Single Serve Coffee Bags

I don't often get a chance to enjoy regular coffee and I am about the only one who requests decaf it seems. I was thrilled when I found the single serve coffee bags at the grocery. What a wonderful idea, freshly brewed coffee that's single serve and without a special coffee maker. They are even portable. Genius!

The down side of the single serve coffee bags is the cost. For about the same price as a bag of coffee beans you get 19 cups of coffee. I discovered you can buy empty tea bags to fill with tea leaves. Why not ground coffee?



Why make single serve coffee bags?
*quicker than brewing a whole pot
*enjoy fresh coffee all day long with regular or decaf
*nice gift, share favorite coffee with freinds



How to Make Single Serve Coffee Bags
Purchase empty tea bags. I found these press and brew bags. They are simple to use, once filled, just seal with an hot iron by pressing for about five seconds. You could check with your local health food store or tea shop.



Grind your coffee of choice. Fill each tea bag with 2-3 teaspoons of coffee grinds.



I made an assembly line and placed the filled bags in a basket to keep until I was ready to seal.



Place bags in an airtight container. Self sealing canning jars are perfect. Add a label with brewing instructions. I like my coffee bags steeped for 3 1/2 minutes. I am certain it differs by brand and flavor. You may want test yours and give instructions to your liking. Include a jar of creamers and sugars. And a pack of stirrers.




Pin It

Sweet Tea aka Southern Iced Tea

My daddy was a good old boy who married a northerner. I was born in DC and raised in northern Virginia but every summer I spent a good bit of time in southwestern Virginia were the accents are real thick. Even when I wasn't in the true south (if you didn't know it, Virginia is a southern state, that means the entire state), I was around family who spoke with that drawl.

At the beginning of summer I was teased by the southerners for my lack of an accent. When school started, the taunts would continue because I had slowly acquired the distinctive southern speech and would just as slowly lose it throughout the coming weeks.

My children never heard my father speak; he died when my oldest was just an infant. Though they have got to hear many stories about him and have not missed that southern speech as they hear amusing tales from my dad's sister, Aunt Lou. Needless to say, no one has ever mistaken them for a southerner.

They may not be truly southern, but they like their sweet tea. I have noticed that it is quite popular, even for sale in the grocery stores. My daughter recently went off to college in the north west. And to her dismay, they have no sweet tea out there. If you find yourself in that predicament and care for a cold glass, it's easy as pie.

Sweet Tea
1 gallon cold water
4 family sized tea bags or 8 regular tea bags
1 1/2 cup sugar

Begin with cold, fresh water. Spring or well water is preferred.

Tie tea bags together to make it easier to remove after steeping.

Bring water to a boil in a nonreactive pot. Remove from heat. Dip tea bags in water and steep for 5-7 minutes, the longer the stronger the flavor. At the end of steeping, dunk the tea bags up in down in the hot water for an extra 30 seconds. Remove.

Raw sugar has a stronger flavor than white. Adding sugar while the tea is still hot allows it to easily dissolve, capturing all the rich flavor of the raw sugar.

Stir in sugar to dissolve.



Allow to cool and serve over ice.

If you can, sit on a porch in a swing and enjoy some old stories; it makes it even sweeter.