View Full Version : For trail coffee lovers
http://www.thrueat.com/blog/best-coffee-backpacking
Thought this might help although it's been discussed before.
Patrickjd9
02-26-2017, 13:56
Have to agree with the article. Haven't seen anything to improve on Starbucks Via.
Have to agree with the article. Haven't seen anything to improve on Starbucks Via.
I like the Via Italian Roast. Cafe Bustelo is equally good. @ $1/6 servings Cafe Bustelo is AWESOME!
Wayne
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Have to agree with the article. Haven't seen anything to improve on Starbucks Via.
me on the other hand....almost every instant variety I have tried I like better than via. Camping the other weekend with a some friends who were drinking just plain old nescafe. Pretty sure I'd rate it above via.
it's such a personal taste thing I guess...
Maybe I'm weird, cause I don't really care for starbucks brewed stuff either..... it's ok, but not my favorite. I'm talking regular brew from the shop, or even their retail stuff. I find it bitter, but I like their expresso stuff just fine.
I have some stuff now I had read about so ordered to give a try.... form Korea....maxim. It has the creamer and sugar already mixed in, very good flavor but I find the variety I bought (gold I think it is) is way too sweet and a little weak. I learned that you can pinch the bottom of the "tube" and catch the bulk of the sugar before it pours (sugar settles to the bottom)
rocketsocks
02-26-2017, 16:55
I like some of there products, what I don't like is their incessant push to sell me ideas I'm not looking for, so I no longer shop there.
swjohnsey
02-26-2017, 17:30
I guess instant coffee is better than nothing.
Another Kevin
02-26-2017, 19:51
If I can't have real coffee I'm not going. GSI sells a sub-1-oz filter basket. It brews weak unless you use a paper filter inside. So I pack some paper filters and some ground coffee.
nsherry61
02-26-2017, 20:11
. . . GSI sells a sub-1-oz filter basket. It brews weak unless you use a paper filter inside. So I pack some paper filters and some ground coffee.
REI lists the weight of the GSI Ultralight Drip Coffee Maker (https://www.rei.com/product/784659/gsi-outdoors-ultralight-java-drip-coffee-maker) as 0.4 oz. I use one quite a bit, often even at home. I love it. I find it brews my coffee just perfectly, without the addition of paper if I do not pour all the water through at once. Instead, I splash in a little to wet the coffee down, then pour in a little more to start the extraction, then pour through the rest to the level I want.
I'm with Shug on the Medaglia D'Oro. Whoooo Buddy!
I'm with Shug on the Medaglia D'Oro. Whoooo Buddy!
I've had a jar of that stuff in the cabinet for years. Junk I tell you. Mrs. Wayne won't even use it for cooking.
All of which proves that no two people like the same coffee.
Wayne
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swjohnsey
02-26-2017, 20:40
Cowboy coffee is some of the best coffee out there. You don't need anything that you don't already have other than coffee and sugar.
colorado_rob
02-26-2017, 20:52
Coffee is soooooooo subjective, but perhaps those Starbuks haters out there will at least acknowledge that there are many folks who really love the stuff, and that maybe we're not all a bunch of nut-bars, nor are we just following some sort of fad. When I had my first instant Via many years ago now, I clearly remember thinking, "finally, this is it! A drinkable instant coffee, perfect for backpacking !".
Via's are pretty much the only instant coffee's that are almost as satisfying as "real" coffee, and the convenience (over all those weird little devices people mess with on the trail) is worth that small bit (to me and many of us) degradation from "real" brewed coffee. One other brand/make that is drinkable is the Folgers Dark Silk instant packs, a bit cheaper, but not quite as good as a Via. I've tried all those others folks on here mention, and they aren't even close to Via's, and many of them are downright undrinkable.
Purely subjective!
capehiker
02-26-2017, 21:01
I've been a big fan of G7 3-n-1 coffee. It's nice because it has a nice balance of cream and sugar in it, and you only have to bring the packets and not worry about the condiments. Sometimes I bring the G7 regular coffee (strong and bold) and will add it to the 3-n-1 packet for a bolder brew.
Furlough
02-26-2017, 22:57
Another subjective input. Via is Ok and will do if I can't find Clasico by NesCafe.
scrabbler
02-26-2017, 23:19
My best instant coffee find ever. And I've tried them all.
https://www.amazon.com/G7-Instant-Coffee-3-Servings/dp/B008A0AL0G
My best instant coffee find ever. And I've tried them all.
https://www.amazon.com/G7-Instant-Coffee-3-Servings/dp/B008A0AL0G
Have you had the opportunity to compare it to the Korean 3 in 1 options?
