I am sure there are at LEAST 50 different ways to make coffee.
I Love Coffee in the Morning
I use the 16oz Contigo cup that I have blogged about earlier. I like coffee that has caffeine. I like coffee that tastes like coffee. I use good old Folgers Classic Roast, Medium grind (Costco size). Reasonably priced, and easy to find. It is not flavored with exotic spices or nuts. Oh, and it comes already ground. About 1/3 cup of dry grounds with 16oz hot/boiling water or in the Mr. Coffee, makes a great cup. I cream with one rounded teaspoon of regular dry Coffee Mate, (not flavored or the liquid). Add one rounded teaspoon of real sugar. I can usually make this last for about 45 minutes of great sipping. This is all the coffee I have for the day until next morning. I do not care for instant in any form.
Contigo Cup
With Shore Power and Without Shore Power
With
When plugged in to shore power, the best coffee maker for me is the "Mr. Coffee" type. I have this Black & Decker under the counter model that came with my rig when I bought it used. So far so good. I have not been able to find a similar replacement in case this one dies. I like it because it does not take up counter space and it is easy to clean. It is programmable to come on automatically, but since retirement, I do not always get up at the same time. I load it the night before and just press the "on: button first thing in the morning. I don't need to be measuring coffee and boiling water first thing (or handling sharp objects.) Any of the "Mr Coffee" types work great for RV's with shore power and most models are cheap and compact. I do like the Keurig types and I note they are now smaller and have come down in price. Problem for me is that to get a 16oz cup of fairly flavorful (strong) coffee you have to make two 8oz batches. This runs the already pricey brew cups up even more. Another consideration besides cost, is that it is much easier to store ground coffee than to store the brew cups. BTW, I buy the Costco humongous size. After I open the can, I fill a small can to keep in the freezer. The rest, I vacuum seal and store in the pantry so I don't have to freeze it to stay fresh.
Black & Decker Under Cabinet Coffeemaker
Humongous Size, Freezer Size, Vacuum Sealed
Without
I do not care for instant coffee. I like it BREWED. My weapon of choice (without electricity) is the Melita, one cup cone. I brew it directly into the cup, so it takes a little co-ordination. (difficult first thing in the AM) Same 16 oz cup and same 1/3 cup ground coffee. I pour boiling water from the teapot into a known measure for pouring in to the cone. I just fill it to the top and then stir to be sure all of the grounds get in to the mix. When you finish, the grounds come out with the paper filter and you can pour a little hot water through the cone to clean it. No washing! I have heard a lot about the French Press. They make great coffee, (like the Melita) but a lot of cleanup. I used to use a percolator. Problem is that they boil and recirculate the coffee. Much different flavor.
Melita Cone On Contigo Cup
A Little of Both
This is still in the experimentation stage. My rig has a 1000W inverter. It is installed next to the house batteries with 00 Welding cable through a 100 amp breaker. This one-cup Black & Decker Brew N Go electric costs less than $20 and makes a 12oz cup in about a minute and a half and draws 800W. This is an 80 amp draw on the battery bank through the inverter for a minute and a half. I tried it twice when the batteries were at 100% and it did not draw them down that much. Line voltage was 12.8V when I started. It drew down to about 11.8V when brewing and came back to 12.0V at rest. I tried this all the way down to 80% charge on the Tri-Metric and it worked fine with no complaints. I even made two cups at 80% charge and it was still OK. Clean up is the same as with the Melita.
Black & Decker Brew N Go
PS
I now use this method regularly when boondocking.
Nice round-up Roger. I use the Melitta into a Copco thermos method. Keeps the coffee hot for as long as I want to sip. Peet's coffee blasts me awake in the AM.
ReplyDeleteHope you all are having fun in ABQ. See you guys in a few days.
Jeanne (and Riley)