Coffee?

[texcollex]

2) Whole bean coffee is best bought in the special foil-lined bags with one-way breather valves. Coffee beans continue to react for a time after roasting, and even when vacuum packed the CO2 is produced by the beans will relieve the pressure difference, which can makes the bag softer again. This doesn't mean that the bag has lost its seal. These will keep the beans reasonable for at least a year. They will degrade in flavor after that, and when they can no longer be tolerated is somewhat subjective, but for me, that's the limit of how much coffee I can store and rotate. I can keep other extra coffee around, for the ultimate SHTF, when I will be happy to drink anything, but eventually it will be thrown away if the SDHTF.

I've also read that coffee continues to give off CO2 for quite a few months after roasting. How, then does a vacuum packed can of coffee not start bulging after a few months if it is canned soon after roasting and grinding? I would think that the grinding, also, would increase the surface area and accelerate the release of CO2. I am wondering if the answer is they are canning stale coffee to begin with. Folgers tastes like it.

Just a thought.

BTW this is my first post on Realcent forums, just got my account cleared. Enjoying the info and hope to start putting it to use. Started "collecting" copper pennies a few weeks ago, hand sorting. My kids love it.

tex

[texcollex]

Any thoughts on durable devices for making coffee? I picked up a small bodum/plunger style coffee maker at the thrift store yesterday for 1.99. It's all steel so there is no glass to break. I also have a stovetop percolator made of stainless for making larger quantities.

I just use a filter holder, set it on my cup with a filter in it, put in the grounds and pour the hot water through it. You can get several sizes of filter holder made of plastic and some of ceramic. If you wanted to be less dependant on paper filters you could use one of the metal filters in it just as well.

Tex

[Nickelless]

2) Whole bean coffee is best bought in the special foil-lined bags with one-way breather valves. Coffee beans continue to react for a time after roasting, and even when vacuum packed the CO2 is produced by the beans will relieve the pressure difference, which can makes the bag softer again. This doesn't mean that the bag has lost its seal. These will keep the beans reasonable for at least a year. They will degrade in flavor after that, and when they can no longer be tolerated is somewhat subjective, but for me, that's the limit of how much coffee I can store and rotate. I can keep other extra coffee around, for the ultimate SHTF, when I will be happy to drink anything, but eventually it will be thrown away if the SDHTF.

I've also read that coffee continues to give off CO2 for quite a few months after roasting. How, then does a vacuum packed can of coffee not start bulging after a few months if it is canned soon after roasting and grinding? I would think that the grinding, also, would increase the surface area and accelerate the release of CO2. I am wondering if the answer is they are canning stale coffee to begin with. Folgers tastes like it.

Just a thought.

BTW this is my first post on Realcent forums, just got my account cleared. Enjoying the info and hope to start putting it to use. Started "collecting" copper pennies a few weeks ago, hand sorting. My kids love it.

tex

This should answer your question about coffee and CO2, Tex:

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/04/let ... t-col.html

Welcome to Realcent!

[texcollex]

This should answer your question about coffee and CO2, Tex:

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/04/let ... t-col.html

Welcome to Realcent!

Thanks! That letter addresses coffee in bags with a one-way valve, what about vacuum packed cans? Here's what wiki has to say:

"PackagingExtending the shelflife of roasted coffee relies on maintaining an optimum environment to protect it from exposure to heat, oxygen, and light. Roasted coffee has an optimal typical shelf life of 2 weeks, and ground coffee about 15 minutes. Without some sort of preservation method, coffee becomes stale. The first large scale preservation technique was vacuum packing in cans. However, because coffee emits CO2 after roasting, coffee to be vacuum packed must be allowed to degas for several days before it is sealed. To allow more immediate packaging, pressurized canisters or foil-lined bags with pressure-relief valves can be used. Refrigeration and freezing retards the staling process. Roasted whole beans can be considered fresh for up to one month if kept cool.[citation needed] Once coffee is ground it is best used immediately."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_roasting


tex

[Nickelless]

Tex, I think what you posted is already addressed in the link on Survivalblog.

[texcollex]

Well, I've been sold on Cafe Bustello. My wife and I have been drinking it for a couple of months now and really like it. I have a number of the empty cans. I often buy the bricks now since they stack so well and don't waste space. I just dump the freshly opened brick into one of the previously emptied cans.

What price is everyone paying for it at this time? I have found that Family Dollar store has started carrying they 10 ounce bricks for $3.75 here. Otherwise Wally world is selling the cans for $3.89 and HEB for $3.99. I usually pick up at least a can or two every time I go in.

[Nickelless]

Well, I've been sold on Cafe Bustello. My wife and I have been drinking it for a couple of months now and really like it. I have a number of the empty cans. I often buy the bricks now since they stack so well and don't waste space. I just dump the freshly opened brick into one of the previously emptied cans.

What price is everyone paying for it at this time? I have found that Family Dollar store has started carrying they 10 ounce bricks for $3.75 here. Otherwise Wally world is selling the cans for $3.89 and HEB for $3.99. I usually pick up at least a can or two every time I go in.

I'm buying it by the case for less than $3 per can since I found Bustelo's website. I'm buying a case a month until I have 20 cases on hand (a 10-year supply, or a good stash for barter...or both):

http://www.javacabana.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=2

[hobo finds]

http://money.msn.com/business-news/arti ... d=15540319

Coffee prices to rise...

[Nickelless]

Thanks for the warning, Hobo! I'm up to a six-year supply now, and counting!

[Lemon Thrower]

Cafe Bustello is up to 36 cents an ounce before shipping

Kroger has maxwell house in the plastic tub for $6.99 with i-have-no-privacy-card, or about 24 cents an ounce, which these days is a good deal.

