Realcent.org

Nickelless wrote:

frugalcanuck wrote:does anyone know where i can get an Ethiopian coffie bean that I can plant to try and grow some? it doesnt have to be Ethiopian but I would like a very high quality bean. I think this would be the best barter item in a multi-month SHTF situation.

Is the climate hospitable enough where you are for growing coffee?

Not outside. The climate is not hospitable for growing many things that I would like to grow. Lemons and coffie beans would I would like to grown indoors here.

frugalcanuck wrote:

Nickelless wrote:

frugalcanuck wrote:does anyone know where i can get an Ethiopian coffie bean that I can plant to try and grow some? it doesnt have to be Ethiopian but I would like a very high quality bean. I think this would be the best barter item in a multi-month SHTF situation.

Is the climate hospitable enough where you are for growing coffee?

Not outside. The climate is not hospitable for growing many things that I would like to grow. Lemons and coffie beans would I would like to grown indoors here.

In all seriousness, you want to be careful not to raise eyebrows talking about growing things indoors. Don't want the DEA or other such organizations to think you're growing something you shouldn't be.

But from a cost-effectiveness standpoint, how economical is it to grow things like lemons or coffee beans indoors? I'd think that the heat lamps and hydroponic system you'd likely need would make it rather expensive. And did I mention that it might raise suspicions that you're growing something illegal? You don't want to end up on the radar of the wrong people.

Wouldn't you get a lot more mileage out of less-exotic home-grown fruits or vegetables? I'd think that tree- or bush-based items such as citrus fruits or coffee would be rather hard to grow indoors on a small scale.

I was inspired to buy my first can of Bustelo at Wal Mart. $3.12 for a 10oz can.

crash wrote:I was inspired to buy my first can of Bustelo at Wal Mart. $3.12 for a 10oz can.

Only one can? Must be because I already bought the rest!

Nickelless wrote:

crash wrote:I was inspired to buy my first can of Bustelo at Wal Mart. $3.12 for a 10oz can.

Only one can? Must be because I already bought the rest!

Stopped by the closest-to-work super wal-mart on the way back from lunch to see what they had. Their canned Bustelo was $3.16, vs $3.38 for the bricks. Can't figure that one out, but since the wife has now declared that she likes it better than her Folgers (thank goodness!), and because the cans are both good to store in as well as 2x the shelf life (thanks for noting that), I picked up 4 of the cans.

We just missed a sale (by one day!) at CVS for Bustelo bricks for $2.49; I waited until Sunday to check it out, sale ended previous night. Bummer...

Speaking of coffee...

Hmmm..... I never gave much thought to prepping coffee. Duh! Now I gotta stock up!

Thanks, Nickleless and everyone else. This is a good thread!

You guys made me think of drinking instant coffee from "C" ration paks. The first time was horrible! These old C ration paks must have gone over to Viet Nam and back. Bleah! Anyway, it was always cold and wet at night out on the fire lines and even [shucks] coffee was better than none. I could take a little one cup package and make at least 4 cups with it.

i picked up a bunch of Maxwell house plastic jugs at walmart. I think its 64 oz or soemthing. $5. this was a year or two and still going strong. inflation has set in and its tough to find that size anymore, and certainly not at that price. its ground but vacuum sealed. maxwell house is pretty cheap coffee but i like it and its a step up from folgers imho. btw, the empty plastic jug holds $35 in pennies.

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.

you can make coffee from a french press and hot water. you'll need energy for hot water, like a propane tank connected to a bbq grill.

Lemon Thrower wrote:you can make coffee from a french press and hot water. you'll need energy for hot water, like a propane tank connected to a bbq grill.

Or, something less conventional. Like a small backpacker's white gas stove. Backpacker's propane stove. Natural gas piped into your bunker hidey hole. Kerosene stove (got 70 gallons prepped). OR, a primitive lamp stove using vegetable oil (I have read about this one, but never tried it. It sounded smokey.) Or, plain old firewood (got about 12 ricks prepped).

One of the cool thing about Cafe Bustelo cans is that they are still made of steel. I decided to keep mine & as I was cleaning it out I cut my right thumb. It wasn't too bad, but two months later I still have a nasty looking scar & don't think this one will ever go away. Whenever I look at it, I close my eyes, tilt my head back & yell NICKELLESSSSSSS!!!

crash wrote:One of the cool thing about Cafe Bustelo cans is that they are still made of steel. I decided to keep mine & as I was cleaning it out I cut my right thumb. It wasn't too bad, but two months later I still have a nasty looking scar & don't think this one will ever go away. Whenever I look at it, I close my eyes, tilt my head back & yell NICKELLESSSSSSS!!!

