Boiled coffee,the first method used to extract the flavor from roasted and ground beans, is sometimes called cowboy coffee, because all it takes to make it is a campfire, a pot, coffee, and fresh water.Tossing an eggshell into the the pot will help settle the grounds, but the liquid that is poured into the cup should be hot and strong.
In 1711 in France someone discovered that if ground coffee was put in the bottom of the pot or in a cloth bag and boiling water poured over it, the brew resulting from this infusion, a steeping
method , was less bitter and left fewer grounds in the coffee cup.
Percolating coffee --- also an infusion, but one where grounds are kept separate from water---allows hot water to extract solubles from ground coffee, then drip down through perforations in the pot. Filtration adds to this process a porous filter of paper, cloth, or metal to isolate the grounds more completely.
