Coffee challenge, Freeze dried versus pod crap

[rsn48]

So I haven't tasted many various brands of coffee pods. I only use the K machine when I go to my son's and partner's condo for visits. They don't drink coffee (how uncool is that) so rather than leave coffee beans to deteriorate my son bought K machine so I could subdue my addiction.

I'm a mild coffee snob, at home fresh ground beans, expensive coffee maker, Brita filtered water. I usually go for the bolder types of beans like Sumatra and others.

I have yet to taste pod coffee that tastes at all decent. I've always suspected not enough coffee has been placed in the pods. I have noted some companies are offering pods packed with more coffee. I have not tasted any of these packaged coffees yet.

But I am beginning to suspect that a quality freeze dried coffee is better than most of the pod coffees out there.

So my challenge to you is this, first no whimpy mild and medium roast type coffee drinkers need apply, to pit your pod coffee against a freeze dried should you take on this challenge.

Beg, borrow or steal a freeze dried coffee that you have been curious about and try it comparing it to your pod coffee. Below I have provided a link with suggestions. Note: I can not promise you will be happy with the selection. The goal is to find a great or perhaps just good coffee that is BOLD.

https://vinepair.com/articles/best-specialty-instant-coffee/

 

[Spinner]

I use a Nespresso machine (Pixie model) on board. I am also a bit of a coffee snob! It makes a small, very good cup of coffee! Better than freeze dried, imho.

Not my choice of coffee equipment, but the K machines make a better cup if the user selects a small cup option ....

 

[Shrew]

I gave up on the Keurig after my third one in roughly three years. I used tap water at home, and it destroys them. I percolate coffee on board. Hard to beat. I do use pre-ground, canned coffee. I'm not a coffee snob, I'm a coffee addict. There is a big difference. It's more about frequency and quantity than quality with me.

 

[O C Diver]

I use a Nespresso machine (Pixie model) on board. I am also a bit of a coffee snob! It makes a small, very good cup of coffee! Better than freeze dried, imho.

Not my choice of coffee equipment, but the K machines make a better cup if the user selects a small cup option ....

I also use a Nespresso on board. The Cafecito de Cuba is my favorite. Two shots 1/2 cup each, is my morning ritual.

I also bought a compact K cup machine. Tried 50+ different coffees (we had a store that would sell individual pods), couldn't find one that didn't taste weak compared to my Nespresso. Looked at putting an espresso machine on board. Just don't have the space for the one I want.

Ted

 

[caltexflanc]

No pods, no freeze dried here. Uh-uh. Either ground beans or pre-ground in a can. I'm not a coffee snob any more, my daily brew now is usually the big can of Costco Colombian for 9 bucks. Being vacuum sealed, you can always have a can or two in reserve, so why bother with freeze dry? That first cup of coffee in the morning is essential.

On the boat, I got used to having a maker that had the option of draining into a thermal carafe, loved taking that up to the flying bridge and enjoying the early morning view.

 

[Waterford]

I agree that K pods are pretty bad and I also agree that the Nespresso is so much better. However, I found that cold brew coffee is easy, cheap and versatile. I brew it up, then either ice it or zap it and leave the rest in the fridge. The taste is excellent and there is no recycling or waste of pods.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

 

[ragin cajun]

Keurig makes a too weak cup for my taste. Being a coffee snob my first choice is a French drip cup of Community Coffee dark roast (local). For special occasions Jamaican Blue Mountain gets a 100.

 

[OldDan1943]

Water for 12 cup coffee, grounds for 14 cups, when finished brewing, sits on the counter until gone, room temp to mellow out.
14sec in the micro wave, canned milk, one sugar.
I am not a coffee snob but rather, a proud coffee slob

 

[Insequent]

Another Nespresso Pixie user here. No snob, but I do want more strength than a 'gallon of hot black water' that some people and shops think is a cup of coffee. It sounds like K is weak crap, so blame them not the pod concept!

With Nespresso there is quite a wide variety, and easy to find a few to your taste.

A couple of years ago my Pixie died during and extended cruise and I was on Instant coffee for a couple of weeks before I could replace it. I now carry a spare Pixie on board in addition to the one I'm using! But they each seem to last me quite a few years. I probably don't de-scale them as often as I should, and just run filtered tap water in them.

 

[rsn48]

It sounds like K is weak crap, so blame them not the pod concept!

