how to cut coffee weight

[Link .]

Trader Joe’s Instant Coffee Packets 

[Roger Caffin]

Cutting the weight of coffee seems a ridiculous idea.

Cutting the weight of the coffee apparatus – well, this IS BPL after all. I use a custom stainless steel mesh filter I made. Only a few grams.

Cheers

 

[George F]

@ DM

For my last hike I started with a fudge brownie mix, threw in a jar of instant espresso, two cups oatmeal, a jar of honey and a little extra water. This worked very well, but a little too gooey. Next time a little less water and maybe an egg to help bind it.

[Cayenne Redmonk]

Melt a bag of tootsie roll in the slow cooker, add tasters choice instant coffee and sweetened condensed milk,  and mix.

Or or just eat the instant coffee crystals by the spoonful with a swig of whiskey for an Irish breakfast on the trail.

[Jeff LaVista]

True coffee snobs evert your eyes. For those of you on that work-day drip coffee “grind” here’s what i’ve gotten into…

Folgers make these coffee filled tea bags, IMHO they are better than Via, and much cheaper. Each bag makes an 8oz cup, and the full 19pk has a net weight of 3oz, so they are pretty economical for weight.

http://www.folgerscoffee.com/coffees/classic-roast-singles

Add to that, coffee mate 2go;

http://cm2go.coffee-mate.com

it’s condensed and tastes better than any powdered milk or creamer. We transfer it into a go-toob and thats enough to last a weekend long trip, brewing 4 singles daily, thats 2bags per person per morning to get 16oz servings each.

Then we bring a small lidded container of cane sugar for sweetening.

About the collapsible tea seep mentioned some pages back, has anybody tried to use this as a field expedient chemex? With a filter and grinds and a slow pour-over that seems like the least hardware necesary to make real coffee.

[Roger Caffin]

Coffee bags – BEWARE!

Many of them contain enough coffee grounds that they SEEM like real ground coffee, but most of the ‘coffee’ in them is Instant. They call it ‘soluble coffee’ on the label in the hope you won’t wake up to what they are doing – but they still cost big bikkies. Fairly high profit items.

Cheers

 

[Hoosier T]

For short trips when I can spare the little extra space these take up, I forgo the Trader Joe’s instant coffee and drink the real stuff:

[Allan S]

Coffee or Tea.. for almost 2 decades now I have a “no weight” method :)  Tiny 1″ x 2.5″ gift bag that something came in.

Method: put coffee in tiny net bag. Place in water at 185 degrees. Count some trees or clouds. Pull bag from pot. Drink & enjoy where I am.

Clean up: turn bag inside out. Flick the bag with finger. Place back in cook kit.  Hike at caffeine speed (faster).

[Allan S]

Serious big time coffee drinker like I used to be …. Want FRESHish coffee? Grind your own before trip. How to keep the taste fresh?

AmtheZon: Reusable Sous Vide Bags 3 Sizes – 20 Pack with Hand Pump, Sealing Clips for Sous Vide Cooking and Food Storage (Blue Kit). $13.

The hand pump is 1.5 oz. which is OK if you are carrying LOTS of coffee in the RESEALABLE vacuum bags.

Pick the bag size for the amount of coffee you will NEED. :)

Cheers!

[Allan S]

I have repurposed a sink drainer filter for the same purpose. Light & cheap. :)

[DWR D]

Instant !  Simple, light weight… and it tastes as good as any to me…

[Jerry Adams]

I used to brew coffee at home, but then my better half decided she liked Keurig, so now I always just do instant.  “Taster’s choice” isn’t too bad.  When backpacking, I put some in a ziploc bag along with some tea bags.

I’m not into the hot water on plastic you get with the Keurig.

[Brad W]

@Jerry I am with you. I used to use K-cups but hot water and plastic are a no go. I need to hang on to ever picogram of testosterone I have at this point.

[Jerry Adams]

I have a ceramic pot with ceramic funnel like thing you put the filter paper and coffee in.  Manually pour hot water in it.  No plastic.  If you have the right filter paper.

