Best coffee maker for van life?

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On the thought of Cowboy Coffee, I've camped with numerous family members in Texas and they boiled the coffee in those blue & white speckled enamelware coffee pots. Then added saved egg shells to the brewed coffee. As they said....to settle the grounds.

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Does it work ? Consider this:

Why add egg shells to coffee?


The egg's purpose is twofold. First, the alkaline pH of the eggs and their shells balance out the acidic quality of coffee grounds and make for a smoother cup. Secondly, the protein in the eggs coagulate as the coffee boils and collect the free-floating grounds without the need for a coffee filter.

I'm not much of a coffee snob myself. If I'm buying instant my favorite is Nestle Mountain Blend. Then about any instant I can find at a Dollar Tree.
 
I use the OXO pour over that WanderingRose linked above. With the reservoir on the top I can just dump the water in and don't have to pour it slowly. It drips the water evenly down on the grounds. I use an electric kettle to heat my water, but if I was in a situation where power was an issue I could heat it in a pan on my butane stove. I make a huge mug of coffee each morning, and most mornings I end up adding water to the reservoir to top off the mug even after filling it to the brim the first time.
 
Currently have a typical 4/5 cup coffee maker that I was thinking of bringing into my minivan.. however since I kinda want to go from drinking 4 cups of coffee to 2 cups I been thinking about trying out the Mainstays Single Serve Coffee Maker. Granted it only brews 14oz. However right now I use 2 table spoons in my 4 cups brew so I think if I brew 3 table spoons in to make my 14oz of coffee it be stronger coffee but less water while also downsizing as well.. I don't know my coffee stats but I do feel drinking 4 cups is a bit to much.. would love to find a 16oz brew so then when I mix in what 4oz of almond milk I'd have 20oz and be done.

it says it's 800watts which my powerstation has a 800 watt inverter so a bit hesitant given its right at the limit, however should be fine right?

I have a BLUETTI Portable Power Station EB70. I also have to get a new travel mug that is shorter as well. not super happy about that but then I can get rid of the glass 4 cups coffee maker as that gotta be a far bigger waste of watts and not very minivan safe given glass can break so easily.

The coffee maker uses K-cups AND coffee grounds as I would be using the coffee grounds option.

I'm really not even sure I'm making good quality coffee now with only 2 tablespoons.. idk.. maybe some of you know your coffee brew has better advice.

Also I really don't want a home self pour-over device. I have that as a backup option only. I also want to make hot water for tea, and rawmen noodles in my coffee maker as well from time to time too. Looking forward to getting some good feedback and advice.
I finally gave up on coffee makers and started drinking instant.
 
I might drink a half-cup of coffee a decade, usually much less.
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I was always amazed at reading about some snxb going on about her newest fav, a double latte triple cinnamon quadruple espresso... with coconut cream and a sprinkle of cardamon.
Or for a change, a double sprinkling of turmeric or a light dusting of cumin.
Only eleven fedbux plus a nice tip of three fedbux or so.
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So, I decided to jump on the caffeinated band-wagon.
Sometime probably close to two decades ago at Wal*Mart, I snagged a 3.5oz/100g jug of JUAN VALDEZ CAFE PREMO COLUMBIANO ORGANIC Freeze-Dried.
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Every few months or six, I pinch a few crystals under my tongue.
Jazzes me right up!
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An aside:
Although the label claims it is 3.5oz, I pinched a lot out of that stumpy jug for an awful long time, but I still have most of it remaining [with (s)election season upon us, I hesitate to use the word 'l̶e̶f̶t̶' (as in 'most of it l̶e̶f̶t̶') lest somebody get the wrong impression I swing that way].
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[edited to add]
In closing, I think the best coffee-makers are the nice folks at Columbian Coffee Growers Federation.
 
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Best coffee maker for me. Really use it just to warm the water when I’m not at Kamp and roamin the warm beaches of Murahka.
Drinkin Folgers instant.
Most the time I just put the water in the cup, tho, and add instant. Don’t bother warming it. Just douse it down ambient temp.

I’m after the caffeine fix, ya know, not a frikkin social experience.

jonny juice
 
For me, first in the morning coffee is about getting caffeine in me, my later in the morning coffee is about the experience.

I brew a cup, make an instant cappuccino, or, if it’s hot, a cold latte.

I sit in my comfy chair, sip that and check emails, the news, etc., usually coffee in one hand and the IPad in the other.

