Enter your search term

Search by title or post keyword

How to Make Espresso Without A Machine

Our website is supported by our users. We sometimes earn affiliate links when you click through the affiliate links on our website.

Different people, different energizer to start up the day.

And almost everyone needs an espresso to fuel his or her own body, mind and soul.

Without one, he or she cannot function or perform well each task needed on a day.

It’s normal. There is nothing bad about that idea.

Being addicted to a coffee or any type of beverages that contains caffeine is okay.

But do you know how to make espresso properly?

You are not the only one who loves coffee, almost everyone loves it.

But take note that not everyone is happy with the price of an espresso machine – which is needed to make an excellent taste of coffee.

You are lucky enough if there is a coffee shop near you because all you have to is to wait for just a couple of minutes until your cup of coffee is ready and you can have it all by yourself.

Believe me, these espresso machines are costly, fancy, pricey, anything you want to describe it.

Additionally, there is no assurance that this machine will last a lifetime.

With that being said, it is just an additional expense in someone’s budget.

And for some, coffees made from espresso machines are not that good.

As you keep on reading this article, you will encounter:

How to make coffee without a coffee maker?

Yes, it is strange, weird, or impossible but that can actually happen and you can make one without using an espresso.

To do your own cup of espresso, you have to follow the three basic methods that we will give you.

All of these methods are given along with its complete guides.

First Method – How to Make Espresso With A French Press

One of the cheapest options in brewing your own coffee if you don’t have a brewing machine is the French Press.

You can have it for $30 or less. Remember that when purchasing this French Press, the bigger it is in size, the more costly it’ll be.

If you are not familiar with this or haven’t seen anything like this, definitely you won’t have any idea what this French Press looks like.

To sum up, it is a life saver. That’s it.

Technically speaking, it is somewhat similar to a thermos container – but it comes with a piston, which flows in the middle part of the pot and in the lid.

Simple as that. You will know how to make coffee without a coffee maker.  It is an example of an efficient and straightforward kind of technology.

If you make espresso with French Press, you save up some of your time and you don’t stress yourself out. All you have to provide is hot water and grounds of coffee.

If you are wondering how to do a cup of coffee with this, here’s how:

First Step: Grind The Coffee Grounds

Be sure to make your coffee grounds coarser because using a fine one can lead t muddy kind of coffee.

Its piston which runs to the lower part of the press will not have the ability to hold fine coffee grounds down.

Hypothetically, everyone wants to have their coffee pass through a sieve.

For two cups of coffee, you will be needing four tablespoons of grounds of coffee.

Second Step: You Have To Boil The Water

This is just a simple step for some but this is probably the most important among the steps.

Make sure that the water is hot enough before starting the process because if not, the taste of your coffee will become horrible.

Additionally, using lukewarm water will not begin the eradication of coffee.

Once the water reaches its boiling point, set it aside and cool it for about 2- up to 25 seconds.

Third Step: Put The Grounds Of The Coffee Into The French Press

You are only a few steps away to the end. Put the coffee grounds and fill it up with a small amount of heated water for now.

If you will observe, you can see that as soon as the hot water reaches the bottom part, the aroma is strong and fantastic.

Plus, the coffee looks similar to a geyser. This step can also be called as “the bloom.”

It is the particular moment wherein the grounds let go of its substances and the special oils it has.

However, you can skip this step but don’t expect that your espresso will have the strong, pure, and rich taste.

Fourth Step: Add Into The Press The Remaining Hot Water And Mix

Stir the coffee grounds pleasantly but gently so you can assure that it will mix into the water.

Do not exaggerate yourself when stirring.

The main goal here is not to create a circular current inside the press.

You just have lightly stirred the grounds so that the process of extracting will begin.

Wondering what’s next?

Fifth Step: Let The Grounds Of Coffee Soak

This step is important and you have to keep an eye with this.

Not keeping an eye with this particular step will cause you wasting your money and the good quality of your coffee grounds.

If you want to have an excellent espresso, the coffee grounds should be soaked for only 4 minutes – not 5, not 3, not 2.

If you allow it to soak for exceeding four minutes it will result in a bitter taste of coffee.

Another thing that you need to bear in mind is that you don’t hit the plunger once the grounds of coffee are in the soaking process.

After four minutes of soaking it, you are now ready for the last step of making your own espresso using the French Press.

Sixth Step: Select The Plunger Or The Piston

Don’t perform it in a single motion. Again, do it with a gentle hand.

If you encounter any kind of resistance as you hit the plunger downwards, pull it a little bit in a backward direction and then you may continue plunging downwards again.

Take it back once you already touched the bottom part.

Another Thing?

Yes, there is! Dispense your espresso into your cup immediately to prevent it from any taste of bitterness.

And you’re now all settled and ready to taste your energizer.

Can you imagine? You made your own espresso for the first time using the French press.

It is very simple, right?

Yes! But to tell you honestly, there are still other methods that are better for making an espresso compared to this.

Second Method – How to Make Espresso at Home Using a MokaPot

Let’s learn how to make espresso at home

Did you now that the MokaPot is the sole mother of all the espressos that are strong, which surely meddle inside of your socks straight to your feet?

