Let's Talk About Coffee Machines ....

[Morkonan]

Old Sarge says: Instant coffee. Take one pack out of the MRE, tear off top and bottoms up right in your gob. Don't drink, just let it disolve. Works like a charm. No MRE's? @$!# Airdog ANY @$!# instant coffee Okay? Jeez!

^--- This.

That stuff was only "coffee" because it said so on the little packet... Nobody ever believed it, just like everyone knew why "Cheese Spread" was still labeled that, even though it was flavored spackling paste.

[Hank001]

@Morkonan:

Yeah I went to Folger's instant myself. That MRE coffee in my day (say 1985 when they started MRE's to 1994) wound you up tighter than a cookoo clock. (Caffine hell I think amphetamine is closer) But in a pinch you quaffed what you had to.

[Morkonan]

@Morkonan:

Yeah I went to Folger's instant myself. ...

I used that for awhile. But, then I figure out that I could make "more" coffee using an automatic drip coffee maker. "More Coffee" is better than "Faster Coffee."

I once worked in a government facility that, apparently because they were cursed with a purchasing department that just didn't care about anything, ended up with "Chock-Ful-O-Nuts" friggin' coffee in all the coffee machines. Every_Single_One.

There are two coffees I won't drink. One is "chikory" which isn't friggin' coffee, and the other is "Chock-Ful-O-Nuts." I drank gallons of that stuff, but no longer!

Here, I serve a fresh pot of Folgers House Blend ground and roasted coffee every morning. I buy it in the "Brady Bunch Size" tub...

PS - I also use the "Coffee-Mate" Natural Bliss Vanilla creamer, 'cause it's just real cream, sugar and vanilla. In my dotage, I have retreated from the "pure black eat-it-with-a-fork" coffee I used to need.

[Hank001]

@Morkonan:

Choc full of something! Think I'm going to snag that machine Santi posted about and I found on Amazon Prime in the US. Have to check my finances at the first. My single cup Hamilton Beach isn't cutting it anymore.

[Morkonan]

@Morkonan:

Choc full of something! Think I'm going to snag that machine Santi posted about and I found on Amazon Prime in the US. Have to check my finances at the first. My single cup Hamilton Beach isn't cutting it anymore.

For "espresso?"

You can get a stove-top espresso percolator for cheap. But, that's espresso. There are some combo units out there that are fairly decently priced, too. (IIRC, I remember seeing a stovetop espresso maker on the shelf at the local grocery store. Sure, it's probably crappy, but it'd be an affordable intro to espresso.)

One of the things that holds me back is maintenance. I don't want to have to do much more than run some diluted vinegar through the machine once every couple of weeks or so. Cleaning out gummed-up milk isn't something for me.

[Aye Capn]

There are two coffees I won't drink. One is "chikory" which isn't friggin' coffee, and the other is "Chock-Ful-O-Nuts."

I challenge that statement!

[brucewarren]

In my day you had a round metal thing about three inches across with a hole in
the middle. You stuck it in the saucepan to stop the milk boiling. Coffee itself came in powder form and you added it to the mug along with a decent amount of sugar.

The posh folks could put water in their coffee. Or they were really flash honey instead of sugar.

A filter was something that fitted over the carburettor* to stop dust getting into the engine.

* In those days only the really flash guys could afford fuel injection.

[Santi]

Think I'm going to snag that machine Santi posted about and I found on Amazon Prime in the US. Have to check my finances at the first. My single cup Hamilton Beach isn't cutting it anymore.

Disclaimer, that is the machine that Alien Tech Inc, the OP is thinking of buying, and for the record, I am not that keen in that machine.

Further disclaimer, just checked what a Hamilton Beach is, and that Alien Tech Inc. machine is not the machine you are looking for.

@Morkonan

A stove top espresso percolator or Moka pot as it known in Italy, does not produce an espresso, even if they sell it saying it does, it is a compromise, the coffee is stronger than that of a French press but weaker than espresso.

[Hank001]

@ brucewarren:

Perculators. Ah yes. The days when the only coffee beans were robustus. "Coffee Urns" and people queued up in front of them to get it "fresh". Having to put a pinch of salt in your cup to cut down the acids. Thanks BW for reminding me how much better coffee's gotten since the olden days. Cars on the other hand are over-engineered crap now that you can't fix them yourself. Unlike coffee.

