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Nohea
Trad climber
Aiea,Hi
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Oct 22, 2008 - 03:16am PT
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This champ works great in my home and at work. I use a snow peak press when on the trail.
Hey if anyone in the Tacostand was to buy the $200 Kuerig for $100 let me know. They gave me a save $100 note but I am not sure if I can transfer. Email and we can try.
Aloha,
wil
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Strider
Trad climber
one of god's mountain temples....
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Oct 22, 2008 - 03:36am PT
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Don't get me wrong...I will drink any of coffee, no matter how it is made. Especially if I am not the one making it; never look a gift horse in the mouth! But if you go by the rules you can get so much more out of your coffee!
For example. Peet's makes a blend called Major Dickenson's. Probably my favorite blend so far. When I use my large french press, a 8-9 second grind and 6 tablespoons of coffee, I can make it taste almost like chocolate. Amazing? No, not at all, but it makes for a great cup of coffee. And once you know how, it is easy to make your coffee taste good.
Trippel has a great idea of wrapping a french press in foam. I hadn't thought of that and would be great when I am camping. But also remember that the longer you leave coffee in a press, the more bitter and acidic it becomes.
How often to buy beans? When you use up the last of your current batch.
Oh, and if you put cream and/or sugar in your cup, then forget 90% of what I said. Cream and sugar negate the bitterness and acidity of over-brewed coffee. You can actually save a little money if you like to use cream and sugar. Try making your coffee any way you normally would but just make the grind of your beans a little finer and use less. You should be able to get the same strength and volume of coffee and use less beans at the same time. The coffee will be more bitter but you are covering that up with cream and sugar anyway. Might be to your taste or it might not, just a way to stretch your supply if your running low.
happy drinking
-n
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climbrunride
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Oct 22, 2008 - 04:17am PT
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Generally, the longer the water contact time, the coarser the grind should be, and vice versa. It has to do with surface area, and the water pulling out the good parts only. Leave it in contact for too long and you get past the best parts and start getting the nasty, bitter aspects. So for a French press, use a coarse grind and leave it in for several minutes. For a Melita-type drip, use a medium grind. And for espresso, use a very fine grind, as the steam passes through the grinds quickly.
And avoid percolators if you can, even if they do look neato. They just keep recycling the water/coffee and leach out everything from the grounds, including all the stuff you don't want.
If you are eally adventerous, try roasting you own beans. There are lots of places on the internet to find green beans. My favorite is Sweet Marias. You can buy a home roaster for about $80, up to many hundreds of dollars. But you can also do a somewhat decent job with a popcorn popper. That way you get to control the roast and find out just the way you like it. Most commercial roasts are done too dark and you lose the subtle, complex flavors found in the finer beans.
And as for brewing methods, my favorites are a French press or a Melita cone filter. Both work great for camping and make a great cup.
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adatesman
Trad climber
philadelphia, pa
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Oct 22, 2008 - 10:13am PT
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Spot on with the home roasting thing, Climbrunride. I've been doing it a couple years and there's no comparison. I've found the Sweet Maria's quite helpful, with good selection and good prices. I started out with the DIY hot air popcorn thing, but after burning out 6 of them (overuse) I gave up and bought a proper roaster. Much less work that way.
And you're right about overroasting too.... Starbucks is way overroasted and tastes like charcoal.
As for method of making the coffee, my preference is for French Press although I've been very tempted by the Chemex brewers. Vacuum brewers look pretty neat too.
But depending on my mood though, I'll occasionally do Vietnamese or Indian coffee, which use a small drip contraption that sits on top of the cup and is filled with an ungodly amount of grounds. Both use twice the amount of grounds or so and usually have sweetened condensed milk. Indian usually gets spices added as well (cardemom is my favorite).
Anyway, I'm thinking its coffee-time.
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Tork
climber
Yosemite
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Oct 22, 2008 - 10:40am PT
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Thumbs up on the home roaster, best coffee I have ever had. It's kinda cool to roast your own and the variety is endless. It does take a bit of prep and our roaster is a pain in the ass cause we have to do it outside or we smoke up the house.
Jeff
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Oct 22, 2008 - 10:50am PT
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French press is caesome. Lot's of body, acidity.
No need to doctor it with milk or sugar. MMMMMMMM GOOOD.
And then I put the grounds into my compost pile.
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S.Leeper
Sport climber
Austin, Texas
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2009 - 10:38pm PT
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Can anyone recommend an espresso machine for under 200$?
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Fletcher
Trad climber
a buttery white sand beach
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Jul 26, 2009 - 03:15am PT
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How did I miss a coffee thread?
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Fletcher
Trad climber
a buttery white sand beach... I wish!
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Jul 26, 2009 - 03:22am PT
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Under $200? A stovetop?
Long ago, I had one of those home Krups jobs. I eventually got the job done with it, but it was kind of like doing a hand stand with my arms and legs doing all kinds of funky contortions.
Get thee to a good resource like wholelattelove.com and you might find some good options there.
I've pretty much reached the point where, for me, the grinder, is as key, if not more so than the machine. I have a Gaggia MDF. It ain't cheap, it took me a while to a save my pennies, but it's worth every one of them. Especially when I can get a perfect grind for everything from French Press to espresso and even a bit finer than that.
On another note, my Hong Kong buds just gave me a bag of Bali coffee (as in Bali style). Just add hot water to the grounds and go. Simple and love that stuff. Brings back the memories of Ubud and all the lovely wildlife there.
Eric
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jul 26, 2009 - 03:24am PT
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hey there fletcher, say... well, you found it, now, and that's what counts...
so does:
a good cup of coffee....
god bless and may you enjoy one, come sun-up...
