coffee in a post shtf world

[Manwithnoname]

I hate Starbucks, I drink my coffee straight up black, and my favorite places to eat are the kind where the day of the week determines what the special is and your only choices are your side and drink. What does that say about me?

[Wise Old Owl]

I am so going to pass on this because if I really posted how I felt - you folks would have to call 911 and get an ambulance to avoid a heart attack. or Forget the morning joe or spew,.

[WalkingTree]

Oh that's just great. Now we're gonna be curious as all-get-out.

[kyratshooter]

You guys just need to run down to the Save A Lot and buy about 4 big jars of their cheap instant coffee. You will have a one year supply of caffeine for a total of about $20.

If you do not open it the stuff will be good when the archeologists dig it up in 3016ad.

It is not Starbucks, but if you get the water hot enough it tastes almost like coffee.

[WalkingTree]

Oooh...yeck...spit spit spit...ugh...

[Phaedrus]

I can't wrap my mind around the fixation with coffee. Personally I can't stand the stuff, simply vile. And in a SHTF situation why would you worry about something with so little survival (or nutritional) value?

[kyratshooter]

It's a matter of both taste and culture Phaedrus.

The kick of the mild caffeine dose is a help in clearing the head, and it becomes something one looks forward too as a ritual.

The flavor is an acquired preference and its "vileness" is why so many people mix in soy milk, caramel, chocolate, vanilla and occasionally Irish creame and Jack Daniels. The less you like the taste of coffee the more expensive the price of covering it up.

Fact is that coffee is probably one of the substances that helped create the democracy we have. Our form of government was created by men discussing the situations of the 18th Century over a cup of coffee in a local coffee house where the newspapers of the day lay scattered about on the tables as a creator of conversations. Coffee houses have been the hotbed of revolutions world wide.

Somehow I simply can not see American GIs of any war or General Washington, Grant, Patton or Stormin' Norman squatting around a fire or standing over a planning map drinking a cup of chamomile tea. It just ain't right!

But if you don't like coffee that's OK. Don't drink it.

I don't eat liver, and it is supposed to be excellent survival food, the first thing you eat after you make a kill. I can't stand the vile stuff! But every PSK I make gets a coffee ration.

[hunter63]

Factory daily operations depends of coffee and BS.......heavy doses of each.

Each to their own.......I like my daily dose......and don't care about anyone else all that much.

[madmax]

When I do "minimalist" (like how I avoided the "s" word?) trips I cut out coffee (and Coke) beforehand. Caffeine withdrawal can be uncomfortable. Now my wife would REALLY miss it. That said, no coffee for a few days and even instant starts looking good.

[tundrabadger]

It's a matter of both taste and culture Phaedrus.

The kick of the mild caffeine dose is a help in clearing the head, and it becomes something one looks forward too as a ritual.

The flavor is an acquired preference and its "vileness" is why so many people mix in soy milk, caramel, chocolate, vanilla and occasionally Irish creame and Jack Daniels. The less you like the taste of coffee the more expensive the price of covering it up.

Fact is that coffee is probably one of the substances that helped create the democracy we have. Our form of government was created by men discussing the situations of the 18th Century over a cup of coffee in a local coffee house where the newspapers of the day lay scattered about on the tables as a creator of conversations. Coffee houses have been the hotbed of revolutions world wide.

Somehow I simply can not see American GIs of any war or General Washington, Grant, Patton or Stormin' Norman squatting around a fire or standing over a planning map drinking a cup of chamomile tea. It just ain't right!

But if you don't like coffee that's OK. Don't drink it.

I don't eat liver, and it is supposed to be excellent survival food, the first thing you eat after you make a kill. I can't stand the vile stuff! But every PSK I make gets a coffee ration.

Democracy? heck, you can credit coffee with the financial system as well....you know how much stock trading took place in coffee shops in London?


Incidentally, if you want to be really authentic with liver as the first thing you eat after a kill, do it inuit style and eat it raw.

[edr730]

For all the coffee drinkers out there, including myself, coffee is probably the healthiest drink out there that most people drink. Besides increasing energy and brain function, burning fat, helping protect against diabetes, helps the liver on and on, it has massive amout of antioxidents, and some B2, B3, B5, manganese, magnesium, and potasium. There aren't many teas from the store or from the herbs and spices from the kitchen that aren't good sources of such things. In the woods, there are teas everywhere that have fats, sugars, antioxidents, vitamins and minerals or pain relievers. Of course it makes some darn thin soup, but at least it keeps you hydrated and gives you a little boost.

[Rick]

I believe the creation of the universe happened over coffee.

"What's next. Lemme see. Ooh. a World."
"Want that warmed up?"
"Please.........with people. Yeah, that's the ticket."

[WalkingTree]

Personally I can't stand the stuff, simply vile

I have an informed hypothesis concerning this, perhaps even a theory: Among coffee types there can be a diversity of opinion on taste. There are two categories of explanation for this, one growing from the other in the following manner.

Firstly, it is a matter of poor quality crappy stuff, in the sense that most people despite their different tastes would still agree on - they'll have different preferences, but still hold the common view on the bad stuff...for the most part (many people like what I'd call the crappy stuff, and there's nothing wrong with that. But this can still arguably be attributed either to that phenomena not being exposed to anything else or just growing up with it, or just not caring and literally just drinking for the kick-effect and nothing else).

Secondly, those who learn the difference between generally good and generally bad inevitably continue to develop their personal tastes preferences further, as a result of that door being opened. And this accounts for the diversity of tastes all within the realm of generally good coffees, versus the generally bad which they'd all say don't even qualify as coffee yet in the first place. (Also, I'm mostly talking about black-drinkers...no cream or sugar or funky flavoring.)