[Nickelless]

Cafe Bustello is up to 36 cents an ounce before shipping

Kroger has maxwell house in the plastic tub for $6.99 with i-have-no-privacy-card, or about 24 cents an ounce, which these days is a good deal.

I've only bought four cases of Cafe Bustelo by mail. The other 8+ cases have come from Walmart or (when it's on sale at half-price, usually every couple of months) CVS.

Incidentally, when CVS has Cafe Bustelo on markdown, I'll go to all five CVS stores in town, buy all the packages on the shelf, then get a rain check for several more packages. I have rain checks in my wallet for about another year's worth of coffee at $3 or less per package. I'll pick up more coffee in a few weeks after I round out more of my preps.

[Lemon Thrower]

post next time you see it on sale. my walmart only has the small cans, and it was very expensive on a per ounce basis.

[Nickelless]

post next time you see it on sale. my walmart only has the small cans, and it was very expensive on a per ounce basis.

I'm not sure that the sale prices at CVS are the same across the country or that all locations would necessarily have the same thing marked down at the same time. Rather than waiting until prices drop to a certain point before you buy (and running the risk that you'll never see any product available at that price), I think the more prudent approach is to buy anyway but buy less when the price is high and more when the price is low. I'd rather build up a steady supply of all items in my preps at different price points than to wait for only a certain price and then not have any of a given product.

[Lemon Thrower]

well, after i bought a year's worth of mxwell house at 23 cents a pound, i just found Costco sells theirs 3 pound steel can for 9.99. Works out to under 21 cents a pound, plus its easier to store and stack and iirc the costco brand is a little better quality.

[Nickelless]

well, after i bought a year's worth of mxwell house at 23 cents a pound, i just found Costco sells theirs 3 pound steel can for 9.99. Works out to under 21 cents a pound, plus its easier to store and stack and iirc the costco brand is a little better quality.

Well, Lemon Thrower, I have about a six-year supply of coffee at the moment! How much do you have so far?

[hobo finds]

well, after i bought a year's worth of mxwell house at 23 cents a pound, i just found Costco sells theirs 3 pound steel can for 9.99. Works out to under 21 cents a pound, plus its easier to store and stack and iirc the costco brand is a little better quality.

That sounds better than the Master Chef brand at Wal mart for $2.00 a 10.5 oz can! I would gladly pay a few more cents! Master Chef is not that bad...

[Nickelless]

well, after i bought a year's worth of mxwell house at 23 cents a pound, i just found Costco sells theirs 3 pound steel can for 9.99. Works out to under 21 cents a pound, plus its easier to store and stack and iirc the costco brand is a little better quality.

That sounds better than the Master Chef brand at Wal mart for $2.00 a 10.5 oz can! I would gladly pay a few more cents! Master Chef is not that bad...

Personally, I can't stand Maxwell House--way too oily and very flat-tasting. Folgers is OK if there's nothing else to drink, but it'd be maybe my fourth or fifth choice. I guess I won't have to worry about buying coffee for a while, though.

[hobo finds]

In the discount bin at Frys Food store Kroger Value Coffee 11.5 oz can $1.49 Exp date 8/15/13 Got 2 cans!

[madman326]

has anyone mentioned green coffee beans? i know they have a longer shelf life than roasted beans.
you can roast on a stove or over a camp fire.
FYI, i dont drink coffee, cant stand it, but i roast small batches every week for my wife. she says that everything i have roasted for her is far better than Folgers or Starbucks. much of this is due to the extreme freshness of the roasted coffee.
we buy the green beans from sweetmarias.com. I usually buy several different 1 pound packs, but i know they sell bulk.

[Nickelless]

Madman, as I've probably stated above, if coffee is kept vacuum-sealed, it will retain its freshness indefinitely until the package is opened. I have no idea how much coffee I have stashed away, but I'd estimate it's close to 300 pounds, more than 400 10-ounce packages--enough Cafe Bustelo to last me probably close to eight years at this point. If you keep your coffee vacuum-sealed in a cool, dark place, it should stay fresh for literally decades. I guess I need to do an updated coffee census so I'll know how much I have at this point.

[68Camaro]

has anyone mentioned green coffee beans? i know they have a longer shelf life than roasted beans.
you can roast on a stove or over a camp fire.
FYI, i dont drink coffee, cant stand it, but i roast small batches every week for my wife. she says that everything i have roasted for her is far better than Folgers or Starbucks. much of this is due to the extreme freshness of the roasted coffee.
we buy the green beans from sweetmarias.com. I usually buy several different 1 pound packs, but i know they sell bulk.

I bought some green beans back in the early spring, and have a spare stovetop popcorn popper saved to experiment with roasting, but just haven't gotten around to it. I hope to complete my first experiment over the holidays when I have some time off. My understanding is that it tends to be a bit messy, with nibs flying and a fair amount of smoke production, so I was going to do it outside on a propane stove until I got a handle on it.

[blackrabbit]

Chocolate covered expresso beans. The chocolate keeps the coffee fresh!
Seriously though, a couple of those are delicious and will do the trick.

[johnbrickner]

For whole beans, the best I've found are Trader Joe's line of coffee beans bar none. Great selection from around the world at a great price. Unsure of shelf life as we have never stocked for over a year and we drink this first. We don't do the major commercial brands or instant. I've also tried on several occasions the Bustelo and found it most satisfactory.

[Diggin4copper]

I consider myself coffee wealthy.., my wife works for a coffee roaster

[hobo finds]

Free Coffee.... http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/h ... ar-AAgbm2Z