Fixed :innocent:

+1 except I drink a couple of pots a day. And you left out the shaky hands due to withdrawals.

When in the Marines and in Somalia, we used to take 15-20 instant coffee packs plus the sugars and creamers, add them to a 1.5 liter water bottle, shake the crap out of them and set in the sun for a couple hours before enjoying.

I love my coffee, but I too tend to just do without on tour.

Ever since I started building DIY, alcohol stoves, I've had aluminum cans, mugs, bottles and pans littering my workshop. The Vietnamese coffee maker intrigued me and I figured I had just the right pieces to build it.

The first thing I noticed was that the bottom of a 24oz, Foster's can fits perfectly over the top of my travel mug. Hmmmmm... promising...
Since I just built a stove from the bottom part of a Venom Energy drink bottle, I had the top section just waiting to be utilized.
I got these two pieces to fit snuggly together and then used a jeweler's hammer and a push-pin to poke tiny holes in the lid of the Venom bottle.

Two things happened in my testing:
1) The funneling of the bottle causes the system to clog up and you have to use a spoon to break the coffee loose at the "filter" (the original Vietnamese system uses the entire bottom of the mug as a filter as well as a plunger to address this).
2) The aluminum conducts heat far too well and by the time the coffee has filled the mug, it is cold (the original Vietnamese system uses stainless steel which is a better insulator).

I haven't totally given up on this, yet. The Foster's can bottom fitting perfectly over my mug is begging to used for something...

Try Starbucks Via instant coffee it comes in single serve packets and is now available at Walmart. Not bad for instant

I don't think that I saw one of these listed here yet, so...
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=198132

http://www.rei.com/product/726094

It's what the wife and I use when camping/touring. Works great and is smaller than it looks in the pic; just sits down inside your mug.

I buy instant coffee when I am in Mexico. They make it stronger down there and it's much less expensive than VIA. Muy bueno!

Very clever, I love the ingenuity. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Is there any particular brand that you've found to be better than the others? I'm always looking to try different instants, a glutton for punishment sometimes:rolleyes:

we like coffee. here's how we make ours.
www.pathlesspedaled.com

I couldn't make out the name of that coffee filter. Could you post a link, please?

Wow, guess I am not that much of a coffee nut but I do like the buzz, so I just carry some individual packages of instant. I might need to get more serious. I have been known to lug beer all day when I don't know if I can buy it later. :)

The one in the pathlesspedaled vid is the GSI H2jO!

On Friday, I rode to an Asian supermarket, out in the suburbs of Dallas and they sold the Vietnamese coffee makers. I bought it for $4.99 and a can of course-ground coffee.

I went home and began experimenting...
This is basically designed to make one small, strong cup of coffee.
Trying to fill my 16oz travel mug without putting in a fresh scoop of coffee, halfway through, resulted in a weak brew.
Trying to put two scoops into the coffee maker to begin with resulted in a clogged coffee maker.
The solution I came up with was to put one scoop into the maker, then put in the plunger and add another scoop on top of the plunger. The coffee strength was good.
With all of my tests, however, I ended up with a considerable number of grounds at the end of my cup.

It's a groovy little contraption, but I don't think it's going to work for my needs.

I also went and took a closer look at the coffee-making offerings at REI.
The MSR Mugmate
The GSI Ultralight
The GSI H2jO!
and
The REI Vacuum Infuser Mug

Having seen most of these work either in person or on video, I was seriously considering one of them being added to my kit.
There is quite the cool factor in using any of these coffee preparation methods (way cooler than dumping a tablespoon of instant into a mug of hot water).

However...

While I do love my coffee and I drink about a pot a day, the coffee I drink at home is Folgers. I can buy the coffee singles (like tea bags of coffee) and they work fine. I've used them in the past. This last trip was the first time I used instant, which was not bad. It just lacked the caffeine kick that brewed or steeped coffee has. It just doesn't get much more convenient than these coffee singles (as far as prep and cleanup). If you hate Folger's, then I totally understand needing to find an alternative.

I might still work at modifying the Vietnamese coffee maker or frankenstiening some of its parts into my version from earlier in the thread, just because it's fun to mess around with that kind of stuff.

Home "brew" percalator
 

I'll probably not pack this into the woods, but I wanted to see if I could build it. It took hours with a jeweler's hammer and a sharpened finishing nail to make most of the holes.
It's made from the bottoms of three, 24oz Foster's cans and an aluminum tube from a wind chime.
I built it to fit down into my Imusa, aluminum mug.

