coffee soup and folgers bags
Coffee being one of those things like wine - where there are people who like coffee - and then there are people who LIKE coffee. Google home barista. Almost puts p.netters to shame.
Salty says:
(Toss in the grinds, settle, spin the pot, and enjoy great coffee with no grinds or gadgets.)
First - to get the strength/depth of extraction that I like, the proportion of ground beans to water has to be pretty high. This means you need a big pot as well too. Big = not practical in kayak camping.
(Friend of mine was once on the board of Starbucks and he said their tasters did the exact same thing.)
Yup, its called “cupping.” Its not for drinking - cupping is a process like wine tasting. You make thick coffee soup in order to get an intensified blast of the characteristics of a particular coffee.
(WHY do any of you need a gadget?? Cowboys never had that crap and you do not need it.)
Cowboys had a kitchen wagon to haul the stuff around AND didn’t mind coffee soup, nor were they drinking Ethiopian Harar and were looking for that subtle chocolate and blueberry taste. They also weren’t concerned about roast dates and didn’t filter their brew water either. And they already had dirt in their teeth from chasing around huge head of cattle.
(Centrifugal force does exactly what a press does.)
Not exactly. Coffee presses and espresso machines are all about “extraction” of coffee from grounds, not soaking grounds. Ground size, water temp, timing and water pressure are all components of both press pot and espresso - and we haven’t even touched on vac brewing…
Yes, you can make “cowboy coffee” and like it, but like everything else - there is reasoning behind more exacting methods.
Gem says:
(That’s what I was wondering… why not just the prepacked coffee bags and boil those.)
Because, like wine, beer or scotch, its the quality and preparation of the substance. Folgers prepackaged baggies are lower quality coffee roasted without a lot of attention and ground who knows when.
Ok, you can all go back to debating boats made out of unobtanium again - I spent all my extra cash this year on a new PID double boiler italian espresso machine!
hmm
my taste buds were killed years ago drinking combat coffee so now I simply pack a light weight baggy with some instant coffee in it.
boy
don't I feel like crap now
At home,
Senseo pod machine and half and half. In the VW Westphalia, French press and half and half. Canoe camping, Kroger instant and Coffeemate.
Don’t boil your coffee. Makes it bitter.
instant coffees
are a lot better than they used to be years ago. I camp about 30 nights a year and am happy with instant (mixed on the strong side) and a shot of flavored creamer. Once in a while I use a 9-cup aluminum pot to perc some Latin coffee, but it uses up more fuel than just boiling some water.
I take a percolator and Sterno stove
If I’m car camping, I have an enormous camp kitchen and forget the Sterno stove.
There is no substitute for a well-perked cup of coffee.
- Big D
while in Honduras
where there is really good coffee grown , noticed alot of locals drinkin instant . When I asked about this , was told it’s more expensive , so it’s a status thing , sorta like starbucks name .
M
just make sure it’s black so the light can’t pass thru it , don’t care how I make it , although usually use a press.
Unobtanium!!!
Cool! I didn’t know they made boats out of it too!!! My other hobby (ok ONE of my other hobbies) is racing tiny HO slot cars, lots of special parts for the high end guys are made of unobtanium! I wonder if boat makers and slotcar parts makers have the same source for unobtanium…
Sorry couldn’t resist!
oh yeah coffee, has to be ground just before I put it into snack baggies carefully measured for my french press just before leaving for the trip a float or a foot!
John
I always have it catered
I plan my stops and have a coffee shop deliver it to me. I go a little more rugged on my meals and stop in a more remote spot and have it flown in.
Cowboy Coffee?!
from the book “The Long Trail” by Gardner Soule, about the life of cowboys during the era of the cattle drives:
“For coffee we often used parched okra or canned corn. Other substitutes for coffee, (which reached $1 a pound); parched meal bran and sweet potato peelings”
Else where is described the chuck wagon and the coffee pot, a large pot set to boiling. What ever was used as a coffee or substitute was thrown in and the pot boiled, it was served scalding hot.
*************************
there is more descriptions of cowboy coffee scattered throughout this enjoyable old book, and none of them make me wish to try what they called coffee.
Holy coffee grounds!!!
OK then…I “get” that this isn’t just a cup of java to you man! And wholly smokes I admire that passion.
I’m old school alpine guide, paddler, Captain and I’ve developed a taste for Cowboy coffee and prefer it. My model has been reinforced in Chile, Alaska, Mexico, even Antarctica with similar crusty folk.
Maybe we can sum it up like this? If you don’t mind Cowboy coffee (which can be excellent)you don’t need all the stuff.
If you want all the stuff to make a cup that you deem better then by all means carry the “stuff”.
I like PBR beer too!
I genuinely respect your passion.
How do you getr centrifical force
in a coffee pot?
SPIN IT!
Take the loop handle and grab it. Straighten arm and start swinging. Do several full 360 loops with the pot and your grounds will be at the bottom.
No, the coffee won’t fall out on you. Use sense and do away from others. Works superbly.
Cowboy
Tried it. Passed on it. Cowboys wore leather caps too, but I don’t think you’d like to use those in a kayak.
Aerobi Aeropress. Buy from Amazon.
2-cup press for me
its small, lexan, works great. 2 parts, easy to rinse out. if i forget it, then its cowboy time.
Best Solution = Starbucks VIA Instant
Starbucks Instant Coffee. Under $1 per cup.
This is probably the BEST solution of all of the them. Takes up no space. Requires no clean up. Provides a pretty darn good cup of coffee.
That gets my vote.
Different methods
As hard core coffee junkies for years we have used a Thermos brand French press. Bulky but works well. Last xmas I bought a press bot , it fits inside a Nalgene, bottom line is we found it a pain in the yak to use. Recently I found a nifty little “Filter” made by GSI that fits in a wide mouthed bottle. . Now this one I like, we always have Nalgenes with us and in fact have 1 dedicated to fresh ground Sumatra. After testing this at home I found the hardest part was being patient while you poor the water through, but then again I am not known for my patience with things like this.The cleanup is easy , the coffee is good and the reduction of weight /size reduction is great. I am happy to say it works well and will go with us.
I bought a cheap percolator last weekend
It sucked. There was coffee mud in the bottom, and it tasted like crap. I used a different coffee at home to test it, and measure the coffee out more precisely. It was better, but still not great. I recognize it could be that I bought a piece of junk, or that I have no idea how to use it properly. How much coffee/water ratio do you use, how quickly do you heat it and for how long?
YoS