Vacuum Coffee Pot on Board?

[Dockhead]

Having lots of Brits and Russians on board, I have a whole dedicated tea locker, and we go through hogsheads of the stuff, especially on passage.


But I love my coffee (you can take the boy out of Yankeeland, but you can't take the Yankee out of the boy). I go through different phases with how to prepare it, and can't ever seem to get it just right.


Have a Nespresso on board and use it a lot, but I'm not crazy about espresso drinks, like espresso occasionally but not constantly, and consider the "Americano" -- i.e., watered-down espresso, to be an abortion.


Have a good double walled stainless French press -- good, not great, bit of a faff to clean.


Tried Aeropress -- big faff for mediocre (in my opinion) results.


Kind of went back to cowboy coffee after that -- just brew the grounds directly in the cup and strain with your teeth. I like the brew as much as anything else, and it requires no apparatus, nothing to clean except the cup.


Not having tried everything, however, I start to wonder about vacuum (syphon) pots, something I've never tried.


Bit fragile for on board usage, but perhaps worth it if the results are any good.


Anyone using?

[SVRocinante]

Good day Dockhead - have tried all of the above and agree with everything you've said, except that I hated the Nespresso stuff! It was neither good espresso nor coffee! Yuck!

As you're suggesting, I found the vacuum pots to be too fragile for my liking.

Anyway, I've been using a pour over into a stainless steel Thermos Brand carafe for well over 15 years now and the coffee that comes out is the best you've ever had!

Attached is a photo of my setup - the grinder is actually the only 120-volt appliance aboard Rocinante! Inverter comes on for about a minute or so to grind the coffee and that's it... gotta conserve those batteries!

I use one of those permanent filters, so no waste and no storage issues - coffee stays hot for hours. If you want specifics, let me know and I'll point you towards the grinder I use as well as the filter.

[2020]

nothing comes close to this.
can be heated on gas, fire, electric, anything. is light. Isn't fragile, doesn't rust, doesn't need cleaning all the time, uses coffee from anywhere and most importantly, produces a seriously good coffee. Ask ANY italian.

[Uricanejack]

Unlike you.
The Americano is my kind of coffee. I don’t drink milk so lattes Capochino ect are out.
The Americano is for when I go out. The days where I would head for the pub are over. I spend a small fortune every week on Americanos and my wife latte.

I tend to brew tea at home. Avoiding publicly bought tea in North America on Principle.
We have done Drip Coffee French Press even a small expresso machine at home.
I’ve tried the Nesspreso coffee but I really don’t like the individual packaging which goes with these types of coffee.

For camping kayaking hiking I often carry tea. But I like my coffee,
I always had one of those cheep percolators for camping and the boat. I recently bought a nice stainless percolator from Moutain Equipment.

When I am out doors hiking ect percolated coffee tastes the best. I love to hear it bubble on the camp fire. The stainless is on the boat. Again out door coffee. Percolated taste best outdoors.

I never make coffe this way at home. It just isn’t the same.

I also like to by my coffee from the local fair trade organic supplier.
I used to get a few pounds of Jamaican Blue mountain every year but the guy I got it from is gone.
One of these days I have to go to Jamaca and get a Blue Moutain Americano and a couple of pounds ground up for my percolated coffee on the boat.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Uricanejack

Unlike you.
The Americano is my kind of coffee. I don’t drink milk so lattes Capochino ect are out.
The Americano is for when I go out. The days where I would head for the pub are over. I spend a small fortune every week on Americanos and my wife latte.

I tend to brew tea at home. Avoiding publicly bought tea in North America on Principle.
We have done Drip Coffee French Press even a small expresso machine at home.
I’ve tried the Nesspreso coffee but I really don’t like the individual packaging which goes with these types of coffee.

For camping kayaking hiking I often carry tea. But I like my coffee,
I always had one of those cheep percolators for camping and the boat. I recently bought a nice stainless percolator from Moutain Equipment.

When I am out doors hiking ect percolated coffee tastes the best. I love to hear it bubble on the camp fire. The stainless is on the boat. Again out door coffee. Percolated taste best outdoors.

I never make coffe this way at home. It just isn’t the same.

I also like to by my coffee from the local fair trade organic supplier.
I used to get a few pounds of Jamaican Blue mountain every year but the guy I got it from is gone.
One of these days I have to go to Jamaca and get a Blue Moutain Americano and a couple of pounds ground up for my percolated coffee on the boat.

You and my father . . .



My father always made percolated coffee when I was growing up on his boat. He never percolated at home -- he said it was "adventure coffee" for him. But tastes differ -- I always found percolated coffee to taste burned. No pleasure at all for me. YMMV.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Good day Dockhead - have tried all of the above and agree with everything you've said, except that I hated the Nespresso stuff! It was neither good espresso nor coffee! Yuck!

As you're suggesting, I found the vacuum pots to be too fragile for my liking.

Anyway, I've been using a pour over into a stainless steel Thermos Brand carafe for well over 15 years now and the coffee that comes out is the best you've ever had!

Attached is a photo of my setup - the grinder is actually the only 120-volt appliance aboard Rocinante! Inverter comes on for about a minute or so to grind the coffee and that's it... gotta conserve those batteries!

I use one of those permanent filters, so no waste and no storage issues - coffee stays hot for hours. If you want specifics, let me know and I'll point you towards the grinder I use as well as the filter.