:)
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jul 26, 2009 - 03:35am PT
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update on methode... jetboil french press mostly
I should pay attention to my grind, but sipping the coffee is almost just an excuse to have a morning in the mountains.
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Fletcher
Trad climber
a buttery white sand beach... I wish!
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Jul 26, 2009 - 12:20pm PT
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I happened to do just that! Thanks neebee!
Eric
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richross
Trad climber
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Jul 26, 2009 - 02:06pm PT
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quietpartner
Trad climber
Moantannah
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Jul 26, 2009 - 02:11pm PT
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One of my favorite river muds is espresso Medaglio D' Oro. It's not bad in decaf either. Hope that helps, Tami.
Still, ya can't beat a french press with fresh-ground beans.
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ryanb
climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 26, 2009 - 02:17pm PT
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Tami,
The only true pro-foodie I know (the chocolatier at seattle's best chocolate factory, also a boulderer) drinks the decaf from light house coffee roaster's in seattle... might be worth checking out next time you pass through:
http://www.lighthouseroasters.com/
I'm working on an aerobie press cup of brew at the moment...you guys got to check this thing out...30 buck press that makes a pretty damn good shot of espresso in 30 seconds with no electricity once you get the hang of it.
http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm
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perswig
climber
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Jul 26, 2009 - 05:44pm PT
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Ha, that little glimpse into Tami's plumbing (gotomyhappyplace, gotomyhappyplace, makethebadmangoaway) reminded me of working up in the Northeast Kingdom of VT just out of school.
Most of our dairy clients worked small farms, some trying to modernize and many not very interested. Before I got to know the area, the only hint of what kind of operation you'd find was whether the sick cow listed on the day's schedule was called #1439B or something like Sweet Emmylou. (As an aside, the farms still raising and treating their herd like members of the family were generally the places that would slip a jug of maple syrup or some home-made jam into the truck as a thankyou if you'd been called out at 0200 in February to pull a calf.)
One of the places we'd very rarely get called to was a tiny, falling-down barn, maybe 12 or 15 milkers at any given time. Dirty, dark place, cows thin to the point of emaciated; the farmer was probably pushing 70 and the most modern piece of equipment I ever saw him use was a rotary phone. He was also as bleak and dour as the barn, and poor as a pauper.
Visits to this place were always last-ditch events. If it was a calving problem, there'd be ruts behind the cow where the guy parked a tractor to anchor a comealong. If that didn't work, he'd call us.
Anyway, I only did surgery on his cows a few times, but each time, as I was up to my elbow in the abdomen, in the neardark, trying to reposition the abomasum and tack it in place without letting too much of the chaff sifting down from the hay mow work it's way into the 'surgery field', the whole stomach would slosh and slop like a keg half full, and I swore I could smell coffee coming from somewhere.
Eventually, I asked my boss, who didn't have a good answer, but a little later I was drawing blood from winners at the local fair racetrack with the retired vet who started the practice and I remembered to ask him. He laughed and said only a real old farmer would try that trick. At the first sign of a cow going off feed, they'd start drenching her with quarts of coffee, on the principle that caffeine increases G.I. motility and many issues with cows start with the gut. From the feel of things, I'd guess this guy was treating his sick cow for nearly a week before giving us a chance to do something.
What I don't know is how often this actually worked and kept him from having to call us at all.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Jul 26, 2009 - 06:49pm PT
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Some of the best coffee I've ever had was my last trip to JT to the Fish Compound. Had this stove top espresso/mocha maker. Put water in the bottom, put some milk in the top, add heat, let cool, and savor.
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Fletcher
Trad climber
a buttery white sand beach... I wish!
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Jul 27, 2009 - 02:43am PT
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Hey Tami,
I'm pretty much a decaf drinker myself (anything too caffeinated after 2 pm and I'm staring at the ceiling at 3 am!).
I don't think there's any decaf that has zero caffeine, though I could be wrong, but it's pretty low. Some processes get more out than others from what I understand. I have found I'm much happier without the caffeine and love drinking a wide variety of grinds for the interesting flavors.
Thanks for sharing.... uh... your gastrointestinal tendencies... I think? :-) The caffeine isn't what's going to clear out the plumbing, it's something else in the coffee, so I'm not sure what to say about that.
There are so many small and local roasters out there... it's kind of like wine. You'll find someone who loves a label and another who hates it. Trick is to find your preference. Check out what others suggest here and elsewhere and you'll find your groove in time.
If you like your brew's flavor on the rather strong and intense side, check out Peet's (peets.com). They are an old time company (for the US) and have stayed pretty much in line with their roots. I like their Decaf French Roast, which has a pretty burly flavor. They also just came out with a decaf version of their long time classic Major Dickason's Blend.
Good luck... you live in a place where coffee would definitely lift my spirits if I lived there... it's a sunshine inducer for me!
Eric
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jul 27, 2009 - 03:38am PT
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hey there say... fletcher, just dropped in again to see if you had your coffee... nice to know you did...
say, saw someone had mentioned the mountains and coffee... they sure do seem to go together...
and look what else i've learned... oh my...
all aboaut perswig and cows... oh my.... :)
and tami... say, hoping and praying you find the best coffee, or coffee tricks, to work for your systems.... coffee is just so much fun..... at least half the fun, is the smell too:
and coffee pills.... wow, what will folks think of next...
thanks for the share, with that one, timidtoprope...
oh my.... but me, i reckon i will keep to the ol' mug-coffee, for the drinking-style kind... :)
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