Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

I think Little Girl, my Resident Rodent Control Officer, is telling me I have a rodent under the front deck near the house.

“It’s right there dad.”

9EF631A1-752A-4DCB-99B6-E47678A5D399 by Tour 931 posted Apr 12, 2022 at 3:24 AM

 

Before I won the argument with my wife, and she got what she wanted (A super-premium machine that grinds and brews various drinks) we used a french press frequently. In general I have found that for the home-barista these are about the most foolproof maker there is...sadly the glass doesn't travel well.

There was an awesome kickstarter project a few years ago, with a self contained easy to clean metal press --- unfortuantely it was horribly mismanaged and wound up never coming to fruition excpet for a cheap plastic piece of junk that made it to amazon Took our money....last kickstarter I'll ever do.

We found the aero press. But never really was blown away by it --- maybe its my technique. The plunger always feels like it is binding up making the pressing action difficult and unwieldy. Is this a launch problem or a design problem?

 

I am an aeropress fan. There are lots of videos online on different techniques on how to make a cup of coffee. Trial and error until you find the best technique for you. I use an adjustable hand grinder to grind the beans really fine, put them in the areopress with the plunger in at the 3 cups line and upside down on the counter, pour water in at just below the boiling point, stir, top off with water, attach the filter, place on my cup and wait 45 seconds, press and then add hot water (about 50% of the the amount of coffee). I use beans roasted by monks at a PA Russian Orthodox Monastery called Burning Bush but part of the fun traveling is finding local coffee roasters-along with local breweries and distilleries. My job required me to do a lot of international travel and I rated countries on their coffee and beer...

 

It does need a sturdy cup to press into; my grandmother’s fine china would shatter with me leaning on the Aero.

I think the key is grinding your own beans so that you can make the adjustments you want, balancing fineness for max extraction/flavor, and coarseness for ease of plunging. And I learned the hard way that the filters stick together; if you get two in there it’s near impossible to plunge!

Trial & error, like Steve S. wrote above. Slow and steady does it; it takes maybe 15 seconds with my grind. My current OXO grinder is set at 7 (8 is “medium” on that grinder, I’m just a little finer than that) and I never worry about it. If I grind at the store for a longer trip I’ll set it at “Filter/Drip”, which does seem to match with 8 on my grinder.

Do you have a recommendation on a hand grinder? I’ve almost decided to get one for camping several times in the last few years…

I’ve seen friends use the upside-down Aero method. I’ve never tried it, concerned that with fumbling pre-coffee fingers the whole thing might go over!

It’s time for me to make my first cup - Trader Joe’s Ethiopian. It’s the bean that I always use when I’ve not found something new to try. Another great local is Nossa Famillia Teodoro’s Roast, Brazil-grown. I prefer a light-medium roast brewed strong. Stop dark roast madness!

 

I use a Porlex Mini stainless steel but there are others that probably work just as well. This one partially fits inside the areopress so it takes up less room.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044ZA066?tag=sol990-20&geniuslink=true

 

Sounds like we need to just experiment more, the method you describe is what I've done with mine, but always found it to be wanting....more like auto drip and completely lacking in crema. Coffee -- I know what I like -- tending towards medium roast, pressed not drip. Little kiss of sweetner and heavy cream. I'm not a fan of bigbux shops. I'm really spoiled to the Miele CM that we bought ... lazy man coffee.

I don't judge so much by coffee, but beer/wine definitely. My company is German/Swiss, and most of my foreign travel takes me to the (Baden-Württemberg) Baden and Pfalz regions of Germany. I have to say that German wines are generally under-rated. California takes a lot of credit..their flavors are definitely "bolder" but the German wines are subtle...and I tend to like that more. Beer --- lets just say the image of a German wearing lederhozen with a beer and pretzel isn't THAT much of an exaggeration.... The lederhozen is, the rest is somewhat accurate

Cool story, my old boss took us to a castle just outside of Speyer. Interesting place, great restaurant right outside of the Cathederal entrance. As we are going through the castle, he shows us the really indicate brick work focusing on where two arches intersect in to the ceiling of a room, crossing diagonally. He's standing in front of a stone carving of a worker --- he casually says "My grandfather reconstructed all this after the war (Pointing at the ceiling) --- this his him." Apparently his Grandfather was one of the few bricklayers that knew how to build this ceiling structure so that it was correct in the reconstruction. Good memories of a friend I was traveling with, and a manger whom I respected greatly.