This coffee made out of MokPot is perfect for people who want to have their coffee intensely as soon as they woke up from their bed first thing in the morning – without even brushing off their teeth!

This MokaPot has an advanced technology compared to the French Press.

And making your espresso using a MokaPot will take serious time to brew it.

But, everything’s fine because it is worth every second you wait.

You will surely know what is the real meaning of a MokaPot and its magical work.

And that’s the hint that we should get started.

Earlier, we have mentioned that while you can make your own espresso in a French press, it is not that effective when it comes to its strong taste.

Because a great espresso is made from heated water that passes along the coffee grounds with strong pressure.

Making your coffee with the use of French Press doesn’t generate that huge pressure – but MokaPot can.

Here are the following steps on how to make espresso without a machine but with the use of a MokaPot.

1st Step: Crumble the coffee grounds

If the coffee grounds in the French Press is coarser, then here in MokaPot, you need to have a finer grounds of coffee.

You need to grind the coffee beans as fine as you can.

The certain pressure created in the bottom chamber of your container will go into the water through the powder that quickly, so it can result in a strong and well-extracted kind of espresso.

2nd Step: Put water in the bottom chamber

You can preheat the water before putting it inside the MokaPot.

But if you don’t want to, it’s okay.  It’s not a big deal.

It doesn’t have any effect when it comes to the taste of your espresso in the end.

If you want to make the water hot quickly, you can put it o the stove.

Make sure that you keep an eye to the valve which is placed in line with the water chamber – the amount of your water must not pass the water chamber.

If the pressure starts to generate and can’t lessen with the use of the valve, the MokaPot will surely explode, and you will accumulate your espresso in several places.

3rd Step: Put the coffee grounds inside the coffee basket

You have to ensure that you don’t put excessive coffee grounds.

One big and similar mistake that keeps on happening is that people who are first timers in making their espresso using a MokaPot: they push the grounds and level it.

Don’t make the same mistake. Water would not go along the grounds properly and your espresso won’t become strong.

4th Step: Twist and lock in the pot all at once

The first thing you need to do with the grounds is to clean it because sometimes it is the reason why you can’t screw the pot properly and correctly.

You don’t like the idea of making your MokaPot into a hazardous bomb – and when you use that kind of device which works with pressure, you don’t have the ability to control it.

5th Step: Put The Pot On The Low Fire

Remember that always out the MokaPot into a low fire.

If not, the pressure will develop too soon and eventually, your coffee won’t reach the chamber collection.

And as a result, the sprout can scatter in the entire stove or several areas.

A recommended heat level is only in low or medium.

It is easy to access if the heat level is very low or very high: if the heat level is very low, your espresso will hardly pass along the sprout; and when it is very high, it will pass rapidly.

You should be responsible for managing the heat level of your stove.

6th Step: Take off the MokaPot from the stove

Surely, you don’t want to enjoy a bitter taste of an espresso, so it is ideal to remove the MokaPot from the heat before the coffee gurgles.

Once the process of brewing is already done, fill your cup with an espresso.

7th Step: Clean the MokaPot

When it comes to cleaning procedure, the MokaPot is very easy to clean.

You can just purely clean it with the help of heated water.

You don’t need the dishwashers to clean it, because it will leave your MokaPot a patina for quite some time.

Why Having a MokaPot is The Best

Here it is! Having one of this MokaPOt in your kitchen is the best and ideal way on how to make espresso without machine.

In order to start the brewing process, you have to insert huge pressure.

However, we will cover how to make espresso using the Aeropress and the French press, but keep in mind that these machines cannot create a strong espresso as the MokaPot does.

You don’t have to worry about the price of the MokaPot.

It might sound costly, but the real thing, it is not.

And as an assurance, the MokaPot device will surely last forever because it is made from stainless steel.

Another device that you can use in making a great cup of coffee is the Aeropress.

Third Method – How to Make Espresso Using the Aeropress Way

First things first:

Here we will learn how to make coffee without a coffee potWhat is really an Aeropress?

Very simple. When you hear the word Aeropress, you should know first that it is the cousin of a French press.

And as a fact, you can easily carry the Aeropress compared to French press.

Plus, it is more recent. Aeropress is invented in the year 2005.

Both of this brewing equipment works in a similar way and made with the same standard and assumption.

Aeropress refers to a cylinder or simply a tube, that has a filter which is placed on the bottom end.

With this, you can put the grounds of your coffee at the lower part, add heated water and you need to push the plunger to produce pressure.

Once you push the plunger, the coffee will start to be filtered in your cup. Straightforward and effective.

If you need more scenario to conceptualize, here it is: start imagining a syringe itself without having a needle inserted in it. That’s it!

Now let’s get started how you can make a good cup of espresso by using an Aeropress.

Step One: Crumble First Your Coffee

Just like with the MokaPot, you need to have a fine grounds of coffee – an extreme one.

If you use big grounds of coffee, don’t expect that you will have an espresso because the heated water will only go freely through it.

In making a coffee, the most important thing to know is the size of coffee that you will be using.

