No-compromise coffee

[tasadam]

While I'm a 2 or more cups a day person, I never drink coffee when I'm in the bush.
For the bush I stick to tea bags - Dilmah pot bags, no string. Milk powder and sugar.

That's because I've got this at home, and until someone can carry this and a generator and fresh milk into the bush for me, nothing comes close...

Too much weight to carry.

D7D_4466-CS5-800.jpg (88.84 KiB) Viewed 33740 times

Having said that, the machine has been to places such as Piermont, and Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village 3 times (The rooms say they have coffee making facilities, my definition is different).
Another coffeesnob.

[Macca81]

MMM Mazer electric doser... and is that a timer that i see? set i presume, to come on about an hour befor you get up so your machine has warmed up nicely for breakfast?

[photohiker]

Don't sell yourself short Adam, there's more to a good coffee than the machine its made on. I can vouch for you here!

I'd bring the Aeropress over for you to try but the wife won't let me take it away from her presence.

[tasadam]

MMM Mazer electric doser... and is that a timer that i see? set i presume, to come on about an hour befor you get up so your machine has warmed up nicely for breakfast?

Yes, the job of the Sherpa that carries this kit into the bush will be to get up and fire up the generator (on a loooong extension lead) at least 20 mins before the wake up call.
My taste tests have found that 20 minutes will be enough heat in the important bits not to lose any significant quality in the taste. Though, more than half hour is better, and yes the timer is set an hour before the alarm.

Don't sell yourself short Adam, there's more to a good coffee than the machine its made on. I can vouch for you here!

As is mentioned in this topic freshly ground is important, but so is freshly roasted. I've been roasting my own beans for some years now. You'll get to try some of my newer varieties soon I believe.

[Orion]

Nice setup, tasadam. I'm jealous.

I've been monkeying around with an Aeropress for the last five months or so. It is kind of heavy for carrying in a pack but I've tried that out. What I discovered was that it didn't work too well above a certain altitude, say about 2000 meters. I tried making coffee a few times above 3000 meters and it wasn't very good. I think it is because the boiling temperature of water is too low and so the coffee doesn't extract well. I "fixed" the problem by doing it cowboy style, boiling the grounds in a pot and then pouring it all through a filter. At home this would result in bad coffee but at altitude it has worked reasonably well.

What do you guys do with the wet grounds? Toss them or pack them out?

[Macca81]

As I don't do the coffee thing when walking, i can't tell you what I do, only what i would do.
I don't think I would have too much of a problem dumping the grounds in the scrub somewhere, as i know it makes awesome mulch and compost and i don't think that the bush would mind. All the stuff from work goes straight on to the gardens.
If you are worried about beautification, take it with you for your morning squat and bury it.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[Tofu_Imprint]

If you have the money, then something like the portaspresso might do.
It's relatively new (saw it on a coffee forum) and looks well constructed. Just a little pricey for me, and probably on the heavier side of things if you have the complete kit.
It's so much easier to stuff some teabags in the travel mug

[phan_TOM]

After seeing your coffee machine Adam, I take back my previous comment regarding the Vietnamese coffee filter,

...and after a test cup it's a brew that even a hardened connoisseur would find hard to fault

& stand fully corrected. At least I now have an insight as to why the NASA space program is going broke, they need to stop spending so much money making coffee machines!

On a more serious note, how many degrees did you need to get to operate this thing?

[tasadam]

S'pose the best thing to do is have a look HERE.

[Bronski]

I just had to say that if it were ultimately no compromise on coffee, you'd move to Melbourne and frequent St Ali's, Chez Dre, Dead Man Espresso.....

[tasadam]

Veneziano, 65 Degrees...

[phan_TOM]

Wow, tis a whole 'nother world...

[tasadam]

Wow, tis a whole 'nother world...

If you can troll your way through THIS and have a look at the online videos such as the Australian entrant (who got 3rd), you really will see another world of coffee.

[MartyGwynne]

I just do the "cowboy" style coffee and spit the 'pips' out as required.
It does not differ much from tea as I just use tea leaves straight into the old tin mug.
But if you are willing to carry the afore mentioned machine, gen-set, grinder and beans then I would pay you $4:00 per cup.
Marty.

[phan_TOM]

If you can troll your way through THIS and have a look at the online videos such as the Australian entrant (who got 3rd), you really will see another world of coffee.

I like my coffee but I can definitely say that after seeing all that, I'm not a coffee-snob, the trophy for the coffee world championship is bigger than the football world cup!!... But I can't seem to do the cowboy coffee thing either or hobo-coffee I might call it to fit into the 'coffee heirarchy system', maybe I'm the coffee-middle-class?

To follow up on my discovery of the stainless steel vietnamese coffee filter, I can say that it does produce (look away now Adam & fellow CS's) a pretty decent brew. After a few attempts, some successful and some tasting like muddy water, I have worked out the knack which basically involves getting the right amount of coffee grounds in it and getting the pressure on the coffee grounds just right. If the filter is too tight it drips too slow and is still going after 10 minutes by which time the coffee is getting cool even though its nice and strong & if the filter is too loose the hot water strains through without brewing enough and is basically undrinkable, like really bad...

I followed the traditional method of putting a good dollop of condensed milk in the bottom of the cup and then stirring it in at the end which was really yummy if not hard to just eat the condensed milk straight out of the tube!