I think the concept is okay, I think what they are putting in the pods isn't. They are trying to get away with giving you the least amount of coffee grounds they possibly can rather than worrying about producing a great cup of coffee.

Eventually some independent will come along and offer what many of us are looking for, then the others will follow. I want bold coffee made out of decent beans and enough in a pod to make a strong smooth coffee.

 

[Lollygag1]

Fresh ground extra dark course then into a French press. Same as we do at home

 

[Spweber]

Big thumbs up on the French press.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Neither hubby nor I drink coffee, but plenty with us do and they like the K-pod, but.......

They've been through a lot of coffee's to find their faves....

and.....

never have used tap water or faucet filtered, but always distilled water. It's all I'd use in any appliance. Other water is just going to have minerals that can f... up the machine.

Oh and K-pods do some teas and cocoas and other things too. Tried a couple that weren't horrible.

 

[rsn48]

When I was living in my Winnebago 32 motorhome I used a Bodum double walled insulated French Press and enjoyed that coffee. When I used the single walled glass French Press I found the second cup of coffee was to cold. The stainless steel double wall prices have come down since I bought my Bodum.

But french press is part of the challenge.

 

[OldDan1943]

God loves Mr. Coffee. I run white vinegar though it once a year.
I should confess, most of my taste buds were surgically removed when they narrowed the back of my tongue in an effort to “cure” my sleep apnea. The only thing it accomplished was the loss of my ability to taste some things.
So if you tell me my coffee tastes like ****, I have to take your word for it.
My next question might be, Does it taste like good ****? LOL

I do have an old percolator back at the condo and I have not washed it in years. Adds body and flavor to the coffee. My uncle would sneak over to get a cup of my coffee. He didn’t know it was 3 day old coffee ...... I would never turn the percolator off if I was at home. Once a day, I would just add a cup of water to make up for the evaporation. It would percolate though an empty basket.

So unless you are up for a new and exciting experience, don’t drink my coffee.

 

[BruceK]

This is what we have at home. It tells you when it needs cleaning or descaling. Easy to use, coffee beans are ground fresh, the grind and quantity are adjustable. This is my 5th machine , best so far. Breville is an Australian company.The one on the boat is older and simpler, we have a small separate grinder, it makes good coffee too.

 

[mvweebles]

I've tried them all. My challenge is two fold. First, I'm an incredibly early riser and a slow coffee drinker so not keen on a full pot. Second, I travel a lot and tend to show up late at night. Buying fresh coffee for early morning is a problem.

Keurig works well as the pods store for a long time. Best Kuerig for my taste is Starbucks French Roast or Italian Roast. I make a short cup of around 7 ozs. I like the fact that it stores so long so I have a cup when I get to the boat late but I hate the waste.

French Press is good but needs fresh coffee and it takes quite a bit of water to clean. Also better with at least a couple cups. The double walled pots are not vacuum insulated so do not hold heat for long

Nespresso is great but more of an espresso than a coffee. I buy the lungo capsules and make a 4 Oz pour. Small, attractive machine but capsules take up space and are somewhat expensive and can must be Mail ordered.

My current go-to for coffee is Aeropress, more or less same principle as French Press but a single cup. Makes dynamite coffee and it's easy to clean. Relatively cheap and very portable. I carry a small brick of Bustello or Pilon cuban ground coffee. It's more or less espresso grind and vacuum packed and lasts for months.

Peter.

 

[ak-guy]

When aboard I grind fresh beans in the morning with a manual grinder and then make manual drip coffee. The rest of the day I use Mount Hagen Organic Freeze Dried Instant Coffee. I really like it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ESJR20/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[mvweebles]

This is what we have at home. It tells you when it needs cleaning or descaling. Easy to use, coffee beans are ground fresh, the grind and quantity are adjustable. This is my 5th machine , best so far. Breville is an Australian company.The one on the boat is older and simpler, we have a small separate grinder, it makes good coffee too.

Oh yea, I also have one of these. The Saeco version. It's 15 years old and has over 25,000 cups run through it without a hitch. Makes decent coffee (SBUX French/Italian Roast is my favorite, my wife prefers Peets French, /Italian). Not exactly boat friendly and not exactly portable. It does bake a good single cup.

 

[ssobol]

As long as it has caffeine in it, I don't care until after I've had my first cup of coffee in the morning. Typically, I only drink one cup a day.