 

Now lets talk roasting yer own green beans...

 

I've been roasting my own beans for 10 years now. It's pretty easy and I'm surprised that more people don't do it. It's cheaper than buying roasted beans, and the coffee is not even comparable.

 

I have been home roasting since 2009! No amount of coffee gadgetry and gizmos can come anywhere close to matching the enormous leap in flavor that freshly roasted single origin beans provide. It's easy, it's cheap, and it doesn't take much time. And I get to enjoy the fruit of it multiple times every single day.

For camp coffee, we tried about a dozen different methods. What we finally settled on is doing it just like we do at home - manual pour over with a v60 filter cone and filter with water heated and poured from a gooseneck kettle.

The real trick I finally figured out is the camping grinder - after much, much interneting I found a Hario manual burr grinder that has an accompanying battery powered motor attachment. The battery powered grinder motor will grind about a dozen cups worth of coffee before it needs to be recharged - and it recharges by micro-USB cable. It's a gem, and the coup of my whole setup.

 

How do you roast beans in camp?

 

You guys are putting my K-cup Folgers to shame.

I drink cheap coffee yet go all out for tea. I use jasmine pearls rinsed in cold water and then steeped at 180F for five minutes.

it rained most of the night and I’m thinking of driving into town for a latte. Only problem is the nearest is 13 miles away.

 

This is an interesting topic...not so much for on the road but just at home. I have read about people roasting with "Air Popcorn poppers" -- not a bad idea, but the batch size is small...I'd probably want to roast a pound or so at a time simply to feed the hopper of the automatic machine...

Where do you get your green beans? How much variance in oils is there, or is this controllabel? Again, the same super-automatic, is a little twitchy with oily exteriors -- it likes "drier" shells...

 

I’m impressed! I might step up my game because I had a good cup of coffee at the neighbors house. I like milk and lattes so that might be my route.

 

I have taken part in several coffee ceremonies in Ethiopia. They roast and grind the coffee and then make cowboy or camp coffee while sitting in a circle talking about politics, life, or gossip. The ceremony takes 2-3 hours and they make 3 pots with the same coffee grinds. The third round is to be a blessing for those who drink it but it is kind of weak and bitter. I enjoyed the ceremonies but I it was not the best cup of coffee...

 

I get my beans from Sweet Maria's. You can get any kind of bean from around the world there. They also have a great section on how to get started with roasting. Once you get it dialed in, it's fun and easy.

 

good morning. Just want to share an alternative coffee suggestion. While camping out in the teardrop, I've tried espresso makers, French-presses, etc., but I try to keep it simple. I am a bit of a coffee snob and I indulge myself whenever there is an excellent coffee shop near the campground. Several years ago I simplified the entire process. I purchased a jar of Medaglia D'Oro espresso instant coffee. Before boiling water, add the requisite coffee grounds to your cup, pour in half-and-half and stir vigorously until you have a slurry. Let it sit in sunlight, put the kettle on the hob and bring to a boil. Let the water come off the boil and then ceremoniously pour in the water. Immediately stir until mixed. Now the secret to this fantastic cuppa is this: purse your lips over this mixture and make a rushing sound in your throat that resembles the sound of milk being steamed (without touching the liquid and burning your lips). At this point you might have a thin foam on top... and Bob's you uncle. The really nice part of my cuppa is you only have to clean up a cup and spoon.
From Lodi, happy camping, y'all

 

Namaste, SLO, exactly what I need

 

Great tip!

Here is what I learned from the nomadic fishermen in Baja did 30 years ago:
Instant folgers and sweetened confensed milk in cans.
Easier than cowboy coffee in a billy...

Bitter and sweet, strong enuff "to make you wanna hit yo daddy!"

 

Great! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

This could be fun to do at next CampInn CampOut...
Or a smaller gathering elsewhere...