An Apparently Stupid Way to Make Coffee

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

pfffttt...if you have a generator....ahem, like me....use an electric coffee percolator...make as much....or as little as you want...blend different coffee's, etc..

come with me and live on the wild side

Even without a generator, electric coffee production is often viable. I've been hunting for a bigger coffee maker, but the instantaneous draw of them makes me think I want bigger house batteries first. One of my big reasons for installing an inverter was to avoid needing to fire up the generator just to make coffee, especially if the admiral was still sleeping.

As-is, the single cup coffee maker we use draws ~430 watts and runs happily on the inverter. It quite reliably produces a 16 ounce cup of coffee with 50 watt-hours of power consumption. Not bad in my mind.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Even without a generator, electric coffee production is often viable. I've been hunting for a bigger coffee maker, but the instantaneous draw of them makes me think I want bigger house batteries first. One of my big reasons for installing an inverter was to avoid needing to fire up the generator just to make coffee, especially if the admiral was still sleeping.

As-is, the single cup coffee maker we use draws ~430 watts and runs happily on the inverter. It quite reliably produces a 16 ounce cup of coffee with 50 watt-hours of power consumption. Not bad in my mind.

I’ve a simple 900w invertor for galley use

[MicHughV]

true....a good inverter can also do the job..

can't start the day without a good cup of java...!!

[MountainKing]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

After a rather bad burn when the inverted Aeropress separated, pouring boiling water/grounds onto and cooking Handsome Husband’s hand, the safer replacement is the Bobble Presse. So far so good.

Or just don't invert the Aeropress and use it the way it was intended. Bobble press looks like it's pretty much just a french press. As long as you don't have your coffee ground too course, like if you buy ground coffee that's a grind suitable for a drip coffeemaker, there's no need to invert. Just follow the directions that came with the Aeropress.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

May as well take a spoon full of grounds and a swig of hot water and swish it about in your mouth.

Chew well and then floss to get the remaining grounds out of your teeth.

Some people actually like coffee and like to get down and dirty with it.

Others are squeamish about the grounds.

Reminds me of some other activities, actually.

To each his own!

I very much like our "cowboy coffee", which we make underway sometimes, and it's popular with the crew. The secret is to wait for the grounds to settle out -- well, that's the same secret as for proper use of a french press. I very much like the taste and texture, but again -- each to his own.

The big disadvantage of this method is cleaning the cups afterward. We used to do this in the 90's on the old boat which had direct discharge from the galley sink to the sea, and this problem didn't exist -- foot pump seawater and wash the grounds into the sea. But this boat has a gray water tank, so can't do that. I would drink more cowboy coffee otherwise.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Even without a generator, electric coffee production is often viable. I've been hunting for a bigger coffee maker, but the instantaneous draw of them makes me think I want bigger house batteries first. One of my big reasons for installing an inverter was to avoid needing to fire up the generator just to make coffee, especially if the admiral was still sleeping.

As-is, the single cup coffee maker we use draws ~430 watts and runs happily on the inverter. It quite reliably produces a 16 ounce cup of coffee with 50 watt-hours of power consumption. Not bad in my mind.

Most cruising boats today can easily support electric coffee making.


We certainly don't run the generator to do it -- just flip the inverter on, if it's not on already. The total amount of power required is very small since the load is on for a short time.


I have a new bean-to-cup machine (a DeLonghi something) in one of my land homes which is dramatically more compact than the Saeco one I bought a couple of decades ago when they first came out. It makes fantastic espresso, and is highly adjustable to get it just right. This is also like 1/10 of the cost of the old Saeco, less than €300. It's of course much cheaper to run than the Nespresso. It's bigger than the Nespresso machine but would still just about fit in my galley. It would be no problem running this off the inverter; it only draws 1450w for a couple of minutes, and makes two cups at a time. Hmmm. . . .

[Mal Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I switched from a cheap Hario hand-grinder to a wonderfully engineered (but pricey) Comandante Grinder and the difference was incredible. Not only was grinding beans no longer an aerobic exercise, but the grind consistency is close to or better than some commercial electric models.

The aeropress is a bit of a hassle aboard, mainly because I like the "inverted" method which is unstable even on a kitchen counter on terra firma. But the Hario V60 goes into the sink and makes a great and fast brew. 400ml of coffee (24g of beans at medium fine grind) takes only about 3 minutes; not taking boiling the water into account. The Italian Mokka-pots take longer and use a lot more energy to heat.

