Facing a Diffcult Situation

[JimT]

... early in the morning!

When I got up this AM there was no coffee on! My son-in-law who rises early usually makes it. I asked, "No coffee?" Well it seems the fancy coffee-maker was clogged up with minerals from the water and would not drip!

They offered me tea.
TEA!
If I recall rightly we fought a war so we wouldn't have to drink tea.

I got out a pan, filled it with water, dumped in a bunch of coffee and put it on to boil. In a few minutes I had a nice batch of cowboy coffee. Hot as hell, black as sin and strong enough to float a horseshoe.

And all is right in my little world!

A country boy can survive!

coffee.jpg

[marlinman93]

That's probably why my wife is so demanding that the only water used in the coffee maker is from the Brita filtered pitcher! But cowboy coffee is sure good stuff too!

[stretch]

That's not a "difficult situation...."

That is a bona fide EMERGENCY!

-Stretch

[piller]

Philosophical question: Can there be any more proof needed that GOD loves us other than that he invented coffee?

[piller]

Seriously, I have a percolator on the camping equipment. I have a french press in the kitchen, as well as a Keurig. I have a little drip machine that fits over a single cup and uses a size 1 filter. Just pour the hot water in.
If I have hot water and ground coffee, or just coffee beans, I can make do. PillHer makes sure I have enough coffee.

[fordwannabe]

A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water run through the coffeemaker will make this a less Difficult Situation tomorrow. Hint: running water only through the coffee maker 4,5,6 times will improve the taste of that first cup afterwards.

[piller]

Running the white vinegar through it once a month will make a coffee maker last a lot longer. Cheaper than buying a new one too often.

[COSteve]

Done

[mikld]

The only coffee I could taste for quite a while after throat cancer radiation was Cowboy Coffee. Since I had little experience with "camping" or "cowboy" coffee I just tossed a handful of ground coffee in a bit less than a quart of cold water, and brought it to a boil and removed it from the heat. Poured off a cup slowly to keep grounds in the pot and I could really taste that coffee. I was awake for 2 days, but happy...

[3leggedturtle]

OMG Jim are you gonna need counseling to recover from it? It easnt about tea, it was about taxes on it. Hope you have a back up plan here on out, todd3/leg

[GunnyMack]

this is exactly why I keep a backup coffee pot plus I have my Coleman camp drip machine. Cant be without my morning JOE!

[AJMD429]

After seeing all the plasticizer residues that get in the beverage from the normal 'coffee-maker' or 'Keurig' I bought a replacement thermostat for $8.00 off Amazon for my good old Westinghouse PERCOLATOR... No filters, no plastic, and it will make about 8 cups (4 of 'my' cups) of coffee in the time it takes to toast two slices of bread and butter them.

Plus - you actually CAN make 'tea' in it if you want to entertain an overseas guest....

[jeepnik]

My kitchen looks like a coffee bar. Espresso machine, Keurig, Nespresso, french press, percolator, drip machine and two or three others I can't think of right now. The only reason I wouldn't have coffee is if there was none left on the planet.

[Sixgun]

Your all a bunch of modernized kids.....Geeze,when things like that happen ill just take a pinch of dry coffee with my thumb and forefinger and stick it between my gum and cheek like a wad of Skoal....in about three minutes the buzz comes on.

Coffee machines!......cowboy coffee!.....real men dip......I've even snorted the stuff on occasion.....whew! Talk about a head rush!----6

[piller]

Back in the Army, on an A.R.T.E.P., I learned to dip the instant coffee from the MREs. No fires, no heat for coffee. 2 hours of sleep per 24 hours for 14 days in a row. That was rough.

[JimT]

CRISIS AVERTED!
FOUND THIS BURIED IN THE BACK OF ONE OF THE KITCHEN CABINETS!

IMG_1373.JPG

(no counseling needed)

[AJMD429]

Your all a bunch of modernized kids.....Geeze,when things like that happen ill just take a pinch of dry coffee with my thumb and forefinger and stick it between my gum and cheek like a wad of Skoal....in about three minutes the buzz comes on.