It took 4:45 for the water to boil and then I let it percolate for 4 minutes. It could have probably used another thirty seconds to a minute of percolation.

When it worked, I couldn't stop laughing about it.

Bodum coffee press
 

I was fortunate to find this Bodum coffee press you see in the bottle cage. I makes a nice 16 ounce cup of joe and matches the color scheme of the bike so I don't have to obsess about that part either.

http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com...s-natural.html

Marc

@irwin7638, is that a press and cup all in one or just a press? I usually just use instant (Via is the best!)...heck when desperate I've been known to just dump the packet onto my tongue and wash it all down with a big swallow of water.

That is a press which makes about 16oz of coffee.It has an insulated cup and built in travel lid to drink directly from it. They have a stainless steel version also. Actually it sounds like intravenous might work better for you!

Marc

Thanks Marc, pretty cool mug/press, gotta get one. Yeah, I've considered the IV method but couldn't figure out how to keep the blood from flowing out of the open vein while trying to pour the coffee in!
The 'instant on the tongue' method isn't my preference...kinda makes my eyes cross up for a few minutes and makes me give a big shiver but it sure makes the headache go away quick.

Sam

Wow, I'm impressed. Ingenuity is a beautiful thing to behold.

Good on you for riding ....and not driving the car!

Go to starbucks, they have one of those metal cups, and the lid is a french press. http://compare.ebay.com/like/3103057...=324272_324682

If you want something a little bigger, I found one recently that advertises itself as non breakable. http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CHUQ8gIwBA#

I like it better than the Starbucks version because it filters the grounds better when you press it, and it also has a *patented* filter at the spout. Holds 3 cups.

I haven't done any touring yet, but I've done some backpacking, which has similar requirements.

I've got an Aerobie Aeropress that I use at home every day. It's awesome, makes great coffee, BUT weighs too much and is too bulky to take backpacking. It also requires the use of filters, which are easy to lose/rip.

I use the GSI Ultralite Java drip while backpacking, as it's super light and produces a decent cup of coffee. That's the most it's got going for it though - it does take forever, requires a fair bit of attention, and your coffee ends up being fairly lukewarm.

I've been coveting this ridiculously overpriced Handpresso Wild Dome Pod Espresso Machine. At just over a pound, it's a bit much for backpacking, but I'd imagine you could get away with it cycling, and it's smaller than the aeropress. I really like the concept, and it's been getting great reviews.

I'm a huge coffee junkie and have become very picky (it's come to the point that I rarely enjoy coffee I don't roast myself, much less isn't ground fresh and brewed in a french press). Campsite coffee usually just sucks, whether instant or otherwise, but I need need need that caffeine first thing.

I switch to tea when I camp/tour. It's lighter than coffee and can pack a decent punch;

A cup of tea uses 2 grams of tea and packs about 50mg of caffeine if you use black tea, which comes to 25mg of caffeine per gram of tea.

A cup of coffee uses around 10 grams of grounds and weighs in around 100mg of caffeine, giving 10mg of caffeine per gram of coffee.

I use a stainless tea ball and make a couple of cups of tea to help clear the brain fuzz first thing then hit the road and let the exercise and fresh air wake me the rest of the way up. Tea also has the benefit of being better at hydrating (purported to be as hydrating as plain water in studies as recent as 2006). Coffee dehydrates me, which means I have to carry even more water to replace my morning joe that I "left" in the bushes 30 minutes away from my last campsite.

Wow, you guys/gals are coffee snobs!

Me, I want to plan my stops where as I can find someplace to get coffee in the morning.

Seeing as I credit card tour, ( I don't care for camping) I never have a problem.

But I do like reading about all the things that you guys go thru to have your coffee.

Carry on!

Bad instant coffee and bad instant hot chocolate makes great trail mocha.

I haven't mentioned the proper method of grinding on the road. Always use whole bean coffee, carry a spare ziplock bag, portion some beans into the bag,"grind" them fresh on a picnic table or rock by rolling over them with a beer bottle from the night before. Make some in your french press/cup/spare water bottle from starbucks and hit the road as one happy camper.

Marc

Works for you and that is GREAT!

For me... not so much...*ring* "Oh yes room service, bring it right in"!

If you are fortunate enough to travel for your company, buy a package of those instant coffee powder things from Starbucks every time you're at the airport.

It's called "Via" and is available at regular big-chain grocery stores now - I've seen it at King Soopers, City Market, Safeway.

I tried this method while away camping a few weeks ago. I can testify it works remarkably well. We had good, strong coffee with no grounds. .