times to cut down on waste and consumption. It’s a great way to go green with your coffee.

How to Prepare Hot Coffee With a Coffee Sock

The first step for making coffee using a coffee sock is to grind up your coffee beans. You want them at a medium grind so that the water passes through at the right rate, not too fast and not too slow.

This is made much like a pour-over coffee, so you will need to boil water in a separate container to pour into your coffee sock. Measure out how much coffee you will need and put it into your coffee sock.

Put the coffee sock over your mug, or whatever container you are using to hold your coffee in, using the wireframe. Slowly pour water over your coffee grounds and give it about half a minute to bloom. This is an effect that happens when you completely soak freshly ground coffee beans.

Keep repeating this process, pouring the water every so often until you have the right amount. Depending on how strong you like your coffee, you will need to let it steep. I recommend around three minutes for a nice strong cup of coffee.

Tips for the Hot Brew Method

We have a few tips to make that cup of hot coffee just a little bit better for you. While the coffee sock can make great coffee, there are few dos and don’ts in order to perfect your coffee.

The first tip is to use the right ratio of water. This can be a preference, and you should experiment with this ratio in order to find how strong you like your coffee. The standard for brewing coffee is one teaspoon of coffee grounds in every six ounces of water you are using.

Having a consistent grind is another big step that can impact the way your coffee tastes. If your coffee grind is too fine, then it will clump up in the bottom of the coffee sock, and the water you pour in won’t pass through as quickly. If your coffee grind is to course, then the water will pass through way too fast for it to pull the coffee flavor out of your beans resulting in a very weak cup of coffee.

You should experiment with your brew time as well. This is highly preferential but should be somewhere between one minute and 3 minutes as long as you are using the standard temperature for brewing coffee. If you let it steep for longer, then your cup of coffee will be much stronger, and less time will make it weaker.

You will want to heat your water to the perfect temperature for brewing coffee. This is between 198 to 204 degrees Fahrenheit, which is almost at the boiling point. If your water is hotter than this, then your cup of coffee will taste more acidic. If it’s at a cooler temperature, it will take longer to brew a decently strong cup of coffee.

You should consider the way you soak your ground beans as well. You want to evenly soak your ground coffee as you pour each time. The first pour should be the bloom, which is a fun part of making coffee this way. After that, you should pour in intervals starting at the outside and slowly working your way in. In between each pour, let the water drip through the coffee for 20 to 30 seconds. You just keep repeating till your container is full.

The biggest mistake most new coffee sock owners make is washing their coffee sock after every single use. It may seem kind of backwards, but as you use your coffee sock, it will absorb all of the oils that seep out of the ground coffee beans.

This will make every cup of coffee you make, up to a certain point, a little bit better. The oils will make the coffee taste better in the end. On the other side of this, make sure you do wash it after every week and don’t ever let it sit wet for a long period of time.

How to Make Cold Brew With a Coffee Sock

As anyone who has made it before knows, cold brew coffee takes time. The result is a great tasting coffee that you can enjoy even in the hotter months of the year. You can use a coffee sock to make this delicious beverage without any hassle.

First, you will need a coffee sock, a canning jar, your favorite brand of coffee beans, and a grinder. Take your favorite coffee and grind enough beans to make a jar full of coffee. Usually, this is about a teaspoon per 6 ounces of water. Add your ground coffee beans into your coffee sock and then fill your canning jar with water.

It’s important to leave enough room, so when you put your coffee sock into the jar, the water won’t overflow. Before you put the coffee sock into the jar, drench the ground coffee in enough water to make it bloom. Next, you will need to put the coffee sock into the canning jar and secure it around the lid using the wireframe or latching rings on your coffee sock.

Refrigerate this as its steeping for about 12 to 18 hours, depending on how strong you would like your cold brew coffee. It produces a strong and refreshing cold brew coffee that can be made even better by using filtered water instead of just tap. This is a great drink if you want that energy boost in a hotter climate.

How to Clean Your Coffee Sock

Cleaning your coffee sock is very important but takes almost no time at all. In fact, it’s so easy you might end up cleaning it too frequently, which will lessen the quality of your coffee since you are washing out the coffee oils. A well-maintained coffee sock can last you 6 to 12 months of daily use.

In order to clean it, you will have to throw out any remaining coffee grounds that are in it. Rinse your coffee sock using cold water until it’s clean. It’s important to hang or layout your coffee sock somewhere in the sunlight to dry. It’s really that simple.

Never leave your coffee sock sitting with the coffee grounds still in it and never leave it wet. If you leave it like that, it becomes the perfect environment for mold. Mold is a top killer of the coffee sock.

Any mold on your coffee sock will make it unusable, not just because it will taste nasty, but it is also a serious health hazard. Flip it inside out to make sure you got all the coffee grounds out, and after rinsing, give it a good wringing out.

Stay away from cleaners and detergents when you clean your coffee sock. Very mild unscented detergent can be used if you want.

Most cleaners will clean the cloth better than a simple rinse, but you will impart nasty tastes into your daily cup of coffee. No one wants their coffee to taste like chemicals.

Benefits of Using a Coffee Sock

There are tons of benefits to using a coffee sock to brew your coffee. The first is it is long-lasting. A well taken care of coffee sock will last you about a year. That’s a year of not worrying about paper filters.

Another reason for their popularity is how easy it is to clean. All it takes is a rinse under cold water and a sunny place to dry. You don’t have to use any chemicals or detergents on it. Cleaning your coffee sock is only required once a week too.

A coffee sock is made of lightweight natural materials. It is small and can be folded and put away. This makes it perfectly portable, so you can take it with you when you travel and still make great coffee every day. It will be a lot better than that coffee they give you in cheap hotels.

The last benefit is that it is incredibly affordable. Coffee socks can be found for anywhere between five to twenty dollars. That’s a great price for something you will use every day for up to a year. The amount you will save from buying paper filters will more than makeup for a coffee socks cost.

Other Things to Note When Coffee Sock Brewing

Each coffee sock should last you around 6 to 12 months with daily use as long as you take care of it. Just don’t use any heavy cleaners on it and make sure to keep it dry when not in use. It’s a long term solution to replace that paper filter.

The point of coffee socks is to give you a sustainable coffee filter to cut down on the environmental impact of paper filters. It’s also highly encouraged that you find a way to recycle your coffee grounds as well. There are plenty of ways to do this, such as keeping a compost pile for gardening.

If you are a bit of a clean freak, but you don’t want nasty tasting coffee from using detergent, try boiling your coffee filter for about five minutes before you use it. It will help kill any germs that may get into your coffee.

This style of making coffee isn’t new at all. It is actually an ancient traditional way of making coffee that has been used all over the world in places like Costa Rica, Cuba, and even Thailand. It was made popular again with the growing environmental concerns our planet faces.

Conclusion

If you are environmentally conscious or if you just want to save some money buying filters, a coffee sock can be a great choice. The process of making your daily coffee stays the same, so there isn’t much to get used to. If you keep it clean and take good care of it, you can make hundreds of delicious cups of coffee on just a single coffee sock.