I must have consumed a million Melitta pour-over filters while I was in law school, used with a cheap plastic Melitta cone, and right into a stainless Thermos jug to take to the law library with me. Freshly roasted coffee from one of those gourmet coffee and tobacco shops on E. Main St. in Ann Arbor. Got me through many an all-nighter. Come to think of it, that was when I really became a proper coffee drinker.


Maybe I should give that a try again. A tremendous advantage of pour over is that there is nothing to clean up -- the mess is contained in the paper filter. This is always the biggest logistical challenge making coffee on board.

[Kenomac]

Obtain some of this Cafe Bustelo in either instant or whatever form you prefer, and your search will be over. Instant is just easier on a boat and I can’t tell the difference.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Obtain some of this Cafe Bustelo in either instant or whatever form you prefer, and your search will be over.

I actually do drink (and serve) instant coffee (gasp!) on passage, in rough weather. As far as instant coffee goes, I have had and do like Cafe Bustelo (I've had their Cuban style ground coffee too).


But the key phrase here is "as instant coffee goes". Not what I would choose to drink in calm weather or at anchor.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I actually do drink (and serve) instant coffee (gasp!) on passage, in rough weather. As far as instant coffee goes, I have had and do like Cafe Bustelo (I've had their Cuban style ground coffee too).


But the key phrase here is "as instant coffee goes". Not what I would choose to drink in calm weather or at anchor.

It comes in other forms.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I must have consumed a million Melitta pour-over filters while I was in law school, used with a cheap plastic Melitta cone, and right into a stainless Thermos jug to take to the law library with me. Freshly roasted coffee from one of those gourmet coffee and tobacco shops on E. Main St. in Ann Arbor. Got me through many an all-nighter. Come to think of it, that was when I really became a proper coffee drinker.


Maybe I should give that a try again. A tremendous advantage of pour over is that there is nothing to clean up -- the mess is contained in the paper filter. This is always the biggest logistical challenge making coffee on board.

Dockhead

this is what I use - bit of a challenge in tough weather balancing everything - but good coffee.

I saw a big tea thermos once. The hole was big enough to drop the whole plastic funnel down that means you don't have to worry about the funnel falling off.

unfortunately - I saw it and thought - great idea- but didn't buy one

[bletso]

Originally Posted by 2020

nothing comes close to this.
can be heated on gas, fire, electric, anything. is light. Isn't fragile, doesn't rust, doesn't need cleaning all the time, uses coffee from anywhere and most importantly, produces a seriously good coffee. Ask ANY italian.

Got one and they do a good job.

[CptCrunchie]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Kind of went back to cowboy coffee after that -- just brew the grounds directly in the cup and strain with your teeth. I like the brew as much as anything else, and it requires no apparatus, nothing to clean except the cup.

You are missing the key to cowboy coffee. We only feed the grounds to people we want to leave our campfire.

Not sure how you make yours, but here's how real cowboys make it.

Pot, water. Pot on fire to boil. Pot off fire for 30 seconds. Stir in 1 big scoop of grounds per mug. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir again. Let sit for another 2 minutes. Gently add a couple of teaspoons of cold water to the grounds. Watch them sink to the bottom. Pour slowly. No grounds! Great coffee!

Want to kick it up a notch? Grind fresh.

[CptCrunchie]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You and my father . . .

My father always made percolated coffee when I was growing up on his boat. He never percolated at home -- he said it was "adventure coffee" for him. But tastes differ -- I always found percolated coffee to taste burned. No pleasure at all for me. YMMV.

My aunt taught me how to make perked coffee. The trick is to turn the burner down the moment you hear the first perk. You want it to perk slowly, like 1 every 5-10 seconds, like a 'gurgle ....perk'. From there, go by the smell. Trust me, you will know exactly when that is.

Too much heat, and you will burn the coffee. Going through the beans, you want around 200 degrees and no steam. How do you get 200 degrees from boiling water? That's the secret of the tube. It runs through the water, which cools the tube, while the pot never quite reaches boiling.

BTW, for those who know what a Starbucks is, that is how they create their 'unique' flavor. They buy the cheapest beans, then burn them in the roaster. The smell you walk by on is burnt beans. Not a fan.

[roverhi]

I've got a between the knees manual grinder. It's a bit of labor to grind the coffee but part of the morning routine. Load the coffee in and sit in the cockpit grinding the coffee contemplating the anchorage or marina.

If it's just me, have a double walled stainless French press. It used to be quite good at keeping coffee hot. It took a flyer a while back and now has a significant dent in the outer jacket and hasn't been as good at retaining heat since. Pour the coffee into a fat bottomed spill proof ss mug that West Marine used to sell. Not really insulated but will keep coffee drinkably warm for an hour. With more than me aboard make coffee with a Melita filter into an old SS thermos. The thermos has a wide enough neck that the Melita filter basket sits nicely on it. With a little care can make coffee at sea but not when it's quite rough. The Thermos is short and squat so will sit upright on a counter unless it's really nasty. Don't know what technology these old Thermos's used but it will coffee hot for most of a day..

[SVRocinante]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Dockhead

this is what I use - bit of a challenge in tough weather balancing everything - but good coffee.

I saw a big tea thermos once. The hole was big enough to drop the whole plastic funnel down that means you don't have to worry about the funnel falling off.

unfortunately - I saw it and thought - great idea- but didn't buy one

Yep, that's exactly why this works so well!
That funnel fits snuggly inside the mouth of the Thermos; actually takes a bit of effort to pull it off once I'm done. I place the Thermos carafe in the galley sink to hold it steady(ish) if underway... works like a charm!