Single cup coffee makes on the cheap

My first experience with the single cup coffee makers like Nespresso and Krueger was in an auto dealership. I was waiting for my car to be fixed and sitting in the waiting room. I saw this strange contraption in the corner and decided to investigate. To my surprise it was a coffee maker. For those of you who do not know I will explain how these machines work. You put in a little plastic capsule that looks kind of like one of those creamers they have on the tables in diners only bigger. The capsule has some kind of coffee in it and usually you can choose between a few different types. The machine makes you one cup of coffee then you pull out the spent capsule and toss it.

When I realized how this machine worked I immediately felt like it was way to wasteful. I mean, you are using all of this plastic up in a minute or so and then just tossing it right after. I couldn't in good conscience own one.

However, this morning I was poking around on the coffee blogs and came across a neat little video and I wanted to share it with you guys.

This technique not only eliminates most of the negative environmental impacts of using these machines, but I bet it saves you a lot of money as well. Also you can use any coffee you want and don't have to buy coffee just from companies that make the capsules... that means you could use Moka Joe Coffee.

Enjoy

Coffee Outdoors MMM

If you're like me then you love to camp. One problem I always run into is how to have fresh coffee while out in the woods. It is not always an easy question to answer. Most of the time I just settle for that instant stuff but hey, who am I kidding, that is probably the least flavorful way to prepare coffee. It is a solution of convenience. What I would really love is a way to brew real coffee fresh in the morning while out in the woods. So to solve my problem I did what any person now a days does to solve their problems, I turned to the internet and I found my answer after a short Google search.

Apparently there are several methods to get the fresh roasted coffee away from the kitchen, electricity, my trusty Mr. Coffee or any of those things in our homes we take for granted.

The first solution is one I should have thought of myself. Basically you can buy the part of the coffee maker that is essential without all the other stuff. I will show you what I am talking about...

This is a single cup coffee filter. Just put in the filter paper and coffee, put the cup underneath, pour hot water(just under boiling) through and Voila, you got yourself a fresh brewed cup of coffee that is much better than instant. 

But wait there's more...

You can also use and outdoor percolator. These are the old stand-by for making coffee while camping and they look like this

 Basically you put the coffee and the water in this guy and start heating it up. You have be careful not to boil you coffee because that is very easy to do with the percolator. Boiling also makes your coffee much less tasty. the basic measurements are 2 tbsp of coffee for every 6oz. of water. You also have the option of making the coffee very strong and then diluting it with hot water in order to serve more coffee to more people.

The final option is for those that love their espresso no matter where they are or what they are doing.

That's right its and outdoor espresso maker.

 first fill the base of the espresso maker to the level of the safety valve with cool water. Next, fill the filter funnel with fine ground coffee. Replace the filter and screw the spout section of the coffee maker onto the base. Place a cup beneath the spout and heat the espresso maker over low heat. Once the coffee has stopped flowing from the spout, the espresso is done brewing and the heat should be turned off. add milk (probably powdered) if you wish and Ta-Da you have espresso no matter where you are. Also I would just like to point out that if you are backpacking you had probably better use the classic blue cup with white speckles just to remain true to the backpacking tradition.

If you have anymore questions just Google outdoor coffee makers (or espresso makers) and you will have all the info you need

Enjoy!

Memorial Day Weekend

Hey the suns out! Wait not its not... IT'S Back!

This is what I will be saying all weekend I am sure of it. The forecast looks dreary in every sense of the word

the weather according to weather.com
(they outta know)

As you can see Bellingham will be at best partly cloudy. The forecast on Saturday breaks my heart as I wanted to enjoy sun while I walked around the Bellingham Farmers Market and sipped some delicious Moka Joe Coffee from Festival Espresso.

I suppose we will be experiencing the quintessential Washington coffee weather and I should probably be used to this by now but its suppose to be the first weekend of summer right. What the heck is going on.

I blame La Nina! its all her fault!

YEEEHHAAWWW Cowboy Brisket (with coffee of course)

This recipe comes courtesy of homecooking.about.com (which means some random poster) but if your like me you cannot resist anything recipe with the word cowboy in it.

"Back home we toss a horseshoe in the pot. Stands up straight, the coffee's ready"

Garlic, coffee, and apple cider vinegar flavor this slow-roasted beef brisket. Plan ahead to marinate overnight before cooking. The brisket may be made in advance and reheated.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds first cut brisket of beef
• 3 cloves garlic, slivered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 large onions, thinly sliced, divided use
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 cup strong black coffee, divided use
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water

Preparation:

Cut slits all over the brisket with a thin, sharp knife. Push the slivered garlic into the slits.

Place 1/4 of the slivered onions, crushed garlic, and vinegar in a large freezer ziptop bag. Squish to combine. Add the brisket to the bag, seal, and toss to evenly coat the meat. Unseal the bag, squeeze out all the air, reseal, and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Remove brisket from the marinade, discarding marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Heat a heavy, deep skillet over medium heat-high heat. When hot, add the bacon grease and swirl to coat the pan. Sear the brisket on both sides until browned, turning only once. Remove to a platter.

Add remaining onions to the same skillet. Saute until nicely browned, then add 1/2 of the coffee. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer onions and liquid to a shallow roasting casserole dish and spread evenly over the bottom. Place brisket on top of the onions and season with salt and pepper. Add remaining coffee and water to the pan, cover tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

Reduce heat to 250 F. and bake an additional 3 hours until very tender.

Slice thinly against the grain. Skim any fat from the liquid in the pan, then return brisket slices to the pan to coat. Serve hot.

The brisket may be made in advance and refrigerated in the pan juices. To reheat, cover with foil, and bake at 350 F. until warmed through.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

did you know tasting coffee was this involved?

First you have to smell it right after it is ground

Make sure you use a French press to get the full flavor

here is all the aspects you may taste

close up

another close up

Cafe Femenino

Here at Moka Joe Coffee we are proud of the coffee we offer. It is 100% fair-trade and organic and we believe these aspects make a difference not only in taste and quality but also in the way we take responsibility for the communities we interact with and purchase products from. It is for this reason that we offer Cafe Femenino coffee along with our other coffees.

But what is Cafe Femenino?

Well I will tell you. Cafe Femenino is a brand of whole sale Coffee which we buy and roast. The Coffee is produced exclusively by women farmers and the goal of the Cafe Femenino Group is to support these women by selling their coffee completely separately from other coffee producers. There are currently 464 farmers participating in the Cafe Femenino project. With the support of the group these women can afford to feed their families and send their children to school. This contributes to a better quality of life for farmers and their families.

Women in coffee producing countries are often disenfranchised by their cultural settings. In these coffee farming families there are usually minimal resources and because of this it is often the sons who are sent to school and educated while the daughters stay home performing household chores and tending the farm.

Cafe Femenino's website says this about their influence...

"Insufficient funds and a full spectrum of social problems have hindered attempts to intervene. But with the organic premiums paid and the Fair Trade premiums, we are now able to promote the organization of the female coffee farmers and their integration into social, political, and occupational organizations.

The hope is that by changing the roles of women we improve the quality of life in these communities and build a sustainable economic system." 

If you are interested in supporting the Cafe Femenino group you should look for their logo on the coffee you purchase. it looks like this

Of course it would probably be easier to just order it from us at www.shop.mokajoe.com either way you will be supporting coffee producing women that could really use the extra hand to improve their quality of life and the quality of life of their children. Also check out their website for more info at http://www.cafefemenino.com/

A trailer for what looks to be a Powerful Film

This looks to be a very eye opening and powerful film. and really shows why buying Fair-Trade products is so important for the farmers and producers.