The Solemates
02-27-2017, 09:21
I cannot stand any of the granular coffee, even starbucks via. My choice is coffee bags.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/10448886?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227009624288&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40888820552&wl4=pla-74916915634&wl5=9015694&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=10448886&wl13=&veh=sem
Odd Man Out
02-27-2017, 11:46
When VIA was first released the had people in the stores offering blind tastings comparing VIA to brewed Starbucks. I was asked to pick which was which and I couldn't tell by taste. The only difference I noticed was I could see the residue of the micro ground coffee in the VIA. The brewed Starbucks was clear.
Coffee is soooooooo subjective, but perhaps those Starbuks haters out there will at least acknowledge that there are many folks who really love the stuff, and that maybe we're not all a bunch of nut-bars, nor are we just following some sort of fad. When I had my first instant Via many years ago now, I clearly remember thinking, "finally, this is it! A drinkable instant coffee, perfect for backpacking !".
Via's are pretty much the only instant coffee's that are almost as satisfying as "real" coffee, and the convenience (over all those weird little devices people mess with on the trail) is worth that small bit (to me and many of us) degradation from "real" brewed coffee.
Purely subjective!
That's largely in a nutshell why this was started. I thought it might help folks with alternatives to consider too.
I thought that trail coffee test was fair exampled by the author/test conductor saying he/she had other preconceived ideas. It shows me consideration of open mindedness.
I've had similar likes for the same reasons using the Aero Press for at home and car camping so could associate with their anal coffee snobbery usage. :p
That thru-eat site also was fair about Harmony House dehydrated products looking better with less moisture regarding the dehydrated peas and black beans than the author's own DIY versions. My dehydrated black means mainly split open too so could associate. I liked they were dehydrating things like black beans, broccoli, chicken, mushrooms, black olives, pineapple, and shrimp providing simple succinct directions. These are all I will consume on trail but paying more than desired prices. This gives me alternatives of making up a large dehydrated batch saving some do re mi. Never heard of anyone dehydrating yogurt.
cmoulder
02-27-2017, 18:54
Never heard of anyone dehydrating yogurt.
That's what they do with yogurt coated raisins. Seems like they also put a lot of sugar in it, however.
Turk6177
02-27-2017, 19:41
I wish they would make a french press screen that fit my Snowpeak Titanium Mini Solo pot. It would be nice to have real coffee without carrying a whole separate apparatus. For the record, I like to mix my instant coffee of any brand with a hot chocolate packet for extra calories.
That's what they do with yogurt coated raisins. Seems like they also put a lot of sugar in it, however.
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I wonder if your example is equivalent to saying that chocolate flavored dip that solidifies on dipped ice cream cones qualifies as chocolate? :-? I wonder if saying yogurt covered raisins is more processed food industry candy marketing hype than anything else? Seems like one is losing the possible beneficial character of yogurt with "yogurt tasting" raisins or a coating that contains yogurt as an ingredient in "yogurt" covered raisins. More mumbo jumbo from the food science techs?
Yogurt-coated fruit sounds like a double-dosage health food. But don’t be fooled—a shell of “yogurt” contains some very un-yogurtlike things, according to all five of our experts.
“ While these coatings may be called 'yogurt,' they are really a kind of 'frosting' of which yogurt is an ingredient,” says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. The real stars of yogurt coatings are sugar—and not the kind that naturally occurs in dairy foods—and oil. “Having the name 'yogurt' in the mix is supposed to make it all okay,” Katz says. “It does not.”
In fact, the stuff that makes up yogurt coating—typically sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, yogurt powder, emulsifiers and salt—is a far cry from its namesake. “ One should definitely not think about these as a health food,” says Mario Kratz, PhD, a dairy researcher and nutrition scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “I’d place most of these snacks in the same category as candy bars.”
http://time.com/3945988/yogurt-covered-raisins/
What was being done on the thru-eat site is quite different. They were dehydrating actual Greek Yogurt into flakes or shards.
MuddyWaters
02-27-2017, 22:27
One of the things I like about working in middle east is the fresh yogurt at breakfast. Not the jello like sweetened packaged crap westerners eat. Very liquid, from a big bowl, ladle over some cut up fruit and enjoy. If only they would serve bacon...
ScareBear
02-27-2017, 22:40
Lamb sausages are a good brekkie replacement for bacon in the Middle East....
Shakshuka and merguez.......just sayin....
