Coffee question

Jessie

Jessie

US Veteran
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
8,865
Reaction score
15,211
Location
Virginia
I'm in the process of installing my wood stove in the barn and have an enameled steel coffee pot. The stove has a couple of cook holes in top and I'm wondering what a good method of brewing and keeping a pot of good hot coffee in the shop would be.
We use whole beans for house coffee with a grinder. I've heard that crushing the beans and just throwing them in the pot works if you toss in a little cold water to make the grounds settle.
Does this work and make good coffee?
 
Register to hide this ad
I would boil water & use a French press. Put the hot coffee in an insulated carrafe or a metal pot on the stove.

My emergency supplies include a Melita filter kit and 2 French presses... plus ground coffee since no power = no grinder. ;)
 
Last edited:
s&wchad said:
Cowboy coffee???? Yuck!
Click to expand...

Cowboy coffee, done correctly, will be very close to French press. I grind my beans the same as for drip. Start with 1/4 cup of grounds per quart of water. Add the grounds once the water is boiling and maintain a low boil for 4 min. Remove from heat. Pour a little cool water around the edge and a touch down the spout (assuming there is one). Done correctly, there shouldn't be grounds in your cup until you get to the bottom. All measurements and timing are to be adjusted according to your coffee preferences.

My wife has a strong liking for coffee from a stove-top percolator with a basket for the grounds. I grind my grounds a little course. I do not put the basket in the pot until the water is boiling. I keep the pot at a slow perc for 13 min.

Regardless of how my coffee is brewed, I too follow the advice of using a thermos. I do not like my coffee to cook any longer than required.

Edited to add: I do not add egg shells to anything but the trash
 
Last edited:
I understand that the cowboys just crushed the beans in a towel, rag, etc. so no power required. Also the courser the grind is supposed to maintain more of the oils, which supposedly enhances the flavor.
I don't know, that's why I ask
 
s&wchad said:
I've heard of people putting egg shell in their coffee, to make the grounds settle. Cowboy coffee???? Yuck!

Sounds like you make great coffee in the house. Why not just preheat a thermos or good thermal carafe and take it out with you?
Click to expand...

It is good house coffee but friends come by at times and it would be nice to pour a fresh cup of joe off the wood stove.
BTW, that's my bat cave out there so I need to have a good source of coffee
 
Last edited:
Any of the "cowboy coffee" methods are definitely going to make "coffee." Besides the cold water treatment to separate the grounds, you can try swinging the pot overhand in a 360° maneuver several times. In theory, the centrifugal force takes the grounds to the bottom of the pot. In practice, it just might be gritty. Why not make your coffee in a more conventional manner, place in your steel pot on the edge of the wood stove just so as to keep warm, and drink away. Later in the day you can add whiskey.
 
When I make "cowboy" coffee I bring the water to a boil then take it off the stove/coals/fire, toss in the grounds and let it steep a few minutes then settle the grounds with a bit of cold water. Return the pot to the heat source just enough to keep it hot without boiling.

Note: I was in my 20's before I heard the term cowboy coffee. We always called it 'coon hunters coffee.
 
Peak53 said:
Any of the "cowboy coffee" methods are definitely going to make "coffee." Besides the cold water treatment to separate the grounds, you can try swinging the pot overhand in a 360° maneuver several times. In theory, the centrifugal force takes the grounds to the bottom of the pot. In practice, it just might be gritty. Why not make your coffee in a more conventional manner, place in your steel pot on the edge of the wood stove just so as to keep warm, and drink away. Later in the day you can add whiskey.
Click to expand...

I like the way you think
 
I have a shop built wood burner in the blacksmith shop. Use a stainless
steel percolator with basket. just use regular Folgers and when done
move to the edge of the stove. Have also used Folgers coffee bags which
seem to work ok.
I have also used a pan and just let it settle. Yeah you get a few grounds
but you can spit them out..
 
"boiled" and "good" and "coffee" are 3 words that do not belong together in the same sentence. Especially if it is unfiltered.

I'm not a coffee snob at all. If it even smells like a coffee bean I'll drink it. But boiled is my last choice of brewing methods, especially on a wood stove with no way to reliably control the temperature.
 
Last edited:
Calm down now and don't get all excited on heating up that coffee pot.

Leave the stove lids (covers) on and keep the pot cleaner and easier to wash, later on and to keep from chipping the coating.

If'n you don't have enough time to brew a good cup of "Joe", maybe you just need a cup of milk or hot coco, if you are in a hurry?

Have fun in the man cave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

chief38
COFFEE PSA - IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MY WIFE AND I
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
oldbrownhat
oldbrownhat
chief38
Cup or envelope type Coffee makers - BLECHHHH!
3 4 5
Replies
95
Views
3K
bdGreen
bdGreen
I
Camping gadgets
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
lihpster
lihpster
I
Winter Maintenance
Replies
4
Views
514
jeffrefrig
J
chief38
OUR FAVORITE COFFEE JUST TRIPLED IN PRICE!
2 3
Replies
50
Views
2K
ladder13
L

Latest posts

Back
Top