How to make coffee when you have no coffee maker – CNET

Taylor Martin/CNET

So you broke your coffee maker. It happens. After all, they’re usually made of fragile glass or ceramic. They’re bound to break sooner or later.

So how do you continue to make coffee while you wait for your new one to arrive? The easy answer is, don’t. Just hit the nearest Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru.

That said, if you’ve grown accustomed to a morning coffee-making ritual like many coffee enthusiasts, you would rather go without before forking over $4 for some batch-brewed coffee.

Learn how to make great coffee in a pinch, even when not all of your equipment is in working order.

Materials

What you will need to make coffee hasn’t changed. You still need a carafe, or something to make the coffee in. You also still need coffee grounds and a way to filter them out of the brewed coffee. And you will definitely still need hot water.

Taylor Martin/CNET

One of the best substitutes for a typical pour-over coffee maker, such as the classic Chemex, is a two-quart mason jar.

For filters, just about any standard coffee filter will do. Chances are, if you had a coffee maker and it broke, you probably already have some filters on hand. If not, however, you can also use thin, unbleached cotton fabric, like muslin.

If you use thin cotton fabric as a filter, make sure you sterilize it before using it. Bring some water to a boil in a deep sauce pan and soak the fabric in it for approximately 5 minutes. Remove the fabric from the pan and discard the water.

Making coffee without a coffee maker

To make coffee in a mason jar, first heat around two cups of water. The ideal temperature for brewing coffee is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (90.6 to 96.1 Celsius).

If you’re using a paper filter, fold the seams of the filter so that it will open up more easily. Insert the filter into the mason jar and fold the edges of the filter over the mouth of the jar. Screw the band (the round threaded part, without the center lid) onto the mouth of the jar. Pour a small amount of hot water through the filter to help remove some of the paper taste from the filter.

Remove the band and filter from the jar and pour out the water.

Taylor Martin/CNET

Taylor Martin/CNET

Reinsert the filter into the jar and screw the band on once more. Grind approximately 1 ounce (30 grams) of coffee medium fine. If you’re using a cloth filter, you may want to grind the coffee a bit more coarsely.

Pour the coffee grounds into the filter, then pour approximately 0.25 cup (60 milliliters) of water over the grounds. Gently stir the water into the grounds and let sit for 30 seconds.

Next, slowly pour the remainder of the water over the coffee, making sure not to overflow the filter.

Once the water has drained through of the filter, carefully remove the band from the jar and discard the filter with the grounds into the trash. The entire jar will be very hot to the touch, so you may need to use a cloth trivet or oven mitt to hold the jar still while you remove the band.

Pour the coffee into a mug and enjoy!

While this method likely won’t make the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had, it does make a surprisingly enjoyable cup of coffee. This method can also serve as a way to make coffee while camping, traveling or in a number of different scenarios. Some day, it may even make you a true coffee hero.

From the Editor’s Desk: What’s Next …

Take a look at that picture. That represents the bulk of what makes up Mobile Nations. The piece — the people — who bring you Android Central. CrackBerry. iMore. Windows Central. It’s the folks you know — and a lot of whom work tirelessly behind the scenes, without the recognition they deserve.

It’s not everyone. We were missing a few folks this weekend as we all gathered on Lake Lanier north of Atlanta for some all-hands meetings. The topic: What’s next. Actually, we know what’s next. That’s the easy part. The hard part is going to be scaling things up (nothing is small in the world of Android) to do it.

What’s next is more. More of the news you hard-core folks demand. More reviews. More editorials. More of the resource content that those of you reading this probably don’t need, but is the sort of material that brings the next generation of Android users into the fold. (Remember that next time you want to complain that we’re publishing content beneath you. Of course we do that. But we’re not about serving just one small part of our readership.) More phones. More tablets. More automotive. More VR. (Does anyone think virtual reality isn’t the next big leap in mobile?)

One more thing was missing from that picture, of course. That’d be you folks reading this. We need to more to flip the direction of that camera. To get you more involved. To meet more of you. To get more of you working with us to spread the word of Android (and, yes, those other platforms). It’s that important. It’s that big.

