Coffee

[darkgael]

How do you make coffee? Used to be that a person would throw a handful of coarse ground coffee into a pot of water, boil it, let it settle (or not) and then pour it into a cup. As time has passed, there have been many, many other methods to get the beans to brew.
Most commonly, I use an old, glass, stove top percolator.
Pete

[Land_Owner]

Too many "Mr. Coffee" makers have passed into the night (or been repurposed to pre-heat cast bullet molds), since my days of inexpensive stove top percolators (a very GOOD way to make coffee btw).

My Spousal Unit has deemed the expensive whole bean "Cuisinart Burr Grind & Brew" coffee maker, a gift from her father, to be our choice.   


Forever endearing, she was shocked and VERY pleased by my ingenuity in making her hot coffee during the 4-day power outage of the last hurricane here.  I used my propane turkey fryer to heat a pot of water, a white sock to hold the grounds, and repurposed the drill press to crush the whole beans.

[darkgael]

“ used my propane turkey fryer to heat a pot of water, a white sock to hold the grounds, and repurposed the drill press to crush the whole beans.”
Had to smile at that. The desire for a cuppa in adverse circumstances brings out the genius.

[oldandslow]

We used to use a glass percolator but that was long ago. Now it's a no frills Mr Coffee. When one dies just replace it with another. We have had fancy programmable coffee makers and found they lasted no longer than the plain jane ones. We have even done the same for the Keurig type. Some off brand $20 one now sits on the kitchen counter for that quick afternoon cup and has proven to be just as good as any Keurig we've had.

I can still make coffee in a pot of hot water in a pinch. My little Coleman gas burner that I use to smelt small amounts of lead is handy when the electricity goes off and I just have to have coffee.

[RaySendero]

We use a Bunn with the insulated pot.
Its fast and stays hot w/o continuing to cook.

[mcbammer]

  I got tired of buying a Mr Coffee every other year , so I dug out Dads old percolater , Its a good un , Dads been passed  now on 30 years  , And I dont know how long he used it . Taste is so much better than drip type makers .Hope I didnt jinx it by bragging on it .

[Graybeard]

I have a very complicated process.

1. Put coffee, creamer, sugar in cup.

2. Put hot tap water in coffee cup.

3. Put in microwave for 42 seconds.

4. Take out and drink.

I drink only Taster's Choice instant coffee but require 3 spoons of sugar and one of creamer to be able to drink it.

[northwoodneil]

Down home it's a Bunn so I can have coffee in a hurry when I get called in to plow snow at 1am. Up north it's a stove top percolator, but I do put a filter in the basket to keep the grounds to a minimum. Always Folgers. 

[Ranger99]

I have a very complicated process.

1. Put coffee, creamer, sugar in cup.

2. Put hot tap water in coffee cup.

3. Put in microwave for 42 seconds.

4. Take out and drink.

I drink only Taster's Choice instant coffee but require 3 spoons of sugar and one of creamer to be able to drink it.

There's times way out out far far from
a "proper " cup of coffee that I'd be about
teary eyed to have such a mixture

[ironglows]

  I am alone, so I have caved to the one-cup-at-a-time Keurig.  Original keurig cups are costly..so I find boxes of 80-100 K-cups at Ollies for around $25...decent stuff too !

[Bob Riebe]

One coffee scoop of ground coffee to six ounces of water is the standard for good coffee.
Never use boiling water.

At that it all depends on what one prefers and I like strong coffee.
Type of coffee bean and water make a huge difference.
Distilled water is best not just for taste but for life of coffee maker.
I have used programmed whiz-bang coffee maker and simple Mr.Coffee types; the basic ones lasted longer than the foo-foo one but those that make just one cup of coffee are nice to have at times.
I have a French Press which probably makes the best cup of coffee but rarely use it.

[Ranger99]

I've seen a little filter basket
specifically made to work in
those K machines. You fill it
with bulk coffee and run it
through your machine

[oldandslow]

Got one of those little cups around here somewhere. It's such a PIA I set it back somewhere and have forgotten just where.
Ironglows Ollies doesn't compute for me. Too many miles between us. It must be a grocery store or yankee version of Sam's Club.  (all in fun, Ironglow) I check Sam's Club for bulk K-cups  but since the closest one to me is at least 100 miles away that's a rare thing. I usually wind up ordering from Amazon.

[Dee]

Mines exotic, and complicated. A pot a water, a filter, a scoop of Community Breakfast Blend, push the button, and wait a few minutes.


Works every time.

[ironglows]

Got one of those little cups around here somewhere. It's such a PIA I set it back somewhere and have forgotten just where.
Ironglows Ollies doesn't compute for me. Too many miles between us. It must be a grocery store or yankee version of Sam's Club.  (all in fun, Ironglow) I check Sam's Club for bulk K-cups  but since the closest one to me is at least 100 miles away that's a rare thing. I usually wind up ordering from Amazon.

  There is a larger town about 25 mile away, where I occasionally go. It has Wally World, Sams Club and a new Ollies about midway between the two.  I also like to check their books out too !..great buys on books, to include Bibles.

[Bob Riebe]

I have the old throw away paper filter one cup type.
It actually has two tall drinking glass type cups, both insulated, you can fill one or both,  but I just quit using it as I always make at least 8 cups most days.
The little Keurig type are nice but expensive and I would be going through at least four dispensers every morning.

[Land_Owner]

What?  No one goes to Starpukes and orders a grande, double latte, mocha, caramel macchiato, expresso, cappuccino?  Or whatever?


GOOD!

