Ew, Do People Really Filter Coffee With Socks Or Is Dark Winds Just Messing With Us?
Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dark Winds season 3, episode 3.Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood) used a sock as a coffee filter in Dark Winds season 3, but was he just messing with Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) or do people actually use socks to brew coffee? Bernadette has been investigating Tom Spenser on suspicion of running a human trafficking ring for most of Dark Winds season 3. Despite the severity of those allegations, Bernadette had coffee with Spenser, and their conversation actually seemed somewhat friendly for a bit. That wasn't even the most confusing moment in the scene, however, as Spenser apparently brews coffee with a sock.
In Dark Winds season 3, episode 3, Bernadette convinced her boss (Tony Serpico) to let her apologize to Spenser at his house. When she arrived, Spenser made her a pot of coffee and revealed his family's secret recipe: using a sock as a coffee filter. The entire exchange was strange, including the part where Spenser mentioned that his grandfather preferred using dirty socks: "the riper the sock, the richer the brew," in his own words. It was so odd that it almost seemed like Dark Winds season 3 was playing a joke on Bernadette and us, the viewers, but it's actually based in reality.
Yes, Using Socks To Filter Coffee Is A Thing Outside Of Dark Winds
Socks Are Essentially Makeshift Versions Of Cloth Coffee Filters
Given the bad blood between Spenser and Bernadette, it wouldn't be surprising if Spenser had simply made coffee with a sock to mess with Bernadette, but it isn't as strange as it seems. People likely did use socks as coffee filters in the past, and they still do to this day. Surprisingly, there's even a mass-market coffee brewing product called "The Coffee Sock," which is a reusable cloth filter meant to replace paper filters. Cloth filters are fairly common in the world of coffee brewing, and in a pinch, a (hopefully clean) sock can be used as a makeshift substitute.
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The main goal of any coffee filter is to separate the coffee grounds from the rest of the water. As Spenser demonstrated in Dark Winds, a sock is fairly good at doing just that: it's porous enough to let the water soak into the grounds, but the holes in the fabric aren't big enough for the grounds to go the other way. Hanging the sock over the edge of the kettle also lets you close the lid on top of it, letting it disperse more evenly. It even has an advantage over paper filters, as socks can be washed and reused indefinitely.
The Deeper Meaning Behind Tom Spenser's Coffee Scene With Bernadette
Bernadette Used A Fake Apology To Continue Investigating Spenser, But He Saw Through It In The End
The whole reason Bernadette was drinking Spenser's sock coffee was because she had come to apologize for interfering in his business, but that wasn't what she was really after. Bernadette pretended to apologize to Spenser so that she could ask him more questions about his operation and continue her investigation into his suspected human trafficking ring. She also used the opportunity to ask about Budge de Baca (Raoul Max Trujillo), as Budge had returned Bernadette's gun earlier in the episode. Spenser realized what Bernadette was really up to, and there was a visible shift in his demeanor and temper as he got angry with her.
Dark Winds Season 3 Release Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
Episode # | Title | Release Date (9 p.m. EDT) |
Episode 1 | "Ye'iitsoh (Big Monster)" | March 9 |
Episode 2 | "Náá'tsoh (Big Eyes)" | March 16 |
Episode 3 | "Ch'į́į́dii (Ghosts)" | March 23 |
Episode 4 | "Chahałheeł (Darkness Falls)" | March 30 |
Episode 5 | "Tsékǫ̨' Hasą́ní (Coal Mine Canyon)" | April 6 |
Episode 6 | "Ábidoo'niidę́ę́ (What We Had Been Told)" | April 13 |
Episode 7 | "T'áá Áłts'íísígo (Just a Small Piece)" | April 20 |
Episode 8 | "Béésh Łį́į́ (Iron Horse)" | April 27 |
There also may have been a deeper meaning behind Spenser's decision to give Bernadette coffee that he brewed with a sock. As Spenser has explained, his family has been dominating New Mexico for generations in both ranching and oil drilling. Using the sock technique for his coffee, which his grandfather told him about, may have been a way to subtly tell Bernadette that the Spensers have been there for centuries, and they weren't going anywhere. Even before he knew Bernadette was continuing her investigation, it seems Tom Spenser was still making power plays over her in Dark Winds season 3.
- Creator(s)
- Graham Roland
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