And it all starts now. We’ve got some new faces for the company in that picture, but they’re folks you know. We’ll be adding more as time goes by. Maybe one of them will be you.

That’s it for this week. Big things are afoot. Thanks for taking the ride with us.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Highlights from the Geneva Motor Show

The Geneva Motor Show kicked off this week, and one of the stars of the show was the Koenigsegg Regera, an insane plug-in hybrid with 1,500 horsepower. Meanwhile, Goodyear rolled out a crazy spherical tire that lets cars drive sideways and Nissan unveiled its vision for the Fuel Station of the Future. We also spotted a “zipper truck” that snaps bricks together to build tunnels in just 24 hours, and Schwinge launched a futuristic pyramid-shaped superyacht.
Think green homes are more expensive than regular homes? Deltec just debuted a new line of super-efficient zero-energy homes that start under $100,000. A new star-shaped eco resort planned for the UAE will generate 100 percent of the energy it needs using 157,000 square feet of solar panels. Space-starved city dwellers will be happy to hear about this window that quickly transforms into a balcony. And a skyscraper in Los Angeles is building a terrifying glass slide 1,000 feet above the ground.

We knew New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant was unstable, but we didn’t think it was this bad. It turns out that a recent reactor outage was probably caused by bird poop. In other energy news, Oregon’s Senate scored a win for the environment by passing a historic bill to ban coal power, and the UK is getting set to fire up the world’s largest floating solar farm. Researchers at MIT unveiled the lightest and thinnest solar cells ever made. And just for fun, we brought you a mind-boggling machine that uses 2,000 marbles to create beautiful music.

‘The Division’ will get plenty of extras in its first year

Take note, Bungie: this is how you tell gamers what they can expect for add-ons. Ubisoft has posted a roadmap for The Division’s downloadable extras, outlining just what you’ll get and when in the city-in-crisis shooter’s first year. Two free upgrades are coming early on. You’ll get a a team-oriented endgame mode (Incursions) in April, while May will bring a Conflict update that includes both a Columbus Circle event and a new Dark Zone feature. Paid DLC starts arriving in June, when you’ll get battles in New York City’s many underground tunnels; a Survival expansion launches in the summer, and a Last Stand scenario appears in the winter.

These are coming alongside fresh missions (both daily and weekly) as well as periodic Dark Zone events. As Ubisoft notes, you can buy either a Season Pass or one of the deluxe versions of the game (Gold or Collector’s Edition) if you’re certain that you’ll want as many goodies as possible.

There’s no telling how well the game will hold up over that period, especially since the free DLC runs out relatively soon after the March 8th launch. However, the detailed schedule suggests that Ubisoft is at least aware of the pitfalls that plague Destiny and other action games in the hybrid online/offline vein. It knows that these titles can quickly run out of steam if there isn’t a steady flow of new content, and a timetable could give you a few reasons to stick around well after the initial novelty wears off.

Source: Ubisoft

Save $15 on Random Order’s Qi wireless charging pad today!

Random Order’s wireless charging pad lets you charge your Qi-enabled phone with ease. It outputs at 5W for a fast charge with a multi-color LED to show your charging status. Don’t plug in your phone every time you need to charge — just grab one of these for $19.95!

Grab Amzer’s case and holster combo for only $4.95 today!

Keeping your phone safe and easily accessible is exactly what Amzer’s Shellster hard case with holster is designed to do for your Galaxy Note 5. Keeping your phone right on your hip means you can get to phone calls and more faster than ever. Act quickly on this, as today you can save $10 on your purchase.

Panasonic makes the first countertop induction oven

Induction cooking is great for budding chefs: it rarely needs preheating, it’s energy-efficient and it’s safer than conventional burners. Getting it has usually meant going for a full-size oven or cooktop, however, which isn’t practical if you’re in an apartment or otherwise can’t justify tearing out your existing appliances. That’s where Panasonic thinks it can help. It just introduced the first-ever countertop induction oven, giving you all the benefits of the technology in a relatively tiny space. If you want to grill a barbecue-grade steak, you can do it with a device that’s roughly the size of your microwave.