Coffee machines!......cowboy coffee!.....real men dip......I've even snorted the stuff on occasion.....whew! Talk about a head rush!----6

Now I gotta try that. I hate the taste of coffee anyway. My ideal 'coffee' is a triple espresso 50:50 with vanilla bean natural ice cream (adds the sugar, vanilla, and cream, plus makes the temperature tolerable...).

[Sixgun]

?

[CowboyTutt]

My favorite is Turkish coffee boiled in a traditional lined copper pot on the stove. Frothy smooth and not so bitter as European coffee. Next best is percolated coffee for sure.
-Tutt

[piller]

I have never tried the boiled in a copper lined pot method. It sounds good. I like coffee.
I have had to learn to keep the used pods from my Keurig up and out of reach of the dogs. They all like to eat the used coffee grounds. Puppies are wired tight enough without caffeine. I throw the used pods into a bad on a hook at eye level to me. When it is full, it just goes out right into the garbage dumpster outside.

[Paul105]

CRISIS AVERTED!
FOUND THIS BURIED IN THE BACK OF ONE OF THE KITCHEN CABINETS!

IMG_1373.JPG

(no counseling needed)

Looks just like the one my mother had back in the 70s.

[piller]

My Mother used to have a percolator that was avocado green with glass so you could watch the coffee. One Brother has it now. Funny how long those things last.

[jeepnik]

That's probably why my wife is so demanding that the only water used in the coffee maker is from the Brita filtered pitcher! But cowboy coffee is sure good stuff too!

Hate to burst your bubble, but a Brita doesn't remove the scale forming minerals that cause the heating elements to "clog". Soft water will work as long as you aren't sodium sensitive. Even most bottled waters (the biggest ripoff since man started exchanging money for goods) have calcium and magnesium hardness. And, if it truly is "natural spring water" those constituents can be even higher.
Do not use R. O. (reverse osmosis) water. It is so purified that it will attack the metals in the heating elements.

[JimT]

CRISIS AVERTED!
FOUND THIS BURIED IN THE BACK OF ONE OF THE KITCHEN CABINETS!

IMG_1373.JPG

(no counseling needed)

Looks just like the one my mother had back in the 70s.

This one is about that old. We've never de-scaled it. Rarely even wash it. It just keeps perking ...

[marlinman93]

Hate to burst your bubble, but a Brita doesn't remove the scale forming minerals that cause the heating elements to "clog". Soft water will work as long as you aren't sodium sensitive. Even most bottled waters (the biggest ripoff since man started exchanging money for goods) have calcium and magnesium hardness. And, if it truly is "natural spring water" those constituents can be even higher.
Do not use R. O. (reverse osmosis) water. It is so purified that it will attack the metals in the heating elements.

Well if what you say is true, then that's Keurig's problem. They specifically told me not to use tap water, but bottled water, or water filtered through our Brita filter was OK.

[jeepnik]

Hate to burst your bubble, but a Brita doesn't remove the scale forming minerals that cause the heating elements to "clog". Soft water will work as long as you aren't sodium sensitive. Even most bottled waters (the biggest ripoff since man started exchanging money for goods) have calcium and magnesium hardness. And, if it truly is "natural spring water" those constituents can be even higher.
Do not use R. O. (reverse osmosis) water. It is so purified that it will attack the metals in the heating elements.

Well if what you say is true, then that's Keurig's problem. They specifically told me not to use tap water, but bottled water, or water filtered through our Brita filter was OK.

Yes they told you not to use tap water because it will scale up the elements. But in the instructions they tell you to descale it periodically. Mine even tells me when it's time. Bottled water usually doesn't have chlorine or chloramine and some say it improves the taste of coffee. They tell you the Brita is ok because it does remove the chlorine/chloramine and also will remove any un-desolved
solids. The primary reason Keurig says not to use tap water is that in some places the calcium and magnesium hardness in the water are very high. If it is the elements will scale very fast and then folks will complain and want the machine replaced under warranty.

No you have to understand, I retired in March after over 40 years working with water treatment. Everything from domestic to ultra purified to industrial and sanitary waste.

Believe it or not, the same principles apply to your coffee machine that apply to saturated steam industrial boilers.

[CowboyTutt]

Jeepnik, distilled water ok for electrical elements I assume? -Tutt