All in all I think for the suprisingly good brew(!), 100 or so grams of weight, ease of cleaning and for the small size I've found my new bushwalking coffee. Now where's that condensed milk

[LandSailor]

Look away coffee snobs
Have seen this mentioned alot on other hiking sites in the US. Apparently Starbucks now make a surprisingly good instant coffee.

Its called Starbucks Via

http://www.starbucks.com.au/VIA-Ready-Brew-Coffee.php

Usual caveats apply...I have no connection with the company etc...

[Orion]

I drink the Via when I care about weight. It tastes a little burnt which makes sense given the source. But it is better than most instant coffees. Of course that ain't sayin' much. I carry tiny little 10g tubs of UHT half and half to "mello" the flavor of the Via so I can actually swallow it.

I'm dreaming of a lightweight coffee that earns the name. Maybe someday....

[Tofu_Imprint]

Look away coffee snobs
Have seen this mentioned alot on other hiking sites in the US. Apparently Starbucks now make a surprisingly good instant coffee.

Its called Starbucks Via

http://www.starbucks.com.au/VIA-Ready-Brew-Coffee.php

Usual caveats apply...I have no connection with the company etc...

I know you said look away, but...
Could never go there.

What I would love to do is lug an Otto espresso maker around, but the 10kg of stainless steel doesn't agree with me!

[Orion]

Starbucks Via instant powder is expensive. It sells for about $1 USD per dose. I like my coffee strong so I use two. Spending $2 for a cup of instant coffee really rankles me but at present there is no better alternative for lightweight travel that I'm aware of.

It's been suggested to me that I drink tea instead, but a tea drinker I am not.

[oyster_07]

I got my Aeropress today. I'm really quite excited by it (and it's not caffeine having this effect).

I got it with a metal filter.

Taste? Fantastic, although its always true that with better coffee makes, well, better coffee.

Ease? Very simple: coffee, water, push, rinse. The design means a zip-lock bag of coffee can be protected inside the tubes while in your pack. The plastic construction is tough and does not get hot like other coffee makers.

Weight? 234 grams in a lightweight strip (see photo).

Cost? $60 including the metal filter and express delivery, or $50 without the metal filter.

Recommended? You bet!
I have used a GSI stove-top espresso maker before and this is much easier, cleaner, and more packable. The aluminium GSI 1-cup unit is 12 grams heavier (246g) and only makes one cup. The Aeropress makes up to 4 cups for less weight.

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[John Sheridan]

PeRFECT, I really need those 4 cups of coffee in the morning, I REALLY DO :p

Cheers.

[John Sheridan]

Latte

A mild, milky coffee with a creamy texture; temptingly sweet, with a delicate, rounded taste.

http://www.moccona.com.au/public/produc ... latte.aspx

15 grams and no need to add milk got enough in it and just add sugar if you want

It tastes better than most so called fresh coffee, just for something you to try.

Cheers.

[Macca81]

Latte

A mild, milky coffee with a creamy texture; temptingly sweet, with a delicate, rounded taste.

http://www.moccona.com.au/public/produc ... latte.aspx

15 grams and no need to add milk got enough in it and just add sugar if you want

It tastes better than most so called fresh coffee, just for something you to try.

Cheers.

I have had one of them before...

It tastes better than most so called fresh coffee,

You must be getting your coffees from some pretty poor cafes!

[John Sheridan]

How about taking some ground coffee and putting them into a paper filter and stapling it shut and then putting them into the hot water for a few minutes and stiring it around take it out and you have coffee, I saw that on Youtube seems to be the most weight saving way I have seen.

Also I can put my Moccana instant coffee into the mix to add some extra flavor and the milk, just add some sugar and drink

No extra gadgets needed, easy, or am i missing something

Cheers.

[kbm63]

I'm glad I drink tea! Only bad experience was when I thought I'd got to the tea leaves at the bottom only to find a biggish spider had been included in my brew.

[JohnM]

The coffee bags aren't bad. Probably halfway between instant and plunger-style coffee in terms of taste profile. As simple as a tea-bag, so no real hassle.

Definitely much better than instant (I'd rather drink tea than that muck).

[bernieq]

Hmmm, some people have strange tastes. For a long time I went without coffee on bushwalks because, to me, instant and bags are not worth drinking. In the last couple of years, however, I’ve found two solutions to the problem of decent coffee on the trail.

1. SmartCafe plunger mug - insulated, works perfectly, weighs 184g, cost NZ$18 (bought from a Nelson beanery in 2010 - sorry, I haven’t found them in Oz)

2. Bodum tea infuser – works well with a coarse grind of coffee, cost A$12, weighs 20g

Coffee on the trail - preparation options

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The 1st solution is more convenient and I use it on shorter trips. Solution 2 works for 5+ day trips when I’m looking to jettison anything that's not absolutely necessary.

Both make thoroughly drinkable coffee (strong, black, no sugar) with coffee that I grind myself before the walk.

[corvus]

For real coffee without any kerfuffle you can just put the grounds into a mug let it settle and don't drink the last bit
corvus

[bernieq]

True, corvus, I did that for 2 years in Borneo – coffee into a jug, pour in the near boiling water, sit a few minutes, stir, let settle, pour off the coffee being careful to leave the grounds behind. In a mug and while tramping, however, volumes are smaller, the need more urgent and the temptation is always to sip just that little bit more :)

[corvus]

I can see why I have converted to black tea and it must be Australian Madura Earl Grey be it loose or in foil sealed bags it is a good brew
corvus