Coffee

From Rafting Grand Canyon

This section on Coffee has been mostly worked on by Jo Johnson. (This woman KNOWS her coffee!)

Elixir of the gods, cuppa joe, liquid ambition...whatever you call it, there is no denying the importance of coffee to enhance social lubrication and trip ambiance. There have been horror stories of trips that ran out of coffee before the trip ended, or worse, somehow forgot it altogether. Talk about reducing river runners to beggars...

The debate on best methods of providing ample coffee to a groggy groups of rafters in a hurry is endless. Cowboy coffee, BYO/do-it-yourself, giant French presses, and coffee bags snagged from the office are all options.

If you want it faster than a French press delivers, but aren't into straining a mess of grinds through your teeth (or for that matter, out of the bottom of the pot at cleanup time), here's a method you may want to try. It involves about an hour of time at home before the trip and is well worth it.

You will need:

- 1 box of diaper liners (light weight chemical free, fragrance free polypropylene sheets, i.e. Gerber brand)--available online if not through a local discount store.

- some good quality drip-grind (fairly finely ground) coffee: 1 - 2 cups per day depending on the number of coffee drinkers.

- a sewing machine and thread.

- a canning funnel is helpful but not critical.

Take 1 liner sheet and fold it in the middle (smaller side to smaller side) as if folding a sheet of paper in half. Sew across one short end and the long side to make a pocket--leave the other short side open. Fold the top down about 3/4" to make a cuff. Sew enough for all mornings plus some extras. I do some "half doses" for afternoon drinkers.

Next, fill each bag up with the pre-measured coffee (insert the canning funnel to make it easier to get all the coffee into the bag and pour the coffee through it). Stand each bag upright in a flat bottom dish with sides after filling (note: avoid a plastic dish, the static scatters the coffee everywhere). Unfold the cuffs and sew the open sides closed. Pack the bags into double ziplock bags.

That's it!

Once you are on the river, the first person up in camp fills a large coffee pot about 2/3 full and puts it on to heat. Turn it off just as it begins to boil, throw in the bag, let steep for about 4 minutes, stir with a long handled spoon and serve. Best to start with less water and add to it if the coffee is too strong.

When it's time to clean-up, fish the bag out of the pot and put in the trash. Reheating the coffee, either with or without the bag, is fine.

Exact instructions vary with the pot capacity and tastes of the drinkers. The description above is suitable for my enameled "32 cup" pot. Be advised that a pot often imparts an off-taste to the first batch of coffee, regardless of the method. You may want to make a couple bags and test them at home to make sure you've got the amount correct for your pot.

If no one volunteers to do the coffee bags, fend for yourself. You can take along one of RRFW's excellent self contained Brewmugs for perfect, delicious coffee when and how YOU want it. Check it out at the RRFW Store.

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