BTW, I truly despise yogurt...one of those things from my youth....that and...lima beans...two things I will never eat again...and pickled fish....never again....just sayin....
Starchild
02-27-2017, 22:51
Tasters choice columbian, has to be their columbian.
Sarcasm the elf
02-27-2017, 23:54
Coffee is soooooooo subjective, but perhaps those Starbuks haters out there will at least acknowledge that there are many folks who really love the stuff,
I don't simply acknowledge it, the fact that Starbucks is so popular is largely the reason that I trash it in the first place. If they were the little guy on the block I certainly wouldn't be on the internet making fun of them, I don't even think they're coffee is all that bad. It's only because they seem be taking over in my area and pushing coffees I preferred out of places like my work cafeteria that I tend to be overly judgmental of their coffee's...um...depth of character.
38422
Purely subjective!
And in good fun! :D
cmoulder
02-28-2017, 08:46
I just ordered (not available locally) some of the Mt Hagen instant to try. Pretty happy with Cafe Bustelo instant but I'm such a coffee addict that I will drink just about any brand of instant coffee in the morning.:eek:
ScareBear
02-28-2017, 09:13
Last time I had Bustelo.....yeah...glad folks like it...me, not so much...
Years ago I switched to tea(Earl Grey) for LDH. But, I am interested in instant coffee for cold coffee on the trail during the day, so it looks like VIA make get a tryout...
saltysack
02-28-2017, 22:52
I just ordered (not available locally) some of the Mt Hagen instant to try. Pretty happy with Cafe Bustelo instant but I'm such a coffee addict that I will drink just about any brand of instant coffee in the morning.:eek:
I like bustelo and via but MT Hagen is better and cheaper @ $.25 per pack...i buy them often on amazon. They are a little weaker so I usually add 3 packs per 2 packs of carnation IB and nido per 25-30oz of water....
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saltysack
02-28-2017, 22:59
Mount Hagen Organic Instant Regular Coffee, 25-Count Single Serve packets (Pack of 4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NN531Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_tE8916jFx7TmB
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saltysack
02-28-2017, 23:00
Actually $25 not sure why price is different as just ordered last week.
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Mount Hagen? Isn't that in NJ? So WD 40, Aquafina, that cheap Picante Sauce that PACE Picante Sauce has ragged on, and now coffee is packaged in NJ/NY? :D
Here's how cheap coffee, just coffee, the roasted beans, really are ...even some of the "gourmet" beans being grown and shipped 1000's of mile away(Sumatra, Ethiopia, Java, etc). The cup, lid, and stirring straw/spoon often cost more than the roasted coffee beans. Cheap coffee is, well, cheap. What is often put into coffee, the sugar, milk(foamed or otherwise - soy), sugary flavorings, H&H, even though these are often sourced only a few 100 miles away from where the hot Joe is being served, cost more than the coffee being grown 1000's of miles away and shipped. The true cost of dairy is even higher because from bottom up to table the dairy industry is heavily subsidized. Organic or smaller harvested crops and private labeling all add to the increase in cost of just the the roasted beans. Roasting in itself adds to the cost from the green and red cherry. It's no wonder every Tom, Dick, and Harry has entered into the coffee biz in the U.S. I'm part of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association.
middle to middle
03-01-2017, 15:54
Agree ! At home drink double expressos. Cowboy does it good on trail. Grind beans just before.
cmoulder
03-01-2017, 18:34
I drink mine black and I really ain't too picky about it as long as it's strong and isn't burned. I use three heaping tablespoons of Bustelo for a 16 oz cup in the morning.
My wife loads hers up with so much milk and flavored syrup "shots" that the coffee hardly matters.
I drink mine black and I really ain't too picky about it as long as it's strong and isn't burned. I use three heaping tablespoons of Bustelo for a 16 oz cup in the morning.
My wife loads hers up with so much milk and flavored syrup "shots" that the coffee hardly matters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1-1dUbBjgE Quentin Tarantino makes that gourmet shart.
Secondmouse
03-01-2017, 22:55
I wish they would make a french press screen that fit my Snowpeak Titanium Mini Solo pot. It would be nice to have real coffee without carrying a whole separate apparatus. For the record, I like to mix my instant coffee of any brand with a hot chocolate packet for extra calories.
they do. the Jetboil french press fits your 28oz pot...
One Half
03-01-2017, 23:20
me on the other hand....almost every instant variety I have tried I like better than via. Camping the other weekend with a some friends who were drinking just plain old nescafe. Pretty sure I'd rate it above via.
it's such a personal taste thing I guess...
