My Favorite Way To Make Coffee

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mvweebles said:
How about a compact electric tea kettle such as THIS ONE for any of the pour-over methods (Aeropress, Chemex, Melita, French Press, etc)? Will easily run off inverter and boil water in less than 2-mins. Would consume around 50-watts (4 Amps @ 12V). Appears to be pretty small, so easily stored.

Peter
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That's a good point. Despite having at least one of those in the house, I forgot about electric kettles. The momentary power draw could be a challenge though. My house bank is only 400ah, so a kettle that draws 1000+ watts would cause a pretty big voltage dip for a few minutes and be a bit hard on the batteries (even though total power draw isn't an issue). Probably manageable, but not ideal. The current small coffee maker only draws about 500 watts, so it's an easy load to power.
 
I’ve used aero press a ton. The benefits of pour over with much less mess. Makes great coffee. Quick and easy if you have a kettle. I’ve had a gencafe roaster for a number of years. I bought it with the boat in mind as green un-roasted coffee lasts a lot longer than roasted and the unit is portable to be able to be brought along. It makes a repeatable roast from good specialty coffee. I also graduated to a drum roaster that I can adjust and plot bean temps in real-time for real profile roasts. I don’t roast as much anymore as I’ve lost most of my sense of smell and well, it’s gotten really hard to do! But along the way I learned about coffee and what I like, and can be a better shopper and consumer when buying from local roasters.

My daily is now a more lazy process of a basic drip of really good coffee from a technivorm. High quality, low effort.
 
rslifkin said:
That's a good point. Despite having at least one of those in the house, I forgot about electric kettles. The momentary power draw could be a challenge though. My house bank is only 400ah, so a kettle that draws 1000+ watts would cause a pretty big voltage dip for a few minutes and be a bit hard on the batteries (even though total power draw isn't an issue). Probably manageable, but not ideal. The current small coffee maker only draws about 500 watts, so it's an easy load to power.
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You shouldn't have any problem pulling a couple mins of 125A (DC) off a 400-ah battery bank. Starting Batteries are designed with at least 800 CCA in mind, so pulling a fraction of that shouldn't be a problem, even with deep cycle batteries.

A friend is building an off-grid cabin. I built a temporary solar system for him with two 300W panels, a 2000w PSW inverter/charger, and a pair off Costco golf-cart batteries (200Ah total). We ran about 10-cups of Nespresso coffee every morning before we got going (no solar yet), and it easily kept up with power tools all day, including a table saw and an ancient Skil worm-drive that was rated at 16A.

Peter
 
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I know you guys are gonna dump all over me about this, but I thought it might be of mild interest to you to know that there are folks afloat who function without caffeine/coffee. I first went to sea fifty four years ago this summer, and coffee has never passed my lips in all that time. Yet I managed to maintain my same old sunny disposition at all times. (That is POSSIBLY an exaggeration:))

I do admit that at about 0500 on the bridge of a rolling destroyer when the severely coffee-addicted boatswain's mate-of-the-watch fired up his pot over on the port side of the pilothouse, my sleep deprived brain actually savored the aroma my olfactory nerves transmitted. However, I cannot abide anything of a coffee taste and never had a caffeine need. Lucky me.

However, I do live with a Keureg person who must have her two cups every morning OR ELSE, and I thus have to make sure all the concomitant heating and/or electrical provisions are in place wherever we lay our heads which in the end makes me a coffee slave anyway. :(
 
Fortunately for me, I can function just fine without coffee in the morning when I need to. But I like coffee, so I try to make sure it's available.
 
I'm glad you non-coffee drinkers don't feel left out and found a way to contribute to a conversation about "my favorite way to make coffee". Cheers.
 
I am a pour over user and like the disposable paper filter because it reduces cleanup.

This is the best invention ever: silicon, folds flat, has a drip catcher and uses standard melita-type filters. With or without the grinder...

https://www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-Gourmet-Pourover-Java/dp/B07NS7BNXR

coffe_1.jpg
 
We have used a Presto Stainless Steel coffee pots for 25 years. Will brew 6-8-10 or 12 cups. We like hot coffee and this pot keeps it hot, also the lid seal keeps it fresh tasting all day.
One secret we learned was never plug and unplug the bottom electric plug, the contact will fail much sooner. Periodic cleaning is easy with Brew Rite powder cleaner, the inside will sparkle like new including basket, lid and stem.
 

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Sure is expensive hanging around on this board. That’s two trips to amazon I’ve made from this thread alone! And not even to buy boat stuff!
 
Used to use the aeropress all the time when I flew long-haul cargo. Freighter coffee stings a bit. ;)
 
If you want the BEST chocolate sauce .....
Sander's hot fudge.
I personally like the milk chocolate.
Is is so good, women get naked for a second taste.
 
