Coffee Maker

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Coffee Maker

I've officially given up the coffee battle. It just became wayyyyyyyyyyy too complicated. The man is sticking to his decaf routine and I refuse to go that route. I can drink regular coffee, espresso, tea, hot water with lemon or herbs and he's having NONE of my choices.
So.
I ordered a jar of Postum from Vermont Country Store last night(hope it tastes as good as my childhood memories recall) and he wants instant Sanka. He claims he'll start the fire and get the water boiling before I wake up. We'll see how well this promise works during the summer.

[SBinTN]

Re: Coffee Maker

When I went camping with ds's cub scouts earlier this summer, one of the den leaders had brought one of the Coleman stovetop coffee makers.. Now I'm trying to justify buying that for myself. I have a percolator, and a French press (but I don't usually bring this for fear of breaking the glass), so packing a bulky stovetop coffee pot doesn't seem practical.

[markkee]

Re: Coffee Maker

I buy the Starbuck's Via at Costco and dump the entire contents into my mouth and wash it down with beer. Just kidding. I use a generic Melitta cone filter with 4 holes on the bottom. I like my coffee fresh brewed. I also use a tea infuser when I want French press coffee.

[MacGyver]

Re: Coffee Maker

...and a French press (but I don't usually bring this for fear of breaking the glass)...

Check out the presses here. I have the GSI personal size press and I love it. The mug and all the works nest inside the body of the press and no glass to break! 3 or 4 minutes after the water is up to temp, I've got coffee while the percolator people are still watching theirs bubbling.

[SBinTN]

Re: Coffee Maker

Those are nice! Thanks for the link, MacGyver. I might have to add one of those to my camping gear.

[MacGyver]

Re: Coffee Maker

Those are nice! Thanks for the link, MacGyver. I might have to add one of those to my camping gear.

You're welcome. Just be sure to shop around - REI has nice stuff, but their prices are definitely on the high side.

[markkee]

Re: Coffee Maker

This my outdoor "French Press". It accomplishes the same result and is super lightweight. I have been using the same tea infuser for two years. Please note that image is not to scale!

[James.]

Re: Coffee Maker

Honest question. Whats with the french press? I don't drink coffee so I really don't know. Is is different somehow from a percolator?

[MacGyver]

Re: Coffee Maker

A French Press makes coffee by allowing your coffee to steep in near boiling water then, when it's ready, you push the grounds to the bottom with a plunger - "the press".

An article on the benefits of using a press here.

[Gdawgs]

Re: Coffee Maker

Once you get used to French pressed coffee, anything else is swill(well in my opinion anyway). We had a couple automatic coffee makers, and I threw those away a long time ago. We do have a Keurig at home for those times when you need a quick cup, but it's not as good as FP.


The French press is a bit of a hassle(cleanup), and it does take a fair amount of experimenting(beans, how course you grind, amount of coffee, timing, etc.) until you get it right, but it's worth it. FYI, I have made some really bad batches using a press. So if you try it once and don't like it, don't give up on it, try changing something and try again.

[James.]

Re: Coffee Maker

A French Press makes coffee by allowing your coffee to steep in near boiling water then, when it's ready, you push the grounds to the bottom with a plunger - "the press".

An article on the benefits of using a press here.

Once you get used to French pressed coffee, anything else is swill(well in my opinion anyway). We had a couple automatic coffee makers, and I threw those away a long time ago. We do have a Keurig at home for those times when you need a quick cup, but it's not as good as FP.


The French press is a bit of a hassle(cleanup), and it does take a fair amount of experimenting(beans, how course you grind, amount of coffee, timing, etc.) until you get it right, but it's worth it. FYI, I have made some really bad batches using a press. So if you try it once and don't like it, don't give up on it, try changing something and try again.

I was thinking it might be worth a look for my wife. She occasionally enjoys a cup of coffee (Starbucks coffee) and I was thinking that this might be a special treat she could look forward to (and associate with) camping. Decided it isn't worth it. She is too picky. If it isn't great the first time there wont be a second.

Oh well.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Coffee Maker

James, since your wife likes Starbucks' how about surprising her with some VIA packets whilst camping?

http://store.starbucks.com/coffee/co...16&cgid=coffee

[MacGyver]

Re: Coffee Maker

She is too picky. If it isn't great the first time there wont be a second.

That's a shame. If she's anything the coffee fanatic I am, she'd come to love a press. I'm with Gdawgs - after a bit of trial and error and finding the right timing for the grind I use, nothing else has come close.

[tplife]

Re: Coffee Maker

We also like the VIA instant packets of coffee for camping, as it's decent cup of coffee, fast, and there's no special equipment to haul or buy. The wife likes her press, but I scoff at it as I prefer my big ol' Cuisinart Espresso machine, and a fine-grind of the strong Vietnamese stuff - hard to find in most parts. Already have a Vitamix, condensed milk, vanilla pudding mix, ice cubes, and chocolate shavings, so we have little use for Starbucks $5 cups of coffee. :zzz:

[dukesangel]

Re: Coffee Maker

We have a 12cup coffee pot. It's like a percolator without the percolater parts. I just fill it up, put it on the camp stove, get the water to almost boiling, throw in my coffee, turn the heat to halfway, stir, give it five minutes of simmering, turn off the heat, couple drops of cold water to down the coffee grinds, stir, and drink. It works perfectly and there are no extra parts to fiddle with.

MMMM camp coffee