off the beaten path coffee solutions
- Thread starter Greggk
- Start date
Via
The Starbucks Via packets are a powder composed of freeze-dried coffee and powdered ground beans. Boil water, pour in the contents, and you're done. The only trash is the foil pouch, and there's no appreciable brewing time.
The fine ground beans impart both flavor and that slightly gritty mouth feel toward the bottom of the cup that real coffee has.
I'd say it's worth a try, but not for everyone, surely. It's much better than instant (not saying much, I know.)
For a while there, Starbucks was giving away cups of it at their stores if you bought a cup of drip coffee. You can probably find a promo on it, somewhere. Costco carries it now, too.
(humorous aside: Costco ran a sample deal a few years back wherein they mailed a few pouches of Via to you. They arrived at home weeks later, perfectly burst by the rollers in the mail sorting machinery!)
I hope that helps,
D
The Starbucks Via packets are a powder composed of freeze-dried coffee and powdered ground beans. Boil water, pour in the contents, and you're done. The only trash is the foil pouch, and there's no appreciable brewing time.
The fine ground beans impart both flavor and that slightly gritty mouth feel toward the bottom of the cup that real coffee has.
I'd say it's worth a try, but not for everyone, surely. It's much better than instant (not saying much, I know.)
For a while there, Starbucks was giving away cups of it at their stores if you bought a cup of drip coffee. You can probably find a promo on it, somewhere. Costco carries it now, too.
(humorous aside: Costco ran a sample deal a few years back wherein they mailed a few pouches of Via to you. They arrived at home weeks later, perfectly burst by the rollers in the mail sorting machinery!)
I hope that helps,
D
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
This:
Water in A, coffee grounds in B and screw it together. Boil it till the water all percs (technically, it steams) up into C and pour. Doesn't get any easier and the coffee is great - once you figure out how much grounds you need for your taste. Easy to clean too, just rinse, no soap needed (like cast iron cookware).
LOVE mine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot
goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
The Overland Journal 2011 Gear Guide has a article that covers most of the common brewing methods (not all, but most). None of them are rocket science, and most of them require very little investment in gear.
Also note that you probably don't want to use 'boiling' water to make your coffee -- unless you like the flavor of burned coffee. 190 - 200 degrees is safe, so once your water begins to boil, let it cool off a bit before brewing your coffee. BTW - this is why percolator coffee always has that burned flavor -- it relies on boiling water being recirculated through the coffee grounds.
Herbie
Rendezvous Conspirator
I posted in the other coffee thread too, but it doesn't get much simpler than the Vietnamese style compressed drip system:
1) Put water on to boil
2) Put grounds in filter, screw on damper to snug-tight
3a) (optional) If you enjoy your coffee true Vietnamese style, add sweetened condensed milk to coffee cup
3b) Place filter over coffee cup.
4) Pour boiling water into filter. When it's all passed through, enjoy!
The filter is all metal, so the only waste is the grounds. I put the lid under the filter while I drink my coffee so it catches the last couple of drops of coffee that always drain out slow, and by the time I'm done with breakfast the grounds in the filter are dry enough that they're fairly easy to knock out with a few taps over the trash bag. A quick wipe with a paper towel, and I'm done.
If brewing multiple cups of coffee, you'll either have to deal with slightly damp grounds (a bit more wiping with the paper towel), but I used to carry a second filter set when my wife was along so we could brew two cups at the same time.
I came to coffee very late (relatively) in life - didn't drink it much in college except for the chemical effects during finals, etc. and only drank it occasionally at local vietnamese soup (Pho') restaurants where the traditional pairing was Ca Phe Sua' Da (Iced vietnamese coffee). Somewhere long the line I found this was really the only style of brewing I liked, so now I drink it hot when camping (Ca Phe Sua' nam), and hot or iced at home.
For folks that prefer regular drip coffee, here's the new system I just built for the "big family mess kit":
A GSI collapsible filter holder (holds standard #4 filters, collapses to 1" tall)
And the hot/cool item from Overland Expo 2011, a Hydroflask double-wall insulated bottle. Brew the coffee directly into the flask, which holds heat ALMOST as well as my much more fragile traditional glass thermos, and the wife can enjoy her fancy drop coffees all morning (and longer if she goes slow), just like at home.
