Drip coffee bags for one cup

How to use a drip bag

• Open the outer bag and take out the drip bag.
• Tear the drip bag open along the line marked "OPEN HERE".
• Hook the cardboard arms over the rim of your mug so the bag hangs inside.
• Slowly pour 150 to 180 ml of hot water through the coffee, in a few stages, so the coffee can soak up the water between pours.
• Let it drip for about a minute, then lift the bag out of the mug.

Use less water for a stronger cup and more for a milder one.

What is a drip bag, and how is it different from coffee bags like tea bags?

A drip bag is a small filter pouch filled with ground coffee for exactly one cup, with two cardboard arms that hook over the rim of your mug. It works like a pour-over filter: the water runs through the coffee and drips straight into the cup. The result is real filter coffee. That is the difference with instant coffee, which is brewed coffee dried to a powder; a drip bag brews fresh from ground coffee every time. It is also different from coffee bags that you steep in the mug like a tea bag: with a drip bag the water runs through the coffee instead of standing in it, which gives a cleaner cup of drip coffee.

Which drip bag should you choose?

• Ethiopia: arabica from Ethiopia, available per piece and as a box of 14.
• Brazil: arabica from Brazil, available per piece and as a box of 14.
• Decaf: arabica decaf, per piece, for a cup later in the day.

Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees tend to taste quite different. Ethiopian arabica is often lighter, with floral or fruity notes; Brazilian arabica is usually rounder, with nutty and chocolate tones. If you don't know which you prefer, try one of each before you buy a box.

Getting a good cup

Use water just off the boil: let the kettle rest for half a minute after it clicks off. Pour in stages rather than all at once, so the bag doesn't overflow and the water has time to pass through all of the coffee. A mug that is deep enough for the bag to hang freely works best; if the bag sits in the coffee, the last part of the brew goes weak.

Where drip bags come in handy

Drip bags need nothing but hot water and a mug, so they are useful wherever a coffee machine isn't practical: a hotel room, the office, a campsite or a holiday home. Each bag is packed separately and lies flat, so a few fit easily in a rucksack or a desk drawer. The boxes of 14 make sense if you drink one a day at work; the single bags are an easy way to try an origin first.