Companion forum thread to:

Staff Videocast: Cowboy Coffee

Great stuff!! I really like the pot cozy idea.

Please pass the cream and sugar!

Hey, NoDoze is a lot lighter than all those "luxury" caffeine fixes. What's next, backcountry espresso makers? How about a Starbucks every 10 miles on the PCT?

Cheers,

-Mike M. -- The editor formerly known as "nameless" ;-)

Edited by MikeMartin on 01/13/2009 23:40:27 MST.

The coffee and tea are great, but what is the name of the music that went with that coffee!

So, those are "Melita" filters I'm using, and I like that they're "unbleached". Spoke a little too fast to be clearly understood there.

Fun to see everyone's methods, and that I'm not the only one who uses a cozy.

I don't have a cool theme song like Sam, though...

Sam needs a theme song since he doesn't talk during his clip...

Where can I get a copy of the song that was playing during the video?

MSR Mugmate is easier, less mess. 1 ounce.

We'd love to see your techniques for backcountry coffee as well. Post your photos, ideas, or video links here and share with the rest of us.

There has been a great discussion going on about this in another thread here as well.

I too like the MSR mugmate. Great for coffee. It also works great for loose tea, so you don't end up with tea bags. It also can be used to pre-filter water.

I agree the MSR Mug Mate is the way to go. Simple, easy to clean, and I can use the same organic, fair trade coffee that I use in my French press while not backpacking.

I think the important thing to note is how a person makes coffee wihle *not* backpacking. If you drink crap coffee on a daily basis, odds are good that I'm not gonna care what you do while in the backcounty. ;)

On the other hand, if you use NoDoze on the trail, then I have to wonder what you do for coffee when all the amenities of home are at your disposal. Well Mike?

Edited by Ramapo on 01/14/2009 09:19:56 MST.

One thing to remember, if you have your coffee ground, or do it yourself, have them grind it to French Press size... They grounds are bigger and they fall to the bottom after a quick stir, no need to strain....Throw out the last quarter inch.

I too have been wondering if I can download the song somewhere to my iTunes... Been looking for a year. I would gladly buy it..

There are lots of ways to make coffee. The question, it would seem to me, is less "how to steep coffee grounds in water?" and more "find a few optima on the coffee-taste vs. equipment-weight function." I'd love to see you recruit Chris Kimball to the BPL staff :)

The parts of an Aeropress that are strictly necessary (syringe and stirring rod) are 246 grams. Damn if it doesn't make fine coffee (in about a minute including cleanup; no cozy needed as steeping time is about 10 seconds), but I tend to take tea into the woods due to weight and simplicity.

Speaking of which, those "MSR tea infusers" (http://www.rei.com/product/726094 for $17) appear to be a re-branding of the Finum infuser (http://www.specialteas.com/Tea-Preparation/Permanent-Tea-Filter-for-Mugs-Sm-Pots.html for $7), and the Chatsford infusers (http://www.specialteas.com/Tea-ware/Tea-Pots/English-Teaware/CHATSFORD-INFUSER-RED.html) are at least as good and far lighter (one for the Chatsford 6-cup pot weighs 12g). That sounds competitive vs. the strainer, and may be more convenient for tea, albeit less versatile?

Its great to see Alan making Tea, had not thought of doing it in that way I have always used tea bags. So I need to buy some loose green tea. And the cosy system seems ideal as a tea pot cover, just like my grandma used to use.

For those liking more of an espresso or Turkish/Greek coffee: Use a slightly higher mixture using darker roasted coffee grounds. Stir then boil over a gentle heat until about to overflow x three times. One final stir to get the grounds to sink, then pour. Although I use this method to make it on the trail using a FireLite 550, at home I use a copper and tin ten ounce Ibrik.

Side Note: We're exploring ways to make the BPL theme song available to our members. It's come up so many times that it's something we really need to do.

I made up a filter out of fine stainless steel mesh. Some dust gets through, but not much.


Coffee filter in cup, empty of coffee
.

Coffee brewing.

This is years old now, and went with me across France. It seems pretty rugged. An old face cream jar fits inside it neatly - that holds several day's worth of ground coffee.

Cheers

Edited by rcaffin on 01/14/2009 16:59:05 MST.

>The parts of an Aeropress that are strictly necessary (syringe and stirring rod) are 246 grams. Damn if it doesn't make fine coffee (in about a minute including cleanup; no cozy needed as steeping time is about 10 seconds), but I tend to take tea into the woods due to weight and simplicity.<

Ben P,

Hey! I use an Aeropress at home to make up "shots" for the trail. I usually use about 1/2 the water they suggest, but otherwise make coffee with the Aeropress as usual. I pour the "shots into a small plastic bottle for the trail then dispense as needed and add hot water. The concentrate will last without refrigeration for at least 10 days. Tastes great! Basically it is a do-it-yourself Java Juice.

-Mark

will there be an announcement if and when the song is available?

i fell for the simplicity of java juice last season when i bought the cup, fire starter and coffee package. my morning cup of coffee is no nonsense, fairly smooth, boil, pour, drink. BPL isn't getting rid of java juice are they? I saw it labeled as closeout in the store...