Sometimes, if I want to just focus on the coffee experience, I drink this later cup out of a small bowl, like the French do their cafe au lait, which requires holding the bowl with both hands, thus not multi tasking.

It can be a good thing, to just focus on one thing for a few minutes.
 
Reading about coffee making, preferences, strategies reminds me of asking the forbidden question, " What kind of engine oil is better?"
You can use a French press with ambient temperature H2O and let it just sit overnight, then press in the morning.
You can warm it or cool it from there. Or just drink it as you argue the finner points of synthetic oil...
 
Never tried it, but maybe some hard coffee candy...
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Ah, geez!
That reminds me of a casual stroll through a Cash-n-Carry restaurant supply.
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Up on a shelf, one aisle had a broken bag of chocolate-covered coffee-beans.
Obviously, that was intended as a sampler, right?
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A few handsfull each pass along that route was obviously right and responsible and respectful, right?
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However, those beans were so so nutritious and so so health-essential, our quick trip extended out to several hours.
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Heck, if I could, I would easily volunteer to help guard them overnight and on through the weekend.
Solemn duty and all that...
 
My school of thought is the best coffee maker is you personally.

Now, sure, some people are mainly out for convenience and don't want to be bothered with all that. Coffee fills different roles in various people's lives. But for some of us who are trying to get the best flavor out of coffee that we can, yes your own skill is what makes the difference!

I'm still using $7 worth of Melitta pour over funnel. I don't tend to use it when I'm in my car, as I tend to drive around in warm weather. That could change if I was in more fall-like conditions, but the last time I was up for that, this thing called hurricane Helene intervened and ended the situation.

When I have a roof over my head, I boil my water in a 16 oz. glass Pyrex cup in a microwave, throwing a small glass bowl upside down on top of it as a "lid" / pouring restrictor. This is in preference to the various pricey gooseneck kettles out there. Some of which can impart bad flavors to coffee due to bad Chinese metals they're made with. This is borrowed gear and I haven't bought my own yet for the road. Glass is great for flavor and for a microwave, but not my favorite thing in a car.

The main sticking point in my technique is the quality of the coffee I'm buying. I have not yet invested in a grinder. I try to preserve the quality of coffee grounds longer by rolling the bag up like a tube of toothpaste, pressing whatever air out of it I can after I open it. Better coffee bags generally have valves on them, it's this round plastic insert thing. So all you have to do is close the bag and squeeze the air out. I've studied more elaborate vacuum methods, such as repurposing wine suckers and beer bottles, but it's not worth it to me yet.

When I'm on the road, I make cold brew. This fits well with my full sized cooler and the warm weather I'm typically traveling in. I don't buy coffee grounds, I buy whole beans. I grind them by hand, channeling my inner Ethiopian. My 1st grinding method was a fork and the bottom of a plastic container, resting on a hard surface like a picnic table. It works, but 2 ceramic bowls of different curvature work better. Basically a poor man's mortar and pestle. The point is there's zero barrier of entry for equipment. Once you're ready to spend a few dollars, you could get the bowls at Goodwill, or maybe even a dollar store.

You don't have to grind those beans down to anything fine. All you have to do is make sure they're broken. Whole beans have some kind of impermeable layer from the roasting. They won't brew. But if they've been broken, they will just fine. You can tell you've done a bad job if you have a "floater" in your bottle, after it's been in there for 24 hours. Nothing should be floating, it should all be sinking.

I use 10 oz. tonic water bottles to hold the brew. I like the thick glass, the grenade like feel of the things, and the plastic caps. I use filtered water gained from places like public libraries. Throw them in the cooler. 24 hours later, you've got cold brew.

So yeah the disadvantages are that this requires premeditation, and you have to be willing to exert some hand strength. But once you do that it's pretty reliable and predictable.

It's gonna come out about as well as the beans you bought. Don't buy bad ones. Check freshness dates. Don't believe in "stupid" sources of coffee, if you're after this for flavor. Like no, Trader Joe's isn't gonna sell you anything that's any good. Buy real coffee from somewhere. At a minimum you need some kind of snotty independent roaster. And some experience finding out if they actually deliver the goods, because regionals could just be putting a bunch of stale stuff in fancy bags.

I typically just sip and spit. Since my grind is mostly a bunch of broken beans, most of it stays at the bottom of the bottle. I could filter it though, especially "for company". Don't need any special filters for that. Cheap, incorrectly fitting basket filters, shoved into a funnel (like my Melitta) will work fine.
 
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