Admiral and I like a stronger brew, expresso style.

At home we have a machine that will brew endless cups as long as the water and bean reservoir is kept filled. Grinds the beans and high pressure heated water flows through the the cup.

On the boat we tried the percolator way with fresh ground beans but found it was not consistent brew either weak or even burnt and had to be watched/timed too much.
Found a carafe style electric one where it stays hot for hours without power, brewing time is a few minutes for up to 12 cups, easy on the inverter. Add fresh ground beans and water, press button, also press stronger button.

On the boat daily we add a shot of the cream from the baileys bottle for added flavour.
 
We have 3 on the boat...
One classic stove top perkulator, one French press single cup, and one Stove top Cuban espresso. Mostly do the Dead man's stuff in the perkulator. If I use the Cuban we use the Cuban Café La Llave as it last forever and a splash of milk. I do say the best cup I have ever had came from The Northwest Maritime Center. Some fancy pour over cup that took them 5 min to make, it was worth the wait.
 
We've been using the Aeropress since the spring. I'm a fan, the wife is not so much, but she's coming around on it.
Some tricks, which I learned from another forum member here I think is to load the press up side down with the filter off, so then you get a good soak on the grounds before you press it. You need to be careful as it's kind of tippy inverted and any boat roll could dump it in your lap.
I give it a second load of water for a double shot as well.
Also, I don't fully press it down when pressing. I found if you really press it down it has a tenancy to pull off the filter when you retract it, then you get grounds in your second shot, not good...

I don't think the Aeropress is a good solution for several people but is fine for a couple and great for only one.
 
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lwarden said:
We've been using the Aeropress since the spring. I'm a fan, the wife is not so much, but she's coming around on it.
Some tricks, which I learned from another forum member here I think is to load the press up side down with the filter off, so then you get a good soak on the grounds before you press it. You need to be careful as it's kind of tippy inverted and any boat roll could dump it in your lap.
I give it a second load of water for a double shot as well.
Also, I don't fully press it down when pressing. I found if you really press it down it has a tenancy to pull off the filter when you retract it, then you get grounds in your second shot, not good...

I don't think the Aeropress is a good solution for several people but is fine for a couple and great for only one.
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I'll try this method tomorrow morning. Thanks!
 
For us, it's the Nespresso Machine. Hands down the best coffee on a consistent basis, no matter where you are in the world. Of course it costs more, but I consider it one of my pleasures in life since I stopped drinking alcohol in 2016. We don't eat out much either (unless it's a social gathering), because we are eating well (cooking our own food these days - for health reasons), and it's surprisingly cheap. So, the coffee is one of my personal pleasures, and I drink a lot of it.


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We use an old-fashioned percolator on the propane stove top. No generator or battery bank required. No filters to buy.
 
nemier said:
For us, it's the Nespresso Machine. Hands down the best coffee on a consistent basis, no matter where you are in the world. Of course it costs more, but I consider it one of my pleasures in life since I stopped drinking alcohol in 2016. We don't eat out much either (unless it's a social gathering), because we are eating well (cooking our own food these days - for health reasons), and it's surprisingly cheap. So, the coffee is one of my personal pleasures, and I drink a lot of it.


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+1 on the Nespresso machine. Great coffee every time. Easy, fast and no clean up.
 
Swfla said:
I'll try this method tomorrow morning. Thanks!
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i used the upside down method today. Same measurements of beans and water. This method produced a richer/fuller cup of coffee. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better it is when made this way!!
 
All the best coffee brewing contraption and expensive beans and grinders can produce excellent coffee IF what counts for 99% of the process is taken into account. WATER
No distilled, purified water or tap water.
What’s needed is Spring water that’s not to hard or soft.
 
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hmason said:
+1 on the Nespresso machine. Great coffee every time. Easy, fast and no clean up.
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Have to ask
Is the Nespresso one type of pod coffee or a name for pod machines. Have run into many in hotels over last few years drop in the pod. On Nespresso site I see the original pod is the same style but new ones are a half round.

Nespresso has a ton of choices, how do you choose when there is no french roast.
 
Nespresso has many different machines and many different coffees. The coffees on the website are rated by intensity and by the size of the coffee cup the pod will produce. My wife like Melozio and I like Stormio. Both yield a 7.75 ounce cup. We use the Vertuo coffees with a Vertuo machine. Been using it for many years.
 
Whole bean of choice, weigh it, grind it, add to French press, add hot water (4cups) to press for 4-5 minutes, press, and add to mug.
Had Ecuadorian this morning.
 

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