It doesn’t matter which machine you will use.

Just be sure the certain size of coffee grounds it needs.

Step Two: Fill in the Aeropress with the grounds

Before anything else, you have to put a filter to the cap placed on the lower part.

It is recommended to fill a little amount of water (make sure that it is hot) on it.

In some cases, the filters are more likely to leave an unwanted paper taste.

Heated water can help it obliterate.

Now:

Next thing to do is to put the grounds.

Tremble the tube gently and just a little, so that the grounds will distribute evenly.

Place a second filter on the bottom end of the plunger.

With that, the coffee will get stuck in the middle of two paper filters as you hit the piston.

Step Three: Hit the plunger

Do you know the reason why you have to place two paper filters on the ground, specifically on both sides?

Well, the reason is for the coffee to remain on the lower part of the cylinder – and this is called the number one stage of pressing.

Once you reached the lower part of the plunger, pull it back to the top.

Once you see and notice that the grounds are like the hockey puck, it means that you do the process correctly.

Patience.

One last step and you will surely enjoy your fresh brewed espresso at home.

Step Four: Put some heated water and hit it again

If you add water, make sure that it is in its boiling point.

And as a hint, you will notice some markings on several sides of the device.

You can freely add any amount of water which you think it’s right and appropriate with the number of your coffee grounds.

We cannot require you a specific number because it depends on the taste of every person.

But take a look at this as a guide:

If you will have a 20-21g of coffee grounds, you need to fill up heated water until it reaches the mark of “2.”

Then you may now hit the plunger slowly once more and – you now have your espresso!

Another great thing with this Aeropress device is that you don’t need to soak the coffee to have a rich taste of espresso.

Confused about what does it mean? Simple.

You can have your espresso as soon as it reached the end process.

Now, the list of several methods we have when brewing an espresso without the use of any coffee makers has ended.

But allow us to leave a piece of advice.

The last part of our article will give you the most essential factors which will provide you the best espresso you have ever had.

Four Most Essential Factors in Making Espresso

If you are a beginner, you need to read this guide because it is important.

If you think that purchasing an expensive machine will provide you with one cup of great espresso, well you are totally wrong.

  • It is all about the beans. Yes, you can have any kind of beans in the supermarkets especially the powdered ones but don’t expect that it will have the same taste. You know why? Simply because it doesn’t have the freshness just like with from the beans itself.
  • The main element to an adequate espresso is the pressure. It is not that surprising that MokaPot is the most recommended machine when it comes to giving pressure. It can hold and generate a huge amount of pressure. In that way, you will be able to get an original kind of espresso.
  • The water temperature is important too. If you will rush this part, you cannot enjoy an authentic espresso. Basically, if you will use a warm level of water, the coffee grounds wouldn’t be drawn out adequately. And if that’s the case, you will only have a brown-colored coffee plus it is warm. Hot water is recommended because it will extract all the essential oils and substances out of the grounds – and all of it will contribute to producing an amazing taste. However, if you will use water that is too hot, the coffee grounds will get burned and in the end, your espresso will have a bitter taste.
  • The roast level of your coffee beans might have an effect on the taste of your espresso too. If you are not into weak espressos, ensure that the roast of your beans are lighter and contrary to it, if you are not into strong espressos, opt for a roast which is darker. It depends on how you want it to be and on your taste.

Conclusion

Brewing an espresso can be considered as an art – and all the things we include here and recommend should be served as a proof that there are no an exaggerations.

There are numerous things to consider when you want to make espresso at home perfectly according to your taste.

The water temperature, the level of roast of your coffee beans, the pressure you need to insert, and the beans itself – all of these are essential.

This is the reason why you need to take this thing seriously.

And as a piece of good news, you don’t have to purchase expensive machines just to make a top-notch espresso.

You only have to do it patiently and correctly.

The three equipment – the MokaPot, the Aeropress, and the French press are way cheaper compared to the drip machines.

You just have to study and know how to use it well and properly so that you don’t have to spend millions of millions of dollars on making an excellent kind of espresso.

We wish that this article guide you thoroughly on how to make espresso without a coffee maker.

Also, we wish that this article answered all the questions in your mind.

Now what? Go get that cheap equipment and start making your best espresso!

Leave a Comment

what_is_a_frappuccino_1

May 13, 2022 0 min read

what_is_a_frappuccino_2

May 13, 2022 0 min read

strongest_k_cup_coffee_1

May 13, 2022 0 min read

Explore More within Art of Barista

Art of Barista
Browse our site for free advice to help you create coffee at home.
post explore

How we help

We’re coffee lovers at heart. That’s why we started this site – to share our love of coffee with you.

The art of coffee starts here

Start Here

Brewing Guides

Explore all the best ways to brew your coffee, from roasting the beans to making the perfect Caffe Latte.

View All

Buying Guides

With so many different kinds and brands of coffee out there, it can be hard to know what to buy. Explore our guides to find the best coffee for you.

View All

Coffee Facts

Our mission is to give coffee lovers the power to create the most delicious coffee cup from the comfort of their home.

View All