Remember what I said...

...about old and obsolete? Sometimes, those are the best. Take this little gem, for example...

 ...the Silex "2-cupper". A nifty little pour-over produced during the early years of World War II. See, back then, stuff was rationed as part of the war effort. Gasoline, flour, sugar...and coffee. At first, everyone over 15 years of age was limited to one pound every five weeks, beginning November 29, 1942. This amount was reduced to one pound every six weeks early in 1943. So, in order to stretch out one's coffee ration, Silex came out with the 2-cupper. As the name implies, only 1 or 2 cups were brewed at a time, instead of making a full pot (the usual amount was probably 8 cups). Fortunately, coffee rationing lasted only eight months.

 
The 2-cupper consists of two Pyrex bowls; the upper bowl containing a filter and a spreader, which holds the filter in place. This is placed on the lower bowl, which has a wooden handle attached. The filter and spreader are placed into the upper bowl, followed by the appropriate amount of coffee and hot water. As with any older Pyrex dish, it can be placed directly onto a gas stove to keep warm; a wire trivet must be used on electric stoves.

Since the original cloth filters are next to impossible to find, I use paper filters for a 4-cup basket-type auto-drip coffee maker. They're a bit over-sized, but once wetted, they can be formed to fit okay. I use the same medium-fine grind as I would with my Braun.

Just the right size for my 10-ounce cobalt mug.