Coffee Cups/Mugs and morning rituals

[Guest]

Just to wobble away from the main thread a little, too danged hot is why I switched from lip blistering metal coffee cups to ugly plastic travel mugs.
I feel less authentic but so much more comfortable at 7 am. Feeling authentic at 7 am is generally not a problem.

I have never understood the allure of a metal coffee cup. David Brower’s decade’s long use of his “iconic” Sierra Cup left me wondering “why”?

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1113620

Even in the 60’s I had discovered ways to not burn my lip on a scalding metal cup, or have the coffee go cold before I got to it. After using a variety of plastic cups and insulated mugs I settled on an old insulated Bodum cup, originally meant to be paired with a coffee drip-cone (still have the cone, still works fine with coffee grounds).

That was 20 years ago, and I know there are fancier and better insulated Yeti mugs and the like, but I still prefer that ancient Bodum 2-cup semi-insulated tumbler. Nothing else feels as familiarly comforting in hand, or on sip, as that old friend Bodum.

PC300286 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

OK, I expect there is a bit of Brower-ish coffee cup and ritual in all of us.

Current morning ritual; stagger over to the blue barrel, pull out the “Breakfast” and “Stove” bags, boil 2 cups of water in the Jetboil, pour it in the Bodum mug, dump in two packets of Starbucks via (or one packet of Via and one of instant Folgers if I am feeling cheap), sip slowly while I wander aimlessly about camp while waking up and thinking about what I want for breakfast.

Make a second cup after breakfast to intermittently sip while breaking cap, and bring whatever’s left in the Bodum in the canoe with me.

I guess that would work with tea as well, but I always get a cramp in my extended pinkie finger when sipping tea.

 

[Eric Billard]

I’m a big fan of the GSI Portable Java Press, makes for great easy coffee. You gotta have the good stuff every morning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Odyssey]

There is "the proper" way of drinking tea and coffee (https://www.etiquettescholar.com/din...etiquette.html).

And then there's this way (https://19thct.com/2014/01/12/drinking-from-saucers/)

(http://appalachianmagazine.com/2019/03/05/old-time-practice-drinking-coffee-from-saucers/)

Here's me and the missus. ( Not really.) No pinkies required. ( Not really.)



I'm always on the lookout for something new. My wife picked up another Bialetti coffee pot, only this one is a single serving espresso sized Brikka. Tried it this morning and yum. We have cappuccinos every morning here in our kitchen at home. But in our canoe camp kitchen it's usually a percolated or French pressed thing. No frothy milk. No saucer.

 

[Guest]

Actually, I take a serria cup-a titanium one. I like the way the handle fits in my hand, it doubles as a water heating pan when I go ultralite, and I can hold it over the fire to dry it after washing.

 

[latremorej]

I'm also a big fan of the coffee press. The coffee steeps while I start breakfast.

I will drink coffee outta just about anything. Dont need to be fancy. I like my coffee luke warm anyways! Hahaha.

In the spirit of dual purpose... my Coleman vacum SS beer can coozie works well as a coffee cup. Whiskey is good out of it too!

Jason

 

[Roybrew]

I'm like Eric Billard, I like my GSI coffee press. I buy the dark beans and grind them like powder. Takes a little dash of cold water and tapping on side of cup to get the grounds to settle before pressing. I take my time with a great cup of joe. This thing is going on 2 years old. I use it alot.

 

[Guest]

I'm still searching for a good lightweight way to make good coffee that doesn't leave heavy grounds to pack out. Instant is awful. Small capsules of coffee concentrate are my best so far. Any other ideas?

 

[scoutergriz]

I generally use a GSI lexan cup for most trips, but when going ultra light, I take my old Peak One sierra cup, a nylon spoon, a 1L pot and my 4 cup perc and that's it! I store my fresh, baggied grounds in the perc wrapped around the stem. and when I've made the coffee I'll spread them out on what ever paper or paper towel from my dehydrated breakfast(I line my baggie with one to stop sharp food particles from poking through) I have handy near the fire to dry, then I'll pack them up to burn in that night's fire.

 

[Robin]

I just carry one of those blue enamel metal cups. I like to keep it near the fire to keep my coffee warm.

I also like to keep it lashed to one of the straps of my Duluth Packs for a quick drink over the side of the canoe.

 

[dougd]

I started out with the metal cups, never liked them. I've switched to insulated cups of a variety over the years and have a cup I've been using for at least 10 years now. No idea the maker and it was given as a gift. Has a lot of miles. Used to bring my perc aluminum named the Almighty Coffee Pot. Shared around many a morning fire. Seems in later years everyone has their own blend to fix so switched to a Stanley Coffee Press which saves me some space and does a great job. Kinda miss make a few pots of coffee for the crew in the morning!

dougd

 

[Oldtyme]

This is why I joined.(other than asking silly questions about cheap canoes)
My first canoe trip I stayed at a campsite...with electricity....and brought my little coffee maker
Hardly roughing it. I know I need to get one of those cool little GSI presses. I would probably use that at home sometimes too...
Coffee is priority #1 (well other than surviving, but would you want to without coffee?) Deep thoughts.

