We just tried our first cup of “coffee bag” coffee with Steeped Coffee.

Many thanks to the folks at Steeped Coffee for sending us a few samples of their coffee bags.

We’re too late to support them in their Kickstarter campaign. But we’re delighted to see they raised the funds they needed and are now growing their business.

If you’re a regular reader here, you know we’re big fans of start-ups and small business in the coffee industry.

Anyway, Steeped Coffee produces and sells gourmet coffee bags.

Think of a tea bag, but bigger. And think of leaving it in the water longer than you would with a tea bag. Quite a bit longer really. Four to five minutes.

The idea of using a coffee bag to brew gourmet coffee is both attractive and mildly blasphemous.

It’s attractive because you get to make your coffee without any kind of coffee equipment. All you need to do is boil some water and have a coffee mug to hand. That’s it.

And it’s guilt free, because you can compost the used coffee bag. 

So… no expensive brewing equipment. No waste.

And for those of us who travel, there’s the added benefit of being able to take and brew your coffee pretty much anywhere.

The whole idea is mildly blasphemous for coffee lovers for one of the same reasons… there is no coffee equipment required.

No fancy pourover gear. No classy coffee scales. Not even a French press. What kind of way is that to brew gourmet coffee?

Interesting question.

Truth be told, making coffee isn’t that complicated. You just need good coffee, the right grind for the method being used, water at the right temperature, the right proportion of ground coffee to water, and the right immersion time.

The big question is… can you achieve all this with a coffee bag?

I think you can. The amount of coffee and its grind is taken care of for you by the folks at Steeped Coffee. You just have to get the water quantity and temperature right, and the immersion time right.

We tried it, simply following the instruction on the package.

The result? A really good cup of coffee.

We had to try a few times to get the immersion time just right for our personal taste. For us it was closer to five minutes than four.

Is this just as good as any other brewing method?

That, I think, depends on what you’re looking for.

Like I said, it makes a really good cup of coffee. And that’s good enough for me 90% of the time.

But if I were in coffee-review, coffee geek mode, this wouldn’t be my first choice as a brewing method. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t discern some of the subtler taste notes I would expect if I were using the pour-over method, for example.

But this isn’t a big deal. I’m rarely in coffee-snob mode. I’m almost always in “give me a really good cup of coffee” mode.

And for that, Steeped Coffee does the job just fine.

Plus you have all those other benefits… like not having to buy any more coffee makers, or worry about all the waste you’re creating with your K-Cup, pods or capsules.

Overall, a big thumbs up.

You can find out more about the coffee selection at the Steeped Coffee website.

NOTE: This product was sent to us free in return for a review. (That said, we always reserve the right NOT to review a free product if we don't like it, or feel you wouldn't like it.)