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To my taste any coffee is better than none, a sentiment not shared by some of my finickier friends. I suppose that my palate isn't refined enough to appreciate the myriad intricacies that comprise fine coffee making today. Still, some cups, and some brewing methods, are better than others. And it is in this light that I would take a slight exception to the brewing method recommended in the above article, and offer the following variation for so called camp coffee ( it works at home too): Don't boil it. Now, I've had mud and gladly drank it without murmur other than thanks to the cook; but there is a better way.

Bring the water to a rolling boil, remove it from the fire, then add the grounds. Let it sit for five minutes, until all the grounds are thoroughly saturated, then jiggle the pot a little to encourage the grounds to sink. Let it stand off the heat for another minute or two to clear, and serve. The cook takes the first cup which may have a few grounds in it that have clung to the side of the pot. I find that a tapered pot works best with this method.

I've heard that dried and crushed egg shells thrown on top of the grounds encourages them to sink and has a clarifying effect. I've also heard the same claim for a dash of cold water sprinkled onto the steeped grounds (?). Could be, but I just jiggle the pot: not only a man of undiscriminating taste when it comes to java, but lazy too.

Sandy

selewis wrote:To my taste any coffee is better than none

I concur.

I've also heard the same claim for a dash of cold water sprinkled onto the steeped grounds (?).

This works. My friend Jack makes the best campfire coffee by this method.

Couvi wrote:

I've also heard the same claim for a dash of cold water sprinkled onto the steeped grounds (?).

This works. My friend Jack makes the best campfire coffee by this method.

I've had camp coffee done that way as well, and it does work.

Pat Holscher wrote:

Couvi wrote:

I've also heard the same claim for a dash of cold water sprinkled onto the steeped grounds (?).

This works. My friend Jack makes the best campfire coffee by this method.

I've had camp coffee done that way as well, and it does work.

Thanks all. I tried it this morning with good results. As I recall, some time ago Joe said that his grandmother used eggshells. I wonder what the chemistry or mechanics behind that technique is.

I seem to live on coffee and a decent brew (cup of tea)! The bundu method of making coffee: boil the water and chuck heaps of ground coffee in, while it is still boiling. As soon as the foamy and most delicious liquid comes out of the pot, take it off the fire and drop a glowing piece of charcoal in the pot. This makes the coffee powder sink to the ground and it might even give it a better taste (?). Never take the used powder out of the pot, unless there is no more room for water. After a couple of fillings the stuff comes out like oil from a well and is just great, instant heartattack garantued!

Enjoy

Tom

I really like coffee (or at least I drink a lot of coffee in the morning) but when you look at what it is, and how you make it, you have to wonder how human beings ever came around to discovering how to actually prepare and drink it.

This is supposed to be good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
I'd be interested in any consumer responses...

Trooper wrote:This is supposed to be good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
I'd be interested in any consumer responses...

Uhhhh! Pass!

My parents had a large "graniteware" coffee pot that held several gallons. It was used only a few times a year like threshing time when a 10 to 20 man crew needed their coffee. Mom and Grandma fed the crew in shifts so the thresher didn't to shut down for anything so trivial as eating.
Grandma's recipe for coffee I don't recall, put she always broke two raw eggs into the brew when she took the pot off the stove.
My own experience with coffee (I was raised on a dairy farm, milk was cheaper than coffee) didn't come until I was in the US Army. Army coffee was or is a lot too strong for me. I found tea more to my liking. I'm still a confirmed tea drinker.
Richard

Trooper wrote:This is supposed to be good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
I'd be interested in any consumer responses...

How on earth would would anyone have been inspired to try that?

Pat Holscher wrote:

Trooper wrote:This is supposed to be good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
I'd be interested in any consumer responses...

How on earth would would anyone have been inspired to try that?

Legend has it,according to the wikipaedia article, that poverty among the native population was the spur. It also goes on to say that the stuff ranks very low in blind tasting tests conducted with professional coffee tasters. Trendiness appears to account for its popularity, to the extent that it is.