[Terran Terran]

I met my connect in the Big R parking lot last week. Picked up some Guatemalan and some dark Mexican. Fresh roast.

[jj]

As someone said in 2013, 80mg caffeine pills are the easiest way to shave off nearly all ones coffee weight. I do that sometimes and other times I just bring instant coffee and drink a concentrated slurry I tell myself is like espresso. One thing I did not like was Mio, but, it’ll also get the job done and is easily found when resupplying in grocery stores and gas stations. On the rare occasion I bring ground coffee with me, I know I will be having a fire or bringing a stove to prepare it cowboy style.

[DWR D]

Some very good instant coffees out there…. Starbucks offers several varieties… Mount Hagen is the one I like (organic)… and if you want a mid day coffee fix: That’s It offers coffee bars… and they’re pretty good.

[Haakon R]

We pack light to make room for the stuff that matters, right?
I enjoy being outdoors and I enjoy good coffee – together they elevate each other to the next level.

So yeah, I don’t shed my ounces in the coffee department.
Illy ground espresso and fresh milk (when possible). A butane stove and suitable pots to heat water as well as milk. Aeropress for my espresso and a french press to make the milk creamy. It’s quite the ritual and creates a pile of dishes to wash, but oh my is it worth the effort.

The end result is something approximating cortado<flat white.
I’d prefer if there wasn’t so much plastic involved, but it is light and durable and even I have to draw the line somewhere :D

[Brad W]

@jj I have seen caffeine pills recommended many times. Here is the thing-not all caffeine is the same. Synthetic caffeine-pills, most energy drinks-is a much dirtier buzz if you will. It’s absorbed faster and lacks all the natural compounds in coffee-antioxidants, polyphenols. Lightest option is taking a teaspoon of quality instant coffee and put some in water bottle and chug.

[Marcus]

Trader Joe’s dark chocolate coffee bars have 80mg caffeine in a 1/4 size bar, are tasty, somewhat low carb (still like 70% dark), and count as calories.

Also at TJs, their dark chocolate covered espresso beans are great trail snacks to push you over the lunchtime lull.

Last, I’ve tried my friends fancy instant coffees and they are all inferior to real coffee. I use the GSI 10 gram plastic pour over filter like a tea bag for some damn good coffee on the trail. A single-pass pourover is weak for my taste, so I set the pour over basket on the rim of a toaks 375ml and let it ‘steep like tea. This gives a stronger flavor than pour over and is only 10 grams of equipment + grounds. (Note, a good Coozie and Insulated lid for your cup helps extraction a lot by keeping the temp in the proper range much longer.)

[bradmacmt]

Good grief, it’s not just about the caffeine. Some of us actually love good coffee. @black!

Sort of like alcohol – forget the Paul Hobbs 2007 Cabernet, just add some grain alcohol to water. It’s just alcohol, right?

Sheesh…

[DWR D]

“We pack light to make room for the stuff that matters, right?”

Not really… I pack light to have a light pack… and that’s what matters to me…

“I enjoy being outdoors and I enjoy good coffee – together they elevate each other to the next level.”

To some of us, the good quality instant is ‘good coffee’… and it also elevates to the next level… it’s the same coffee I drink at home… and I like it just as much as fancy brewed coffee… really. Without all the fuss and extra weight… but… each to his own…

[Brad W]

@Marcus I use the same pour over method minus the seep. I fill the basket near the top with grounds, makes a strong cup. Other than the 10g java drip and separate cup( I use Toaks 550 ul version, 54g) needed with a pour over, it’s well worth the weight.

[JCH]

Life is too short for bad coffee (or bad beer).  HYOH.

[DirtNap]

Used grounds are disposal issue and pour over is too fiddly and complex for me. I also need it fast. I use instant. I also need minimum 2 cups to get the ole, er, Evinrude running. Not ilunheard of for me to destroy 3 or 4 cups on a zero day. Most cities have a plethora of great coffee roasters. We have multiple that sell instant (freeze dried) high quality instant in SLC.

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