Zanshin, the Aeropress inverted height problem is solved with the Fellow "Prismo". The water is held by the valve while the grounds are brewing, then just press into the cup. Yeah, it's ridiculously expensive, but it works well.

I don't have the patience for a pourover, even at home never mind at sea. I've migrated to the Aeropress w/Prismo on the boat.

Totally agree with you on the Commandante or high quality hand grinder. Just ordered a 1Zpresso ZP6.

No idea what Dockhead is up to with his chemistry set.

[goboatingnow]

my friend hs one of these a snipp !!!!

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by Mal Reynolds

Zanshin, the Aeropress inverted height problem is solved with the Fellow "Prismo".

That is an expensive solution. But I've reverted to using the Aeropress as the inventor originally designed it to do. Since I'm alone, I don't have an issue with the one-cup design. I'm currently aboard using the Hario V60 for my first cup in the morning as that gives me a 400ml kicker to start the day. The next coffee is from the AeroPress - either normal or inverted. Life is too short to drink bad coffee! Although my bug-out-bag at home now contains instant coffee. But that's a survival thing, not a pleasure thing. I've only had one bad migraine in my life, and that was sailing from the USA to the Caribbean. After a couple of days, I felt miserable. The weather was bad, so I didn't brew coffee, but once it settled down and I made a cup of Joe my headache immediately disappeared. Doctors say caffeine addiction rivals that of nicotine

[Mal Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I've only had one bad migraine in my life, and that was sailing from the USA to the Caribbean. After a couple of days, I felt miserable. The weather was bad, so I didn't brew coffee, but once it settled down and I made a cup of Joe my headache immediately disappeared. Doctors say caffeine addiction rivals that of nicotine

I had a few days in the Southern Ocean when it was too rough for the Aeropress, even downwind. Went to Starbucks VIA instant as a backup in tough conditions to stave off caffeine deprivation. Not horrible, but not freshly ground Aeropressed coffee either. Good to stay warm in cold latitudes.

[JPA Cate]

@Dockhead:

If you really miss the cowboy coffee. Replace galley sink with a three-holer, and plumb seawater into and drain to sea from one of them. The hardest part will be running the hose from your selected intake. (Previous boat, we took it out of the raw water to the engine cooling.)

And, if you're ever short of water because of some disaster, you can even wash dishes in salt water, and you don't have to be frugal. Dry them and re-stow. The towels won't dry completely until they're washed in fresh water, but that's what laundries are for.

Ann

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Mal Reynolds

I had a few days in the Southern Ocean when it was too rough for the Aeropress, even downwind. Went to Starbucks VIA instant as a backup in tough conditions to stave off caffeine deprivation. Not horrible, but not freshly ground Aeropressed coffee either. Good to stay warm in cold latitudes.

I never believed caffeine gave one a high.. drink 10+ mugs a day. Then on my first solo Transat I ran out of smokes and coffee.. 19 days with neither till I attracted the attention of a coastguard cutter about 35nm S of Falmouth.
They boarded me and discovering I was very low on supplies gave me some bread, tomatoes, cheese, coffee and I bummed 5 smokes of the only smoker on board.
I then sailed on through the night toward the Solent sipping coffee and smoking 1/2 a ciggy (I had cut them in half to eke them out)..
It was like being on speed, I was buzzing like crazy..

[Dr. D]

Aero press is all you need.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Others are squeamish about the grounds.

Not squeamish...just tastes nasty and gritty.

Cowboy coffee is essentially percolated but with the grounds mixed in.

Problem with both methods is once you leech out the good flavors, it starts leeching out the nasty flavors.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I never believed caffeine gave one a high.. drink 10+ mugs a day. Then on my first solo Transat I ran out of smokes and coffee.. 19 days with neither till I attracted the attention of a coastguard cutter about 35nm S of Falmouth.
They boarded me and discovering I was very low on supplies gave me some bread, tomatoes, cheese, coffee and I bummed 5 smokes of the only smoker on board.
I then sailed on through the night toward the Solent sipping coffee and smoking 1/2 a ciggy (I had cut them in half to eke them out)..
It was like being on speed, I was buzzing like crazy..

Like many addictions, your body builds up a tolerance if regularly used.

Knew a drunk once who could down a fifth of hard liquor in an hour (don't know how he didn't die of alcohol poisoning) and still seemed stone sober, yet I have no doubt drinking alcohol will get you drunk.