Cheap and Simple Posh Coffee Maker

[FlashPan]

Hello all,

Just thought I'd share a little bit of kit I put together. I've been thinking about drinking coffee when out and about and am sure most of us like a nice espresso/fresh coffee over the freeze dried stuff first thing in the morning.

I have seen some portable coffee makers/presses or drip feeders but they all seemed a mix of bulky, fragile and expensive.

So I did a bit of searching on ebay and have come up with the following.

The main elements I was looking for was cheap, study and small.

Vietnamese coffee cup filter Large size for £2.29
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vietnam-...var=431782770730&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Metal Mesh Filter for £1.05
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60mm-Mes...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Holes on the bottom of the Vietnamese coffee cup are way too large for fine ground coffee so I introduced the metal filter.

After extensive minutes of tests I found that it is best to place the metal mesh filter in the Vietnamese cup, coffee on top and the larger filter with handle that come with the cup on top to act as a sort of weight.

You initially need to pour in the water slowly at first and it will take a few moments before coffee starts dripping through and it can speed up a little afterwards. (maybe a filter that had a slightly larger mesh can be used - but then I am getting into a whole different science there). The coffee cup comes with a lid, so that is handy to use as intended while you wait for the water to drain through to add more so not get any flying bugs in there.

The mesh filter I got was ever so slightly wider than the bottom of the cup. A snug fit but a little filing of the edges would be good to consider.

I had to fill the Vietnamese cup 3 times for standard size coffee mug and very nicely the whole contraption fits very well on it's side in my Mk1 crusader mug. Once thing to note is that the cup is not big enough to sit in the middle of the crusader so you have to position it on the left or right edge but it is perfectly stable and secure siting on 3/4 of its edges.

The only negatives I have found (and which I consider very small) is that as it's an all metal affair it will rattle in your crusader during transport but easily rectified with a wash cloth etc as stuffing. The metal mesh can be a tricky to remove but as said before, light filling the edges will resolve that.

Hope I've bought easier posh coffee to the masses

Cheers

 

[Paulm]

These are easy to use and clean and make great coffee, no fiddling around or topping up required !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/161140953249?chn=ps

 

[Paulm]

These are great too and even less bulky https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finum-Brew...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KDKCKVGESFWXXK4BQB8H

 

[FlashPan]

Yep, seen these kind of things before but in my eyes, the Zyliss you are reliant on that filter for that mug and vice versa and for the Zyliss and the 2nd link these filters can be glued in place (which will come apart) and sometime the filter is a plastic mesh which is not as sturdy as the metal mesh. Plus being plastic in general more squash/breakable maybe?

 

[Janne]

If I do not feel for a whole put of coffee, or the easy Turkish style coffee ( grounds in cup, stir, most grounds sink to bottom) I use a XL sized tea strainer, the version with two mesh halves that are hold together with the springy handle.
Also useful for making herbal infusions in.

I love coffee.
Instant "C" is not coffee, but a perversion and a punishment of the tastebuds.

 

[Paulm]

Yep, seen these kind of things before but in my eyes, the Zyliss you are reliant on that filter for that mug and vice versa and for the Zyliss and the 2nd link these filters can be glued in place (which will come apart) and sometime the filter is a plastic mesh which is not as sturdy as the metal mesh. Plus being plastic in general more squash/breakable maybe?

Not really, I've used the same zyliss for years, no problems, can use the insulated mug without the filter if you want. Likewise have been using the metal filters in the second link for years too, no issues at all

 

[SaraR]

These are great too and even less bulky https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finum-Brew...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KDKCKVGESFWXXK4BQB8H

I use these for tea all the time. They have held up to years of use

 

[Janne]

https://www.amazon.com/Leegoal-Extr...1550785430&sr=8-6&keywords=large+tea+infusers

 

[Erbswurst]

http://gsioutdoors.com/ultralight-java-drip.html

works very well and is lightweight.

 

[Janne]

Only because of this thread, my beloved, 16 year old espresso maskina died. Multiple deaths I think.
Chrome plating came off in heaps, buggered up some valves, ruined the pump.

I think she got upset because I recommended the tea infusers......
Karma!

DHL will be happy at least!