Edit: @ Santi: The Hamilton Beach is what I have now. A single cup machine. I was looking at Expresso machines on Amazon Prime. I'm probably going to grap one, but they keep selling out fast so I'll wait till the first of the month, find one, read reviews, and then buy one.

[Morkonan]

A stove top espresso percolator or Moka pot as it known in Italy, does not produce an espresso, even if they sell it saying it does, it is a compromise, the coffee is stronger than that of a French press but weaker than espresso.

All I remember is that I wouldn't have made it through many college exams without one of my dormitory neighbors having one of those things.

So, is the only way to really make espresso to use a much more complex contraption? Do explain! I must correct my ignorance! (Just my ignorance on espresso. If it was on "all things," we wouldn't have enough time... )

[CBJ]

Making espresso requires the water to be passed through the coffee grounds under pressure. That's what gives it the strength and depth of flavour, and also the "crema" on the top. The water pressure produced by a percolator is nowhere near high enough.

[Hank001]

CBJ:

Making espresso requires the water to be passed through the coffee grounds under pressure. That's what gives it the strength and depth of flavour, and also the "crema" on the top. The water pressure produced by a percolator is nowhere near high enough.

I'll have to dig it up but there's serious science out there on just the right H2O temp, injection pressure, coffee grind, etc. Formulas that make it look like rocket science. (Though I think half the space program runs on caffine anyway)

[Morkonan]

Making espresso requires the water to be passed through the coffee grounds under pressure. That's what gives it the strength and depth of flavour, and also the "crema" on the top. The water pressure produced by a percolator is nowhere near high enough.

I thoughts those were basically little steam systems. Perhaps they just bathe the coffee, instead? My neighbor in college (dormitory) used to make this for us, so I don't recall actually doing much of it, myself. (I'm sure I did, several times, as I recall borrowing it. But, I don't remember noticing how it worked. )

[jlehtone]

Moka pot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot has water going [up] through the coffee exactly once. That does have some pressure.

Percolator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator has water falling through coffee. No pressure at all, just gravity. You can keep circulating water through the coffee multiple times.

Traditional coffee pot had water and coffee mixed. No filtering through. Just cooking. Percolator has more control on how much you brew.

[Morkonan]

Moka pot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot has water going [up] through the coffee exactly once. That does have some pressure.

Percolator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator has water falling through coffee. No pressure at all, just gravity. You can keep circulating water through the coffee multiple times.

Traditional coffee pot had water and coffee mixed. No filtering through. Just cooking. Percolator has more control on how much you brew.

Ah, the mocha pot! That was probably it, as internal design looks similar! Thanks for the info on that - I now consider myself more informed in the ways of coffee, which is always a good thing. (Drinking coffee from an "automatic drip" coffee-maker, right now.)

There are two coffees I won't drink. One is "chikory" which isn't friggin' coffee, and the other is "Chock-Ful-O-Nuts."

I challenge that statement!

WTF is "decaffeinated coffee?" That's - That's illegal, isn't it? (Sorry I missed your post earlier.)

[Hank001]

Morkonan ponders:

WTF is "decaffeinated coffee?" That's - That's illegal, isn't it? (Sorry I missed your post earlier.)

Decaf: Coffee with essential ingredients removed or to quote David Letterman: "warm dirty water".

[jlehtone]

Decaf: Coffee with essential ingredients removed or to quote David Letterman: "warm dirty water".

Tea?

Drinking coffee from an "automatic drip" coffee-maker, right now.

Where gravity pulls water through coffee (at most) once. No pressure.

[brucewarren]

Tea?

Now you've done it. While I don't drink the black stuff myself I get the impression that to some people it's rather important.

A certain Empire was pretty much built on it, a certain group of rebels caused a war when they threw it into the sea and most importantly of all:-

All British tanks have carried a device for making tea for over half a century so that soldiers don't have to risk their lives getting out of the vehicle when a brew up is required.

[Hank001]

brucewarren notes:

All British tanks have carried a device for making tea for over half a century so that soldiers don't have to risk their lives getting out of the vehicle when a brew up is required.

And US Air Force cargo planes fly with built in coffee makers. Guess they can't go hopping out to build a fire either.

[Aye Capn]

Decaf is illegal above the drinking age of 16. Giving someone decaf is assault and battery.