Maybe I'm weird, cause I don't really care for starbucks brewed stuff either..... it's ok, but not my favorite. I'm talking regular brew from the shop, or even their retail stuff. I find it bitter, but I like their expresso stuff just fine.
I have some stuff now I had read about so ordered to give a try.... form Korea....maxim. It has the creamer and sugar already mixed in, very good flavor but I find the variety I bought (gold I think it is) is way too sweet and a little weak. I learned that you can pinch the bottom of the "tube" and catch the bulk of the sugar before it pours (sugar settles to the bottom)
I really like Starbucks once in a while but when I have tried the VIA I was NOT impressed.
I have bought tea bags for making my own tea bag coffee. I'm going to try it out at home first but if it doesn't work out I will just have to go without.
Odd Man Out
03-02-2017, 12:03
One of the things I like about working in middle east is the fresh yogurt at breakfast. Not the jello like sweetened packaged crap westerners eat. Very liquid, from a big bowl, ladle over some cut up fruit and enjoy. If only they would serve bacon...
+1 to this. Stonyfield Plain Whole Milk Organic Yogurt is the closest I have found to the great yogurt I get overseas. The last time I was in Istanbul (not technically Middle East, but close enough), our hotel breakfast buffet had this huge tub of plain yogurt with and entire table of every topping imaginable (fruit, nuts, etc...). They even had a 1 foot square slab of honeycomb with honey dripping out of it. Then there is the coffee and baklava. Most baklava we get here just can't compare. But the best are the pomegranates (Nar) which you see everywhere. My go-to breakfast is the Stonyfield Yogurt with a hand-full each of granola and pomegranate. Unfortunately I can only get pomegranates in season (fall). I'm not sure why our local grocery store can get all sorts of bizarre exotic fruits that no one has ever heard of, but they can't get a pomegranate in April. They can get them in Istanbul.
384543845538456
Wow. So that's what they serve in Istanbul for b-fast.
In countries such as the U.S. with an on the go culture "if anything is worth doing it's worth doing fast" fruits that take more than 3 seconds to prepare to eat or that aren't uniformly perfect looking or uniform in size, which we've been habituated to, tend not to be eaten or consumed in their natural states as often as their "easier" fruit counterparts. Whole coconuts, mango, artichokes, persimmons, ripe bananas with sugar spots, whole pineapples, large jackfruit, lychees, longans, etc. Usually whole coconuts, jackfruit, pineapple, etc are prepared by someone else sold expensively to tourons. Even whole cantaloupe or watermelon can be seen as too messy or cumbersome so we opt for prepackaged already chunked up less fresh versions. Juices have sometimes been preferred for their ease over whole fruit for this reason but these concentrated juices also cut out the fiber and concentrate the sugar. HMM? It's also one reason why we opt for spoons and forks over chopsticks because we can shovel the food in faster. Easier pace of life in the Mediterranean than big cities in China, Japan, or the U.S. It trickles down to culinary habits.
In Cali, the produce capital of the U.S., especially at Farmer's Markets but also in grocery stores, you'll see more whole pomegranates since that's where most are grown in the U.S. I see them for about 3-4 months at Farmers Markets in Hawaii where they are also locally grown.
ShelterLeopard
03-25-2017, 11:51
I don't use instant on trail- I make regular coffee and carry coffee grounds.
Lamb sausages are a good brekkie replacement for bacon in the Middle East....
Shakshuka and merguez.......just sayin....
BTW, I truly despise yogurt...one of those things from my youth....that and...lima beans...two things I will never eat again...and pickled fish....never again....just sayin....
To show my age, C rations (really MCI, Meal Combat Individual) had a ham and Lima beans can - but that's not what we called them. I never ate one, I couldn't get past the look of them.
JamesHenryTrotter
04-16-2017, 20:02
powdered matcha green tea! that's the move! (raw and organic)
BuckeyeBill
04-17-2017, 03:43
I am a old timer and like coffee as it is grown. I use a GSI-H2Jo (http://www.gsioutdoors.com/h2jo.html). It weighs 1.7 oz and works with any wide mouth Nalgene style bottle. Spoon coarse ground coffee in the bottle, screw on the GSI-H2Jo unit, fill with boiling water,then screw on the Nalgene bottle's cap. Clean up is easy, just rinse the grounds out of the bottle and off the filter. (You can scatter them well away from trails, water sources or camping areas.) No paper filters, bags or other trash to carry out. Coffee stores well in a Opsak in your food bag. Since I can't carry my French Press with me, without buying a certain pot and press handle, this works great.