Don’t plan any summer meals around Panasonic’s compact cooker — the mini induction oven won’t ship until October. There’s also no mention of pricing so far, and it won’t be alarming if this world-first model carries a premium. Regardless, it’s nice to know that you don’t have to forego the latest in culinary tech just because you’re stuck with an old-school oven in your kitchen.

Source: Panasonic (PR Newswire)

ZTE faces restrictions on using US technology

Chinese companies already have a hard time doing business with the US (mostly over spying fears), and it’s about to get worse. Reuters sources understand that the US Commerce Department is about to slap ZTE with restrictions on what it’s allowed to import from its American suppliers. From March 8th onward, those companies will reportedly need to apply for export licenses to ship anything to ZTE, and those grants will “generally be denied.” The move would be punishment for allegedly breaking export rules by shipping US tech to Iran.

We’ve asked ZTE for comment and will let you know if it has a response, although it has already said that it was ramping down its Iranian business to avoid trouble. Whatever its answer, it’s safe to say that these export limits could seriously hurt ZTE, especially its budding mobile device business. Some of the firm’s American bigger partners include the likes of Intel and Microsoft — it’s going to have to scrounge for alternatives if it can’t get key chips or software from US companies. While this doesn’t mean that ZTE gear is going to disappear from stores shelves, it may have to take a roundabout route to get there.

Source: Reuters

Panasonic Countertop Induction Oven Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Chris Monroe/CNET

How long does it take to turn raw chicken and vegetables into a meal? According to Panasonic, it’s just a 20-minute endeavor when you use the electronics company’s latest small appliance.

Other cool kitchen gadgets

• KitchenAid’s iconic mixers are now smaller, but just as costly
• Prodigio machine brings app-connected smarts to Nespresso’s pod coffee brewing line
• Five small appliances we can’t wait to try at this weekend’s housewares show

Panasonic showed off a prototype of its Countertop Induction Oven at the International Home and Housewares Show, a small appliances trade show in Chicago that began Saturday. The induction plate at the bottom of the Countertop Induction Oven makes this device stand out from the toaster ovens and microwaves it resembles. With induction cooking, magnetic fields between the cooktop surface and cookware create heat that cooks food quickly and more efficiently than other methods. The Countertop Induction Oven also has an infrared broiler in the top of the unit. The heat sources work together to cook meals such as chicken breasts and vegetables in 20 minutes or less.

The Countertop Induction Oven will be available in the US and Canada this fall. Panasonic hasn’t finalized the price, but the company estimates it will cost around $600.

Traditionally, induction has been reserved for ranges and cooktops, but it’s beginning to gain popularity on the countertop with connected devices such as the Oliso SmartHub & Top and the FirstBuild Induction Cooktop. Panasonic’s jump to include induction in an enclosed unit, along with the addition of functions such as toast, is an ambitious move that could eventually mean a new alternative to the microwave or toaster oven.

Features

• 12 by 14 inch removable nonstick plate holds food and fits on top of induction surface
• Nonstick plate has different heating zones and gets hottest in the center
• Functions include: grill, broil, bake
• Specific cook settings for poultry, poultry with vegetables, fish with bone, fish without bone, frozen pizza, toast and bagels
• Removable drip tray at the bottom of the unit
• No preheat required
• Enamel-coated interior

Cake AR platform puts virtual makeup on your face in real time

Last year, one of my fellow Engadget editors got to try some jewelry without actually putting them on through FaceCake’s augmented reality platform. Turns out the company also created a variant for makeup, and Cargo, one of its brand partners, is already putting it to good use. Unlike most virtual makeover apps, you don’t have to upload a pic to use it. You don’t even have to download any add-on. It was built with HTML5 and JavaScript, and so long as you have a webcam, you can try on virtual makeup in real time right on your browser.

Cargo has already activated the feature on its lipstick and eyeshadow pages, which you can play with right now. While I notice a little bit of lag (and I do wish I can change the program’s lip shape to fit mine), the virtual products can follow your face around if you don’t move too fast or too close to the camera. Shopping platforms like Cake can make buying makeup online loads easier, especially if there aren’t a lot of beauty bloggers that share your skin tone. You might not be able to test a lipstick’s longevity or texture, but even just having an idea of what a product might look like on you is better than buying blind.

Source: Cargo (1), (2)