I never thought my name would become a cussword! Maybe you can become my guinea pig for using cayenne pepper as a healing agent. I'll have to pull up some pages on Survivalblog for more about cayenne and first-aid, but I'm not going to cut my finger just to test cayenne's healing power!

Speaking of coffee, I've now got about a two-year supply (assuming nobody else in my bunker will be drinking it). Stock up on it before I buy it all!

cafe bustello is fine but its rather expensive. i have been buying large plastic jugs of maxwell house. i'm not picky but folgers i can't do. the maxwell house is ground and vacuum sealed. i bought a ton at walmart for $5 each. you can't get it for that now. mine is 1-2 years old and its still fine. if i was really worried about it, i would pump out more of the air.

Lemon Thrower wrote:cafe bustello is fine but its rather expensive. i have been buying large plastic jugs of maxwell house. i'm not picky but folgers i can't do. the maxwell house is ground and vacuum sealed. i bought a ton at walmart for $5 each. you can't get it for that now. mine is 1-2 years old and its still fine. if i was really worried about it, i would pump out more of the air.

I hardly consider paying less than $4 a can for Cafe Bustelo at Walmart to be expensive. Having said that, I looked up the Cafe Bustelo website, and it looks like the coffee can be ordered in a 24-can case for less than $3 a can, with free shipping. That's a heck of a deal, IMO:

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

i was buying maxwell house at walmart for $5 that was 2.5X as large. but that deal is gone. will need to try some bustello amigo

I couldn't get the Bustelo to work in my French Press. Too fine and stopped everything up.

franklin wrote:I couldn't get the Bustelo to work in my French Press. Too fine and stopped everything up.

If you get the ground the grind will be setup for drip. You'll have to find whole bean and grind to size - not sure you can get that as easily, or as cheaply in Bustelo - though it exists.

crash wrote:One of the cool thing about Cafe Bustelo cans is that they are still made of steel. I decided to keep mine & as I was cleaning it out I cut my right thumb. It wasn't too bad, but two months later I still have a nasty looking scar & don't think this one will ever go away. Whenever I look at it, I close my eyes, tilt my head back & yell NICKELLESSSSSSS!!!

So I have the girls at work on your Cafe Bustelo. I will report back.

Rodebaugh wrote:

crash wrote:One of the cool thing about Cafe Bustelo cans is that they are still made of steel. I decided to keep mine & as I was cleaning it out I cut my right thumb. It wasn't too bad, but two months later I still have a nasty looking scar & don't think this one will ever go away. Whenever I look at it, I close my eyes, tilt my head back & yell NICKELLESSSSSSS!!!

So I have the girls at work on your Cafe Bustelo. I will report back.

Glad to hear that I've got others under the Bustelo influence. Keep me posted on what people think of the stuff.

@Nickelless

You got me hooked on this stuff. The first time I tried it was about 6 months ago... and I loved it. I didn't realize how much I liked it until I finished this last can. I had a can of Foldgers that was about to expire, so I brewed myself a cup and it tasted like dirt water! Actually not that bad, but it can't compare to Bustelo. Thanks Nickelless:)
Oh and by the way, the price has gone up 30% at Walmart since I bought my first one.

Slapshot, the price has jumped here as well--from $3.38 a can at Wally World to $3.88 a can. CVS here runs occasional specials on Bustelo for $2 a package for the vacuum-sealed foil packages. I check prices early each Sunday morning to see if they're marked down that week, and if they are I go to all 5 CVS stores in town and buy every package on the shelf. Seriously. Having said that, though, it's still available on the CB website at the link I posted above for less than $3 a can when buying a 24-can case.

Nickelless wrote:Slapshot, the price has jumped here as well--from $3.38 a can at Wally World to $3.88 a can. CVS here runs occasional specials on Bustelo for $2 a package for the vacuum-sealed foil packages. I check prices early each Sunday morning to see if they're marked down that week, and if they are I go to all 5 CVS stores in town and buy every package on the shelf. Seriously. Having said that, though, it's still available on the CB website at the link I posted above for less than $3 a can when buying a 24-can case.

Are you talking about buying on javacabana.com? All I see there is the espresso roast.

Yes, that's it--it says Cafe Bustelo Espresso on the item. It's the can with the bright yellow label. But it brews perfectly in a regular coffee machine. I've got plenty of coffee grounds in my compost pile to prove it!

just to clarify my remarks above.

ok, was at walmart this weekend. the giant $5 jug of maxwell house i used to buy is up to almost $10, or 29.5 cents an ounce. not sure of how often it goes on sale but the cafe bustello in a better package is 27.5 cents per ounce before shipping. sales tax savings might offset some of the shipping costs.

to put this in perspective, about a year ago i was getting coffee for 15 cents an ounce.