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Ziggy587 wrote:Anapan, I was actually thinking about instant coffee. I've haven't had it in such a long time. That sure would fix the burning problem, since it's easy to keep a pot of hot water going and then just have to stir up additional cups. But people tend to look down their nose at instant coffee. Thing is, I'm actually not too fussy with the way my coffee tastes. I just don't want it to be bitter or burnt.

I drank instant for a while. It's not very good, but it's not as bad as people make out.

If you really don't care about taste and just want the caffeine, you can save a lot of money by just taking caffeine pills and drinking water. I did that for a while.

Instant is usually just tolerable. It's best for camping if you want to pack light.

I agree a thermos may be the easiest option. Here's a trick I learned from a retired sheriff I used to work with: If you want your coffee to stay hot for a long time, pour hot water in your thermos and let it sit a while then dump it out. This will preheat the thermos and you don't lose the coffee's thermal energy when it transfers to the container.

Oh! My parents were using the Keurig I got them a lot, but still complained that they didn't like the coffee that came out despite me buying them any and all highly rated k-cups I could have delivered, so I upped the game by getting them pods of optional hot-or-cold. It isn't cheap, but it does recreate a fresh brewed flavor without the shit taste of aged coffee.
Java House Cold-brew concentrate
the opposite of granules
They now use hot water from the dispenser with that stuff more often than the other options. A few hundred variety pack k-cups might go bad.
I read that the inventor has never liked the taste of it, tho he tried to perfect the instant flavour. He regrets it taking over fresh-brewed coffee. (might be lies, I read it on the internet - he made billions)

Limewater wrote:If you really don't care about taste and just want the caffeine, you can save a lot of money by just taking caffeine pills and drinking water. I did that for a while.

Well actually, I drink mostly decaf coffee.

By "not fussy" I just mean that I'm not one of those coffee snobs. The kind that make a science out of brewing it. That's not to say I enjoy bad tasting coffee. But as long as it isn't burnt or too bitter, then I'm usually fine with it.

But let me tell ya, decaf coffee drinkers have it rough. First, I have to constantly put up with "what's the point?" comments. Secondly, if I want a cup of decaf at a diner outside of breakfast hours, it's almost always burnt and very rarely will they brew a fresh pot for you. Thirdly, decaf coffee I think is usually more expensive and it definitely doesn't go on sale as frequently as regular coffee. And fourth, the pickings are very slim when compared to the choices of regular coffee.

opa wrote:I agree a thermos may be the easiest option. Here's a trick I learned from a retired sheriff I used to work with: If you want your coffee to stay hot for a long time, pour hot water in your thermos and let it sit a while then dump it out. This will preheat the thermos and you don't lose the coffee's thermal energy when it transfers to the container.

That is a great tip. I usually warm up my mug before pouring my first cup, because my mugs are freezing out of the cabinet on winter mornings.

I think I'm going to shop for a thermos. I like the idea better than the carafe. Technically the carafe would be better at keeping it hotter for longer, because you don't have to remove the cap. But the trade off is the ability to clean the cap. I'm not looking for it to last all day, just my 2 or 3 cups in the morning on my days off. So I think the thermos should be fine.

o.pwuaioc wrote:I'd be interested in the "harmful stuff" that French presses can let through, but I've been otherwise thrilled with my Espro P3 French press. I switched to it from a Bodum, which was a bigger pain to clean.

Basically there are some oils that the wire mesh of a French press doesn't filter out which can cause increased LDL cholesterol. Using a paper filter with your French press should ameliorate that. Or just not drinking too much of it.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/pre ... 1604299530

Ziggy587 wrote:I think I'm going to shop for a thermos. I like the idea better than the carafe. Technically the carafe would be better at keeping it hotter for longer, because you don't have to remove the cap. But the trade off is the ability to clean the cap. I'm not looking for it to last all day, just my 2 or 3 cups in the morning on my days off. So I think the thermos should be fine.

Most good thermoses have an external screw-off cap that has a vacuum like the main flask, but also an inner cap that actually keeps the liquid from sloshing into the cap and leaking down the side when you unscrew it.

These inner caps are usually a pull-out style design where you pour through the cap, though you don't have to use it that way. I bring this up because if you are really worried about having every part of the lid accessible you need to be careful what you order. I think there are some inner caps that are purely screw-out style.

There are also carafes with lids that don't necessarily seal off completely. The steel carafes we have at work appear to have one piece injection molded lids that might have a rubber gasket. I'm not going to open the pot to check.
They have a small hole at the top for the coffee to pour in and they pour out the spout just fine. The lid just covers 95% of the top of the carafe.

The one I have at home has more moving parts and you have to press a thumb lever to open the spout.

marurun wrote:

o.pwuaioc wrote:I'd be interested in the "harmful stuff" that French presses can let through, but I've been otherwise thrilled with my Espro P3 French press. I switched to it from a Bodum, which was a bigger pain to clean.

Basically there are some oils that the wire mesh of a French press doesn't filter out which can cause increased LDL cholesterol. Using a paper filter with your French press should ameliorate that. Or just not drinking too much of it.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/pre ... 1604299530

Finally I can blame the cholesterol on something else besides the booze. Thanks for the tip.

opa wrote:Doctor: "We need to discuss your increasing cholesterol levels."
You: "Fucking french press again."