 

[Odyssey]

Sitting around the low fire of a scented candle (lol) on the back porch tonight I broached the subject of gear selection with my missus. We're pretty much agreed on most things until I asked her opinion on coffee makers. She was unshakable in her choice. The percolator. I was surprised given I'm the morning coffee maker maker. But I understand her reasons. It makes great coffee. It makes lots of it for the 2 of us. And it fills the camp kitchen area with coffee aroma well before we've reached for our cups. Yeah, the perc will be coming again this year.

 

[Pinecones]

Coffee is so soooo important to a canoeist's wellbeing! And I've tried a number of styles of mugs: metal insulated, enamel, plastic, plastic insulated, capped/non-capped, tall, short. But generally, I tend to always go back to a lightweight MEC plastic double-walled mug with lid. It's lightweight and its low, wide body sits well on uneven ground. It holds a generous 1.5 cups. I have 3 of them in different colors (but the white one is my lucky one). Sadly, they don't make them any more.

I used to always use a Bodum press The caraf is plastic, not glass and I removed the handle so it slides easier into a pack or elsewhere. You can keep hot coffee insulated with a spare shirt or whatever and I wear a glove when picking it up. Had other types of presses but they always broke down. If I'm solo, I leave it at home and make cowboy coffee: less weight to bring and tastes just as good.

 

[Guest]

I'm still searching for a good lightweight way to make good coffee that doesn't leave heavy grounds to pack out. Instant is awful. Small capsules of coffee concentrate are my best so far. Any other ideas?

Turtle, I tried some (liquid) coffee concentrates a few years ago and they were OK but now seem hard to find.

I have settled on Starbuck’s Via, an instant coffee that is different from freeze dried stuff. Via is made with a totally different process than freeze dried instant, and it actually tastes like a real cup of coffee:

https://fortune.com/2009/10/02/starbucks-new-high-tech-coffee/

Yeah, it’s a buck a cup. It’s worth it; for the taste, for no grounds to deal with or clean up, and for the packing size and weight. A month’s worth of Via packs will fit in a sandwich sized baggie.

 

[Guest]

As I've said many times before, I settled on Folgers Coffee Singles, coffee bags. Simplifies my life. Ground coffee in "tea bag" format. Makes pretty darn good coffee. Dry out the used bags by the fire, and pack out, Weighs very little. Amazon says 19 bags have a shipping weight of 5.6 ounces. Bought a box at Food Lion just last week. The boxes of Folgers singles are kind of hard to spot because they the box is about the same size as all those boxes of stupid Kuerig K cups.

 

[yellowcanoe]

We went to Grand Manan Island for some extreme tidal paddling.. Here is the sentiment on that working fishing island.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Gotta be real coffee for me. Good coffee at home is a must, if it is good at home out on the land it is excellent. Alaska Coffee Roasters Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans are to my taste buds the best ever or at least up until now. I have a little Porlex stainless steel coffee grinder that I take with me, even on short day trip fishing outings, I'm taking it with me on a blueberry picking outing tomorrow with my bride.
I have tried Via four times now, I do not like it, might be that I do not care for it because it is made from Arabica coffee, which I do not like. The Via's that I have left are being added to Swiss Miss hot chocolate to make a satisfying moka that can not taste that burnt Starbucks at all.
My favorite cups were I think, called Cascade Cups, made just like the Sierra Cup, but with vertical sides like a real cup. I think that it is no longer made, I think they came from REI. I have had mine for at least 45 years, just as good as the day they came in the mail. You can stick them on a stove or hot coals to re-heat coffee. Second favorite cup is a half plastic/half pine chip cup made in Finland called a Kupilka 37. It is modeled after the carved wooden burl Kuksa of the Sami northern reindeer herders. I like the dipper like handle that you can use in the winter with mittens or gloves on, it does not burn lips. I sometime like to take along my enameled steel cups, mostly for the tradition, gotta be careful with them because they can burn your hands and lips, then within a minute the coffee has cooled to a undrinkable temp. The ones with the stainless steel rims do not transfer heat to the lips like the plain edged cups.
I would gladly share a pot of coffee good or bad with just about everyone on this forum.

 

[Guest]

I get the coffee concentrate on line in little single serve capsules cheap. It's called Top Roast. Says it's Colombian coffee. not too bad.

 

[Canotrouge]

I'm with BorealBirch, need to be great coffee all the time!
I do poor over now in the bush, easy clean fast.... we boil water for every one for breakfast, I do my coffee, then pick up the paper filter and throw it in the fire box and done!!

 

[Guest]

The 20 cupper in action, flying coffee flag parade.

On your knees with that empty coffee cup and bow before the perk pot you hung-over wench!

Mike 2002 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr