gambini Senior Member Joined: 9 Aug 2005 Posts: 13 Location: San Diego Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Sep 29, 2008, 4:13pm Subject: large scale brewing while camping
At home I'm an espresso guy, but I have been designated barista for a group of dads and sons that camp once a month. This past weekend, I had to make coffee for 20 dads in the morning. I used three 8 cup french presses and had a difficult time keeping up with demand. The first problem was having enough boiling water. That can probably be overcome in future outings with additional stoves, but the bigger issue is the small volume you get from an 8 cup press. I've used a 12 cup bodum and it was better, but I'd really like to be able to produce twice that amount of coffee per batch. Does anybody have a good method for making good coffee on this scale? I was thinking about a pour over technique, where I would essentially make cowboy coffee (coffee in a large pot of hot water), but filter it through a large filter into a thermos pot.
Posted Mon Sep 29, 2008, 5:15pm Subject: Re: large scale brewing while camping
I read in a few places in the past and was directly shown that coffee can be brewed as strong as you want and diluted with brew temp water to taste without making any difference to the quality of the coffee. One trick, then, for entertaining a large group of 20 or more with a 12 cup french press is using twice as much grounds to brew twice as strong, splitting the brew into the number of cups you want and adding brew temp water. With all those grounds plunging might be pretty slow but I imagine as long as the grinds aren't too fine you shouldn't stall out before hitting bottom.
Posted Tue Sep 30, 2008, 5:36am Subject: Re: large scale brewing while camping
Hey Tim,
Your idea about brewing cowboy style is the one that I use quite often. I'm a fly fisher, and am part of a group that puts on large, riverside fly fishing demos. Bring yourself a carraffe or two as well, and fill those so you can start your next batch. This works for me and usually allows me to keep up with the needs of a hundred or so folks streamside!
gambini Senior Member Joined: 9 Aug 2005 Posts: 13 Location: San Diego Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Sep 30, 2008, 8:12am Subject: Re: large scale brewing while camping
John F, #6 cones and airpots is basically what I was thinking.
Dave, Do you pour thru a filter into the carraffes? If so, what type of filter setup do you use? Is there any key technique that works best (i.e. let grounds settle first, slowly decant off the coffee, etc.)? What grind do you use for the coffee?
Posted Wed Oct 1, 2008, 7:55am Subject: Re: large scale brewing while camping
I use a grind that is about the same as what you would use for a french press. I filter through a fine mesh kitchen strainer. Yes, let the coffee sit for about 5 minutes or so to allow most of the grinds to settle, then gently pour or I suppose you could use a ladle to remove the coffee from the pot.
I've used the cone filter method once. I found it was quite slow in keeping up with demand!! But, that is for close to a hundred people too.....
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