Ok...so...now...many people who hate coffee will still hate it no matter what. Same as with many things. However, a lot of people who hate it, or think they hate it, simply had the misfortune of only being exposed to generally bad coffee, hence their impression of what coffee is...is inaccurate and greatly skewed - believing from then on that they know what coffee tastes like when actually they've never really had it yet. Ponder this: Ever hear people comment that they love the smell of coffee, but hate how it tastes and can't drink it? Do you have this experience yourself? This demonstrates a possibility - your nose is giving you a hint of what it's supposed to be, per what's carried through the olfactory in that limited fashion, but isn't quite. So when you get the full sense of it by drinking it, you discover that it's bad. But don't know what's really going on. Because it was a poor quality, it pulled a bait-and-switch on you...on your nose then your mouth. Lied to you. And just left you with the wrong impression.

Here's the "problem" with coffee: It's a food-stuff that technically shouldn't really be roasted and ground and then stored away. Can't be preserved very well. Many of us do so...we buy and store pre-ground coffee, and many products "do good enough", and we learn to live with that. But that doesn't take away from the reality that ideally you just can't do that to coffee. Imagine milk from a cow. Without any refrigeration of any kind. And without any kind of chemical preservative. That milk is milk only for a short period of time. If you drink milk beyond that point, it is drastically different and just isn't milk anymore. And you might not like it very much - not as normal milk anyway, versus the other things that we make from milk...

...the "window" for coffee is just a bit finicky: Once it is brewed, you shouldn't apply any heat to it (will quickly change it's chemical composition thus it's taste, so use a preheated thermos) and it should be enjoyed immediately after brewing - if it sits very long after brewing it will still change quickly; It should be brewed very shortly if not immediately after grinding; It should be ground very shortly if not immediately after roasting; It should be roasted very shortly after picking from the plant. (variations of each of these steps, as well as the specific plant and it's environment, are what determine different coffees...but that's beside the point here.)

So, work in the other direction: As soon as you roast it after picking, you can't let it sit and have to grind it; As soon as you grind it, you can't let it sit and have to brew it; As soon as you brew it, you can't let it sit and have to drink it...with no heat applied once brewed. It is a case of "once you start it, you have to finish it. You have to go all the way."

This is all in an ideal world, which few of us will ever indulge in. But it's good to understand what "the deal" is with coffee - if you're not doing all of this ^ , you're not quite knowing what coffee really is. It's not just a small difference, in proportion to less-than-perfect practices...the absence of the above practice or just parts of it, results in a drastic difference. This is why some people have their own fancy grinders and roasters...in the case of coffee, it's not because of some over-the-top over-indulgence, but it's because that's the only way to really have normal coffee...without even talking about more expensive or stuck-up tastes.

[hunter63]

All that made my head hurt.......

[tundrabadger]

All that made my head hurt.......

You clearly haven't had enough coffee

[hunter63]

You clearly haven't had enough coffee

Yet......Beer30 is 5:00.....
We have to go to a Ducks Unlimited Sponsors Dinner .... in a bit....so will put the coffee cup in the sink...Head out....then start in with the adult beverages.

[WalkingTree]

I'm so bad when it comes to coffee that when I drink very much beer, I get a taste for coffee. After drinking very much beer, it's on to a pot of coffee.

[Manwithnoname]

LOL Hunter, what I thought about that Starbucks snowflake link article but I know and agree with what Walkingtree is saying. Back before Starbucks became the walmart of coffee I was a barrista/am of a real coffee house. So, Hunter, you may want to skip this if your head still hurts but I'll try to keep it simple and brief.

There are two different types of coffee beans, arabica and robusto. Arabica=good robusto=not so much. All good quality coffee is 100% arabica. Not so good is a blend of the two. Plain black and white liable "coffee" may be straight robusto I don't know, probably don't want to. Kona, blue mountain, whatever refers to where it's grown. French roast, espresso, whatever is simply how it's roasted. The darker the roast, the stronger the coffee but it also has variances with the roast temperature. Folgers, maxwell house, whoever, if the label doesn't say 100% or pure arabica it's a blend of arabica and robusto beans. Arabica coffee is flavorful, smooth with very little bitterness. Robusto is more bland but plenty bitter. They blend it for the age old reason, cheaper to make. Since probably none of you are roasting your own green beans, the best way to buy coffee is whole bean form. As soon as it comes home from the store put it in the freezer or at least the fridge and grind it as you need it. As soon as those beans are roasted, they begins to oxidize which equals lose flavor and increase bitterness. Freezer/fridge slows this process. Also, all you diehards like me have heard the old timers say, " don't wash only rinse that percolater". Unless bitterness is what you're after, you should always wash whatever coffee making equipment you use, thoroughly after each use. If you don't, the oils left behind add acidity (bitterness) to your next brew. Lastly, since this is after all a survival site, whole bean or ground (since you probably won't have refrigeration) store it in something air and light tight. Oxygen and light speed the oxidation process (reduce flavor, add bitterness).

Ps....if you buy whole beans from a place storing it in clear jars and your getting the bottom of the barrel, ask them how much of a discount you're getting on those god only knows how old beans.

[WalkingTree]

Don't like a percolator either though. What it's doing is cycling the coffee through the heating element over and over, until it's gone around enough times and is done. And that constant heat re-application screws the whole thing up. French press is best, or something like it, I believe...but I just do the electric perk and learn to live with that.

I wonder if coffee plants would do very well in a FreightFarms setup. If so, I'll have to include that in my fancy schmancy post collapse off grid survival compound. And have my own roasters and grinders. And have that to trade with. I'll have a neon sign - "Ye Olde Post Collapse Coffee Shop".

[Faiaoga]

I have never been in the military or been that great a boat handler, but I worked with a former Navy petty officer who told me that the Navy runs on three things: diesel fuel, paperwork and coffee.