1) Put water on to boil
2) Put grounds in filter, screw on damper to snug-tight
3a) (optional) If you enjoy your coffee true Vietnamese style, add sweetened condensed milk to coffee cup
3b) Place filter over coffee cup.
4) Pour boiling water into filter. When it's all passed through, enjoy!
The filter is all metal, so the only waste is the grounds. I put the lid under the filter while I drink my coffee so it catches the last couple of drops of coffee that always drain out slow, and by the time I'm done with breakfast the grounds in the filter are dry enough that they're fairly easy to knock out with a few taps over the trash bag. A quick wipe with a paper towel, and I'm done.
If brewing multiple cups of coffee, you'll either have to deal with slightly damp grounds (a bit more wiping with the paper towel), but I used to carry a second filter set when my wife was along so we could brew two cups at the same time.
I came to coffee very late (relatively) in life - didn't drink it much in college except for the chemical effects during finals, etc. and only drank it occasionally at local vietnamese soup (Pho') restaurants where the traditional pairing was Ca Phe Sua' Da (Iced vietnamese coffee). Somewhere long the line I found this was really the only style of brewing I liked, so now I drink it hot when camping (Ca Phe Sua' nam), and hot or iced at home.
For folks that prefer regular drip coffee, here's the new system I just built for the "big family mess kit":
A GSI collapsible filter holder (holds standard #4 filters, collapses to 1" tall)
And the hot/cool item from Overland Expo 2011, a Hydroflask double-wall insulated bottle. Brew the coffee directly into the flask, which holds heat ALMOST as well as my much more fragile traditional glass thermos, and the wife can enjoy her fancy drop coffees all morning (and longer if she goes slow), just like at home.
I'll vote french press...I have a glass one that scares me...but someone posted the Bodum insulated SS on on another thread...I had FP envy and had to get one.
Bought it off Amazon a few weeks ago...I am stoked! The SS Bodum rocks...and it won't break!
Highly recommended...even for the coffee challenged.
Bill
Bought it off Amazon a few weeks ago...I am stoked! The SS Bodum rocks...and it won't break!
Highly recommended...even for the coffee challenged.
Bill
No
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Not with mine. That's why you don't use soap to clean it. You leave the coffee oil coating intact, much like the seasoning on cast iron cookware.
wjeeper
Active member
I know some coffee junkies on here will hate me for saying this.........instant coffee No grounds or filters to mess with or dispose of along the way
Just get water warm, sprinkle in a table spoon or so and poof. Despite being raised in Utah I do know its just not the same as the real deal but camping does seem to have this weird effect of making everything taste better than normal. I have been using instant coffee out camping lately and I think this multiplier effect (and a touch of salt) make it tolerable in my book...
Just get water warm, sprinkle in a table spoon or so and poof. Despite being raised in Utah I do know its just not the same as the real deal but camping does seem to have this weird effect of making everything taste better than normal. I have been using instant coffee out camping lately and I think this multiplier effect (and a touch of salt) make it tolerable in my book...
shahram
Adventurer
I've tried it all...percolaters, turkish, American instant, Israeli instant, cowboy coffee, espresso makers, blah blah blah. Some can deliver a passable cup; others (Folgers) are nearly undrinkable.
A french press seems to deliver well, while minimizing waste and cleanup, but the most important aspect to a good cup of joe is to work with quality coffee, and it must be FRESH. That stuff that's been in the freezer for a year probably won't deliver a satisfying cup in the bush.
No need to buy the Bodum glass or Lexan press, Coleman makes an all-stainless steel one which runs about $15-$20.
YMMV.
A french press seems to deliver well, while minimizing waste and cleanup, but the most important aspect to a good cup of joe is to work with quality coffee, and it must be FRESH. That stuff that's been in the freezer for a year probably won't deliver a satisfying cup in the bush.
No need to buy the Bodum glass or Lexan press, Coleman makes an all-stainless steel one which runs about $15-$20.
YMMV.