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Stormagedon! Frankenstorm! If you have been listening to the radio or watching the news, the potential for a massive storm is upon us. Let’s hope that it doesn’t cause too much havoc so we can all continue our normal activities. In the event that the forecast is correct, and we lose power, here are a few suggestions on how to grind and brew coffee. Let’s be honest, losing your power is bad, but losing your power and not having coffee is unbearable!
Step One: Grinding your coffee. We are going to have to get creative here. Unfortunately, I do not know of any burr grinders that run without electricity. Instead, you can go the traditional route and use a mortar and pestle. Make sure to only do a few beans at a time; otherwise the beans will fly all over the place.
Don’t have a mortar and pestle? Consider trying a Ziploc bag and the bottom of a coffee mug. The hard part here is making sure you don’t break your mug or smash the beans into powder.
Don’t have a Ziploc bag? How about a peppermill? The first batch will be extra peppery, so it may take a batch or two before you get it to taste right.
Don’t want to risk drinking pepper with your coffee? How about hooking up your 110 volt coffee grinder to an inverter in your car? You can use the power from the inverter by utilizing your “cigarette” outlet to run your regular coffee grinder.
If worse come to worst, you can always come to a Mayorga location and ask us to grind your Mayorga Coffee before the storm hits.
Now that your coffee is ground, here are some methods to brew your coffee without electricity. The Toddy Cold Brewing System uses no electricity and extracts smooth tasting coffee while leaving behind the undesirable acids. Make sure to plan ahead with this one, the best tasting Toddy needs 12-24 hours to properly extract. The result is worth the wait, you will be left with a bold, super-smooth taste that’s easier on the stomach. If you don’t want to wait the 12-24 hours, you can always brew your coffee in a Moka Pot on an outside grill. The steam produced by the heated water will leave you with a bold tasting coffee. If you do not have a grill, you can always try to brew coffee in a French Press on an open flame. Just make sure that the French Press isn’t made out of plastic.
Let’s hope the storm passes us by, but if we do lose power, try these methods out and let us know your results. Do you have any suggestions? Reply to this blog posting and let us know your suggestions.
Responses to “East Coast Residents! Are you Prepping for the Frankenstorm?”
I had my first taste of cold-brewed coffee this past summer in Mammoth Lakes, CA. It was a truely awe-inspiring cup.
Since coffee is so important to me and the fact that we lived in Florida for many years and were prepared for Hurricanes I have my emergency coffee kit. I have an antique coffee grinder and a tin peculator that I can run on the camp stove or our wood stove. Since we are about to get snow from the hurricane here in Tennessee I will have the wood stove going and brewing fresh Mayorga coffee. If you go this route I would recommend placing a paper filter inside the coffee basket. Just push it down and punch a hole in the filter. You will get fewer grounds in your coffee by using the paper filter. Also if your water supply is compromised, then boil the water first and then let it cool before making coffee or using it in any other way.
I haven’t tried to cold brew myself. But I keep a percolator that is for camping handy..I have used on the grill and on top of a kerosene heater and also on an outside fire. Course you could use a pot to boil water the same way. Then put in coffee.
Grinding beans..well I use the burr to grind plenty ahead of time…
Thinking of all of you.