Bob the Unbeliever
Well-Known Member
Edit: To skip over the history? Go down to Cowboy Coffee, below in bold.
Okay, I'm a coffee lover. I have me a cuppa either hot or cold (seasonal) every morning at work. I like it strong enough to wake me up, but let me sleep at night.
Really. I had been using drip machines for years, but those are *such* a pain to keep in working order, clean and whatnot.
Plus, none seem to use metal bits that holds the coffee grounds. Plastic is all well and good--except that, being organic, absorbs things. That's fine--except with coffee? What seems to get absorbed is all the stuff in coffee we only want in trace amounts.
But once it builds up in the plastic bits? You get it far beyond trace. Washing does zip, here, as it's the hot water sitting there, during the making of the coffee, that gets deep into the plastic matrix.
Only glass, glazed ceramic and metal are immune to this effect. The "fix"? Throw away a perfectly good coffee maker, to get fresh plastic bits.... a shame.
So, I had switched over to Keurig, and a refillable pod thingy. Makes consistently good coffee, if a bit weaker than I'd like (so I drink more, no problem). Wintertime? My machine makes about 20-24 ounces, about right for me. I dilute it a pinch, with wintertime-cold water, to perfect drinking temperatures: I hate scalding hot water. Warm to hot is perfect. A vacuum thermos keeps it at that until gone.
Come spring? I switch up to cold coffee. I'd simply make it up ahead of time, pop into the fridge, come morning... mmmmm....
Then comes YouTube video on Cowboy Coffee.
The recipe could not be more simple: A metal or glass pot. Bring the water to a near-boil. Dump directly into the pot, coffee grinds. Course is better than fine, for later, but fine will give you a stronger brew. Boil the water-- with the grinds-- for about 2 minutes (once boiling). Careful of the heat, as the grinds can make it boil over, or "bump" (chemistry class-- "bumping" is boiling water creating a gas bubble that pushes all the liquid out of the glassware).
Once done? Pour in about 1 tablespoon to 1/3 of a cup of **cold** water-- this settles the grinds. Really! It seems to... (or maybe the timing of getting the cold water lets it settle?)
I then pour the coffee through a super-fine mesh strainer-- a reusable cone coffee filter in a funnel -- into a glass carafe. Then I clean the boiling pot-- I'm using an old glass pot from a defunct drip machine, over a gas flame. Wash the funnel and filter.
In the glass carafe, I add sugar and cream to taste. Sometimes, dark chocolate, if I'm in the mood.
I reserve a bit, to go into a cylinder mold, which I pop into the freezer. The rest goes into the ice box, for next morning.
Into my freshly cleaned vacuum flask, I unmold the frozen "coffee ice", and pour the rest of the chilled coffee. Delicious! Lasts all morning, and remains ice cold until the last sip. I have fine-tuned the size of the frozen coffee cube, such that there is little or nothing left by the time I drink all the brew. Although, being frozen coffee? It's not hard like ice-- more like a coffee Popsicle. Easy to crunch.
Next fall? I plan on making Cowboy Coffee for wintertime too-- I'll likely boil it for 4 minutes, then add cold water to bring down to drinking temperatures. And I'll have to be making that in the morning, rather than the night before.
I like the taste-- smoother than other methods I've used. As strong as you like-- the length of the boil, and the amount of grinds controls this perfectly.
And I love the cleanup-- no hot liquids sit in plastic to impart unwanted flavors. Especially hot coffee grounds-- which seem to be far worse than mere hot prepared coffee!
Anybody know where I can sell a couple of Keurig machines?
Okay, I'm a coffee lover. I have me a cuppa either hot or cold (seasonal) every morning at work. I like it strong enough to wake me up, but let me sleep at night.
Really. I had been using drip machines for years, but those are *such* a pain to keep in working order, clean and whatnot.
Plus, none seem to use metal bits that holds the coffee grounds. Plastic is all well and good--except that, being organic, absorbs things. That's fine--except with coffee? What seems to get absorbed is all the stuff in coffee we only want in trace amounts.
But once it builds up in the plastic bits? You get it far beyond trace. Washing does zip, here, as it's the hot water sitting there, during the making of the coffee, that gets deep into the plastic matrix.
Only glass, glazed ceramic and metal are immune to this effect. The "fix"? Throw away a perfectly good coffee maker, to get fresh plastic bits.... a shame.
So, I had switched over to Keurig, and a refillable pod thingy. Makes consistently good coffee, if a bit weaker than I'd like (so I drink more, no problem). Wintertime? My machine makes about 20-24 ounces, about right for me. I dilute it a pinch, with wintertime-cold water, to perfect drinking temperatures: I hate scalding hot water. Warm to hot is perfect. A vacuum thermos keeps it at that until gone.
Come spring? I switch up to cold coffee. I'd simply make it up ahead of time, pop into the fridge, come morning... mmmmm....
Then comes YouTube video on Cowboy Coffee.
The recipe could not be more simple: A metal or glass pot. Bring the water to a near-boil. Dump directly into the pot, coffee grinds. Course is better than fine, for later, but fine will give you a stronger brew. Boil the water-- with the grinds-- for about 2 minutes (once boiling). Careful of the heat, as the grinds can make it boil over, or "bump" (chemistry class-- "bumping" is boiling water creating a gas bubble that pushes all the liquid out of the glassware).
Once done? Pour in about 1 tablespoon to 1/3 of a cup of **cold** water-- this settles the grinds. Really! It seems to... (or maybe the timing of getting the cold water lets it settle?)
I then pour the coffee through a super-fine mesh strainer-- a reusable cone coffee filter in a funnel -- into a glass carafe. Then I clean the boiling pot-- I'm using an old glass pot from a defunct drip machine, over a gas flame. Wash the funnel and filter.
In the glass carafe, I add sugar and cream to taste. Sometimes, dark chocolate, if I'm in the mood.
I reserve a bit, to go into a cylinder mold, which I pop into the freezer. The rest goes into the ice box, for next morning.
Into my freshly cleaned vacuum flask, I unmold the frozen "coffee ice", and pour the rest of the chilled coffee. Delicious! Lasts all morning, and remains ice cold until the last sip. I have fine-tuned the size of the frozen coffee cube, such that there is little or nothing left by the time I drink all the brew. Although, being frozen coffee? It's not hard like ice-- more like a coffee Popsicle. Easy to crunch.
Next fall? I plan on making Cowboy Coffee for wintertime too-- I'll likely boil it for 4 minutes, then add cold water to bring down to drinking temperatures. And I'll have to be making that in the morning, rather than the night before.
I like the taste-- smoother than other methods I've used. As strong as you like-- the length of the boil, and the amount of grinds controls this perfectly.
And I love the cleanup-- no hot liquids sit in plastic to impart unwanted flavors. Especially hot coffee grounds-- which seem to be far worse than mere hot prepared coffee!
Anybody know where I can sell a couple of Keurig machines?