[darkgael]

Never boiling water.
I have read that for years....and observed it as a practice. It may well be true. Then, a while ago, i remembered my father making coffee with a stove top percolator and recalled how good it smelled and tasted. So, I tried it with a new bought perc. It was as good as i remember it (Luzianne blend). Boiled coffee is not supposed to be good. It suits me fine.
A similar thing happened with tea.....not supposed to use boiling water. Then I came upon Builder’s Tea....which makes a cup in 20 seconds. That’s what I drink now when I drink tea.
Pete
PS: “no one goes to Starpukes”......not this boy. I have never understood the attraction. Long lines in the morning. Very expensive. How hard is it to make a cup of coffee for yourself?
I used to have a young couple as neighbors...since moved....every weekend morning he would leave the house, walk to the Starbucks, buy two coffees and bring them home. Dont know what they did if they wanted a second cup.
To each his own.

[ironglows]

I regularly travel to a nearby roadside spring that has been used by local folks since at least 1822.  I take 8 one gallon jugs and fill them.
  That's where my coffee and drinking water come from.  Farmersville; the local township where the spring is located, decided to not shut down the attraction, because of it's history..only posting a CYA sign.

[darkgael]

I regularly travel to a nearby roadside spring that has been used by local folks since at least 1822.  I take 8 one gallon jugs and fill them.
  That's where my coffee and drinking water come from.  Farmersville; the local township where the spring is located, decided to not shut down the attraction, because of it's history..only posting a CYA sign.

There is a similar spring on the long hill up to Ricketts Glen S.P. in PA. It is a piece of PVC pipe hammered into a rock face (used to be iron pipe)....very common to see lots of gallon jugs getting filled by locals and other passersby. It is on a curve on the downhill side of a winding 18 degree four mile long hill one lane each way. Not an easy stop.

[oldandslow]

You used to be able to fill jugs a little way down the mountain west of Cloudcroft, NM. I wonder if the place is still there but it's been a lot of years since I have dropped off that mountain heading west. The EPA rr the state health board has  probably shut it down by now.

[ironglows]

 Often, local administrations will just shut down local springs, rather than to risk some meathead trying to sue them.
  I know of several which were available through the years.  One near Kane, PA..another very prominent on RT 19 at Belfast, NY ..and many others, all shut down, likely for the same reason.


   I suspect that there once were many of them in the horse & buggy days. Back then, watering troughs were as needed as gas pumps are today.  In those days in this area, once dotted with small dairy farms of 20-30 cows, farmers often piped springs from well back in the fields..to the roadside, where their milk cans were kept cool with fresh spring water in concrete troughs, awaiting pickup.

 Naturally, anyone travelling by horse was allowed to drink at them.  I can remember some of these troughs.

[Bob Riebe]

Up here artesian well springs used to be common but now are rare, but many road side parks still have hand pumps and well.
Now I would not use it for coffee, but I love the high iron content of many of those wells; just pump a jug full, let it sit and particles settle.
Great drinking water.
I still go to coffee shops but not Starbucks, and at that too many non-chain serve standard coffee far too weak.
Most non-chain are gone so where I used to buy probably 40 or more cups a year now more like a dozen or less.If I am in a book store with a coffee shop, I often get a cup but now there are few book stores left.I have been drinking a lot of tea lately but I go through a lot of tea bags to make it strong enough.

[darkgael]

Bob: “ I go through a lot of tea bags to make it strong enough.”
Try some “Builder’s Tea”. Two bags in 8-10 oz. of water. Brews in 20 secs.
I can send you a dozen bags if you want to try it. Let me know.
Pete

[Lloyd Smale]

used a bun for years. I like the fact that they were fast but they use to much electricity keeping the water hot all the time so I went back to a Mr. Coffee type set up. Don't know the brand and would have to put my cup down and go and look. At camp dad still insists on the old perculator to make the tar he calls coffee. You can about stand a spoon up in it.

[darkgael]

“ At camp dad still insists on the old perculator to make the tar he calls coffee. You can about stand a spoon up in it.”
Yep. That is the stuff. Drink it black.
Another thick coffee is italian espresso made in one of those two compartment pots. When I was working, I had a 60 mile commute every morning. I drank a four cup pot of the stuff on the way to work. Don’t do that anymore.
Pete

[Bob Riebe]

Bob: “ I go through a lot of tea bags to make it strong enough.”
Try some “Builder’s Tea”. Two bags in 8-10 oz. of water. Brews in 20 secs.
I can send you a dozen bags if you want to try it. Let me know.
Pete

Thanks for the offer but the postage would cost a bit.
Coffee percolators are not bad if used properly.There are now different types, but they are all similar.
https://coffeeylife.com/how-to-use-a-coffee-percolator/

[Lloyd Smale]

Yup that's me. Put on a pink shirt take my golfin club in my beemer and go to Starbucks .

What?  No one goes to Starpukes and orders a grande, double latte, mocha, caramel macchiato, expresso, cappuccino?  Or whatever?


GOOD!

[Lloyd Smale]

I detest instant coffee. That said I haven't tried any in probably 10 years so maybe something better has come along. what isn't bad though are those t bags with coffee in them. I used to buy those when I was single a lot. Good to make a quick cup for the ride to work.

[Lloyd Smale]

im fortunate. Some of the best water in the country comes right out of my tap.

I regularly travel to a nearby roadside spring that has been used by local folks since at least 1822.  I take 8 one gallon jugs and fill them.
  That's where my coffee and drinking water come from.  Farmersville; the local township where the spring is located, decided to not shut down the attraction, because of it's history..only posting a CYA sign.