Re: RC: Really important question

[Ben Turner <bturner@ida.org>]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2001 11:05:40 -0500, Kris Givens <givensb@prodigy.net>
wrote:
>I love my morning coffee.  However, the two rides I've attended do not
>have electricity so my coffee maker won't work.  How do I perk coffee on
>a Coleman stove?  Also, what sort of contraption do I need to get to do
>this?

Have you thought about a percolator to perk coffee?  :-)
http://www.newsearching.com/camping_cookware/GSI_Outdoors_Glacier_8_Cup_Percolator.html
http://www.newsearching.com/camping_cookware/GSI_Outdoors_Sierra_8_Cup_Coffee_Percolator.html

o Pour water into the percolator.
o Place the ground Coffee (coarse ground for most percolators,
  recipes vary from a level teaspoon to a heaping tablespoon
  of ground coffee per cup) in the basket and replace lid.
o Light stove and place percolator over burner
o Bring to boil and water/brewing coffee will cycle over the
  coffee basket increasing in strength.  Length of time varies
  per practitioner and coffee supplier.  Try five minutes if
  you have no other guidance and vary the next batch based on
  your satisfaction.
o One tip for percolator coffee, pour a little cool water down
  the spout after perking to clear the grounds back into the
  pot where they may settle.

Oh wait a minute, you said you "loved" your morning coffee.  :-) :-)

Coffee aficionados will assert that perking overextracts the oils
and flavors from the grounds and then proceeds to destroy the flavor
it does have by boiling the coffee.  

One workable alternative for the campstove is the drip method.
o  Boil water (you can even use a clean percolator).
o  Pour over drip-grind coffee (medium coarse) in a filter
o  Collect in a pot  (Mellita pot/filter holder filters sold in grocery
   stores etc.)

Another alternative is a press pot or French Press
 o Bring water close to a boil (pour into press pot if
   not suitable for heating water directly)
 o Preheat press 
 o Add coarse ground coffee about the same amount as for drip coffee
 o Wait 2-3 minutes, then press the plunger filtering the coffee
   above the wire mesh
 o There will be some sediment in this coffee but should be very good
   when fresh

Best,
Ben Turner
bturner@ida.org