This post isn't about beer but it is about getting taste right for a cheaper cost. I'll post about beer later :). I have two vices one is beer and the second is coffee.
Mmm Coffee. I have one cup of coffee in the morning before I go to work and on weekends I have two while I wait for the rest of the house to wake up. The problem with the stuff is that it is so expensive. The take away coffee business must be making a fortune in sales considering a take away coffee is about $4.50 depending on what you get. I can't handle instant coffee it makes me feel sick in the stomach. But making coffee quick and that tastes nice from home is very difficult without an expensive coffee machine.Even some of them can take a lot of time I've noticed and they are a bit big if you want to go camping.I used to be a scout leader and one thing I missed when I went away on hikes was my morning coffee. Several years ago I went away to a large region camp and every morning one of the leaders went out to get rounds of coffee for everyone. Because of the quantity they purchased for everyone and the distance traveled back to camp. By the time they got back the cup was luke-warm and tasted bad. It really wasn't worth the effort.
Early one morning I was on my way back from the KYBO (Keep Your Bowels Open) and I noticed one of the other leaders pouring a cup of coffee and the smell overcame me to the point where I had to detour to see where this delicious aroma was coming from.
He showed me a little espresso percolator and made me a cup. The coffee he made was very strong and poured like mud (That's the way he liked it) but the sensation was there. It was hot and left the flavour of the coffee in my mouth for a good while after I had finished the cup. I was sold, I went to the local department store when I got home and bought one. $15.00 Man what a bargain! For the next few weeks I battled with the unit trying to perfect the taste but I could never quite get there. I put it back in the cupboard and continued to buy my coffee every morning. It sat there for about three or four months until I went away on a camping trip with my father and brother. The thought of instant coffee was on my mind so I grabbed the machine out of the cupboard before I left. One morning on this camp we were making breakfast. Dad had boiled the kettle and had made a cup of tea for himself. I pulled out the percolator and went to fill it with cold water, dad scoffed me and told me to use the hot water he had already boiled "No point wasting gas when the water is already hot" he said. I did as he said and filled the bottom up with water from the kettle and put the percolator on the stove. Well that was it I poured my best cup of coffee to date from the nifty little machine. From then on I was sold. I boil just enough water of a morning to fill it and put a little in my cup to warm it up. I the add a splash of skim milk and a sugar and I'm off.The best part of all this is it costs me about 18 cents a cup including sugar and milk. I've done the maths also. Bought coffee at $4.50 per day for a year is $1,642.50 done my way it is $65.70 a year plus a little bit of gas to boil the kettle. Every time I use the machine it comes down in price (it' s probably below 0.0001 cents now and I don't have any paper cups to throw into landfill. It may seem like a bit of stuffing around but I get out of bed, boil the kettle while it is boiling I got to the toilet. Then I come back, set the machine up and get dressed and usually as I am putting my socks on it is boiling and ready to pour. If I decide not to eat I am out the door in less than ten minutes. It could be done cheaper with less expensive coffee brands but just wait until its on special and buy in bulk.
I was a scout leader for about 8 years and I carried this little devil with me (and a porcelain cup) on every hike and camp that I ever went on during that time. The one in the picture is the same one I bought all those years ago.
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