Coffee Makers?

[CSG]

Or the plastic Melitta filter holder, while not overland approved gear (after all, they aren't desert sand, od green, or camo - just tactical black), are $5. And #4 filters (don't use #2's) are cheap and easily available. Why guys make this so difficult is truly beyond my ability to understand unless you are simply a fool for gadgetry.

 

[jacobconroy]

For decades I did the "drive down town, wait in line, and pay five bucks for coffee thing" to get my very simple Iced Americano with a dab of cream (which is just watered-down coffee with ice and cream). Five bucks for a cup of coffee is ridiculous, but all I asked for was speed and consistency. Over the years I figured out that I was chasing the impossible.

First of all, I started daydreaming about sending the coffee shop a bill for the time I spent waiting in line while waiting in line. Then there is the barista problem. Every time a new one was on duty when I pulled up, the coffee was different. Dunno why is was different...I'm not a barista. I'm paying them to figure that stuff out....right? Don't get me wrong, there have been one or two gals over the years that always made the drink exactly the same each day. But they tend to be the competent type and therefore don't wind up working at a coffee shop for very long (no offense to anyone in the coffee industry...just a personal observation on my part here).

Then I got into camping and had a big coffee problem. No baristas around. I decided to take control of the situation and after doing some experimentation bought a Snow Peak setup. It's awesome. Requires no power, there is no mess whatsoever, no water is required for cleanup, and my coffee is now EXACTLY the same every single day no matter where I am. The only thing that might change is the flavor of the beans I buy.

I've been using it for about a year and a half and it's time to buy a second set to leave in the camp kitchen permanently. Yes, it's a bit of work and yes, it's crazy expensive but $300.00 will buy me 60 days worth of drive-through coffee. Now I look at it like I'm paying myself $5 each morning to not wait in line and have been "in the green" regarding this expenditure for quite some time. Win!

I don't know much about coffee, but I know what I like and this works for me. You can do the same thing for much less money, but I like shiny toys that have a quality feel to them, and this gear does.

Someone should start a poll thread. French press vs. pour-over vs. percolator vs etc. I think that would be interesting to follow. However, I don't think there can be any argument that pour-over is by far the least messy option available (other than the tear-and-squeeze coffee concentrates).

 

[spressomon]

Like my GrandPa used to tell me when I was a whole lot younger : "Danny, the best is...what you like". And that applies to most everything...and certainly all things coffee bean related.

For me, I'm not a coffee drinker per se. But espresso is my game; at home and when traveling. But, just as you Jacob relayed, about not being able to justify spending $$ on coffee/espresso drinks and damn near 100% of the time, after I took my first sip, wondered why in the hell I just didn't ask the "barista" to step aside and just let me make my own damn espresso/cappuccino and save all the transactional chatter, poor results, feeling ripped off, etc.

And I never looked back when I made the decision to make my own back in 1999. And like you I get a smile each and every time I use something that was intelligently designed and fabricated from quality materials.

Finally, I think judging what someone else sees as "value"...is a dangerous place to throw stones...especially here.