Edward Reid wrote:

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 23:34:32 GMT, Joseph LIttleshoes wrote:

'camp fire' coffee, just boiling the coffee grounds in a cooking pot

with water, after it comes to a boil and simmers for a minute i take
it
off the heat and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then pour.

A few days ago I wanted a cup of coffee ... pulled out the Folger's
decaf
that's been in the cupboard since last winter. Used double the amount
since
it was so old. Put it in a bleached paper filter in a plastic cone
over a
double-insulated plastic mug. Boiled the water and poured. It was
awful.

"Well..." he typed hesitantly, even fresh instant decaf is awful, even
cafinated instant coffee is all but undrinkable.

I never liked using a plastic filter cone or the paper filters either.
I am arrogant enough to think they can be tasted in the finished coffee,
alter its flavour in a bad way. Which is why i had pretty much settled
on the french press. In Berkeley one can get a glazed ceramic filter
holder made in quantity by local crafts people and sold at the Telegraph
avenue venors market.

The French press make a decent cup of coffee but i kept breaking them.
I remember as a child me Mater using a clear pyrex type glass
'percolator'. I have had as little luck finding an aluminium or steel
'percolator' as i have a glass one. But it was made with much thicker
glass and its size & shape makes it more stable than a French press, i
would like to get one as i am not against the concept of 'percolators'
but feel they must be carefully monitored to insure the best results.

However a 4 cup steel sauce pan works just fine. I have also been lucky
enough to stumble upon a 2 dollar a pound ($2.00 U.S. per pound) ground
coffee. 8 - 15 dollars per pound makes the individual cup un -
enjoyable for me. I only use between 2 ? 2 1/2 lbws. per month.

This particular coffee is a Mexican commercial product, but contains
coffee mostly from South America and Vietnam.

Called "Montecito" it is labelled "alimento de calidad" and is "Cafe
Molido - espresso de tostado oscuro" i never paid any attention to the
idea that it is labelled "espresso", in big letters it says "Ground
Coffee" and in smaller letters beneath "dark roast espresso".

But here i get confused, i thought a cup of espresso coffee could be
made with any type of coffee, that it was the process by which the cup
is made rather than what it is made of that defines it. Though i am
aware of coffee ground specifically to be used with an espresso maker,
ground extra fine iirc, which the Cafe Molido is not, rather it is an
ordinary drip grind. Its even got a 'money back' guarantee printed on
the package

"Garantia Incondicional de Montecito;

Si or alguna razon usted no esta completamente satisfecho, devuelva este
producto para reemplazo o reembolso completo."

I think it is a excellent product but i am easily pleased.
---
JL



More seriously, I read a couple of research articles a few years ago
which
demonstrated that coffee not filtered though paper could raise blood
cholesterol levels. Not very much, maybe ten points (mg/dl???) for
someone
who drank five cups a day. Not significant unless you drink a lot of
coffee
AND have a cholesterol problem. The paper was the significant thing;
apparently it absorbs some oil that can raise cholesterol level.

Edward