 

[Wayfarer]

I’m another French press guy. I had a Bodum glass press back at home, but as others have said, it gets cold before I go in for the second cup. They also tend to explode rather spectacularly when dropped, which is less than ideal for boat use.

I picked up a GSI Outdoor Javapress, and it solved all of the issues I had with the Bodum. It’s insulated and keeps it hot for longer than I need, and it’s built like a brick outhouse.

I grind up 8 O’Clock beans. Like an animal.

I had a nespresso machine and very much enjoyed it, but Delaware Bay ended that, and I haven’t felt the need to replace it yet.

 

[healhustler]

While living in the Dominican Republic, I was swept up by the twice-daily preparation of coffee in a traditional Greca, which I still use today. A good working Greca peculator is nearly a sacred possession there, and Santo Domingo brand coffee seems to be the perfect brew for it.

We did have two coffee snobs staying aboard our boat a few years ago, and I was shocked when they became enamored by Starbucks Brand freeze dried instant VIA coffee, saying that it totally and completely satisfied their sophisticated coffee tastes.

 

[lwarden]

Another vote for the Aeropress. Simple, takes up little space and makes a nice cup of coffee.

 

[ksanders]

I use this thing that holds a small coffee filter.

You set it on your coffee cup and pour hot water into it.

Makes a perfect cup of coffee, and I drink Kuai coffee from Hawaii.

Started buying it at Costco on Maui and now get it from amazon for the same price.

I keep a grinder on the boat and savor a great cup of coffee at a uncrowded anchorage in one of the finest wilderness cruising grounds on the planet, Prince William sound, Alaska.

 

[JadePanama]

I couldnt handle not having the good stuff with me, so we got a system close to what we have at home.

 

[Moonfish]

We've been using a first generation Keurig on our liveaboard vessel for 8 years when on shore power. Yes, we occasionally clean it with vinegar, etc. But the reason we think it tastes better than the "K-cups" you buy in the store is we have always used the refillable cups. We grind fresh every morning, and can stuff those little suckers. Great cup o' joe.

However, I do think the French press is a little better, which is what we use whenever on the hook. Ours is insulated, but the second cup can sometimes be too cool. If we have guests I'll make a couple press pots and pour them into a vacuum dispenser thermos. That way coffee stays hotter longer.

I've heard good things about the Aeropress. And per the OP's challenge, we will look into the instant offerings as I will often fall back on a cup of instant for an early morning departure...

 

[rsn48]

Well with stuffing little cups, why not just grind and put into a filter basic and get good drip coffee, less work than stuffing little pods.

The double walled pots are not vacuum insulated so do not hold heat for long

The Bodum french press I have is a double stainless steel wall with a vacuum, also cost me something like $100. But it works very well.

 

[ScottC]

Another Nespresso Pixie user here (plus Aeroccino milk frother). Who says you can't have lattes every day?! The Aeroccino frother results are not quite as perfect as genuinely steamed milk, but enjoyable nevertheless. It's also fun to make iced coffee, if you have a martini shaker handy.



A tip for other Nespresso users: Something forced me to RTFM not long ago and I was surprised to note steps one should go through for "winterizing" the Pixie machine if it is going to be subject to freezing temps. I had to toss my prior Pixie due to an annoying leak that developed and, in retrospect, I bet it was the result of freezing.

 

[Insequent]

A tip for other Nespresso users: Something forced me to RTFM not long ago and I was surprised to note steps one should go through for "winterizing" the Pixie machine if it is going to be subject to freezing temps. I had to toss my prior Pixie due to an annoying leak that developed and, in retrospect, I bet it was the result of freezing.

Mine developed a leak, and we just don't do freezing here!

I think in my case it was a pressure triggered failure due to scale buildup.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

The Aeropress would have to make really great coffee for me to do that much fussing. And if I made three cups (my usual morning jolt), how do I keep cups 2 and 3 hot? Would I need to make one cup at a time (cleaning out the finicky little thing each time?) If not, where do I keep cups 2 and 3 while underway in a seaway?

My present favorite is similar to this induction espresso pot, which of course requires an induction burner (and a silicon "anti-skid pad in a seaway). It can be set up in advance and just sit it on the stove top. Turn on the burner and coffee is ready in 3 minutes. Turn on the burner for 30 seconds and the residual water in the lower unit steams again to make cup 2 and 3 hot.

First time I've heard that the sludge in the bottom of a coffee cup is an issue. Now there's a first world problem. Maybe I'm the only one who just tosses the sludge overboard?