 

[Erbswurst]

A friend of me just throws the coffee in the pot with boiling water and waits a bit till it sinks to the ground.
He calls it Greek, but it should be an option for Scandinavians too, because he does it also in Sweden.

 

[Erbswurst]

By the way:
Do the Sami still put bacon in the coffee?
They did it hundred years ago.

Or did they change also to latte macchiato?
Perhaps reindeer latte macchiato?
Or more reindeer latte macchiato with bacon?

 

[Janne]

Latte, Caffein free, with Organic, Faitrade Almond milk, Reindeer cheese and wild harvested Birch sugar.
( Birch sugar because the local COOP does not stock Stevia)

I used to know a few Swedish Forest Same, now know a few Norwegian Coastal Same. Some still put reindeer cheese in the coffee.
It was not bacon, but dry Reindeer meat. They prefer one called 'feta' which means 'fat' sodried meat with lots of fat.
I think that is why you think it is Bacon?

The lean meat is sold to tourists.
It is not as tasty, more chewy and dry than 'feta'.

Yes, a pot, a small handful of medium roast, coarsely ground beans, water. Boil up. Take off the heat. About 10 seconds later - put on heat, boil up. repeat again..

Pots are multi use, so you save weight, money and volume.

I get my dry reindeer meat sent from one shop in Arvidsjaur. She knows me since close to 40 years, and always sends me 'feta'.

 

[Broch]

I love my coffee - preferably a good rich Italian blend 100% Arabica. However, I cannot stand the fuss when I'm out and about with filters and percolators etc. Just a good heaped scoop of fresh ground coffee in the mug, boiling water over the top, give it a stir, leave a minute then stir again - a perfect cup of strong coffee with plenty of Crema on top. I just throw the last cm away - perfect taste no fuss.

 

[Janne]

Throw away the last bit? Sieve the grounds between the teeth when you sip!

As my old friend ECM has given up the ghost, I am making my evening coffee exactly your style. Nice.

I am about to order a Profitec 800......
I run on coffee... No cofiiii, no liiifee

 

[Tengu]

Cant you drink tea? The Chinese do, after all.

 

[Broch]

Cant you drink tea? The Chinese do, after all.

Morning coffee, afternoon tea - we have standards you know

 

[Robson Valley]

Stevia grows like a weed. DIY. Here, I need a deer-proof location.

I've tried all sorts of so-called "superior roasts and blends" of mostly advertizing hype and promotion.
The local (a mile away) coffee roaster does every bit as good a job as any import.
Their aroma-proof packaging is second to none.
"Night Shift" is their medium roast, I'll buy 4-5 lbs at a time.

Relax: it was another -30C night and -20C at sunrise.

 

[Erbswurst]

@Janne, I read it in a book years ago, written by a guy called Eberhard Koebel, Tusk, who hiked there in 1929.

(Off course not bacon. I forgot it half and didn't think about)

He wrote the book "Fahrtbericht 29" and constructed a sectioned, portable tensioned lavvu, which now a days every German boy scout patrol has in use.
We call them Kohte.

Do they cut the meat in small cubes and eat it with a spoon out of the coffee pot or how do they do it exactly?
How is the cheese exactly?

I find that really interesting, but never got the idea to try it out myself. But now I think, I should try that!

 

[Janne]

They slice the meat ( with attached fat) very thinly and put it in the coffee. Eat with a spoon.
Nice.

The cheese looks a bit like halloumi, but is sweeter and has a gotey taste.

In northern Sweden and Finland the ’white’ ( non Same) population used to put a slightly different cheese, made from cow, and sometimes sweetened, in the coffee. That cheese is called ’kaffeost’ in Swedish.
Again, halloumi like.

The coffee itself is made as I described. If they are close to the mountains, or use snow, they add a small pinch of salt.
This because that water is basically distilled, so not so nice in flavour
It is important the coffe itself is medium to medium-light roast, very coarsely ground.

Traditionally, ( in Sweden) the preferred roast is darker the further south you go.
Sweden used to be the largest consumer of coffee per capita, now I think the Finns are. Sweden has dropped a lot, people drink more and more tea, plus herbals.


Most coffee connoseurs/ nerds clsim that the coffee should not boil but be prepared with water well under boiling point, but I think that is wrong!
Coffee can be made with water that is cold, soaking overnight in the coffee pan, all the way to boiling!