There's a bunch of coffee making threads on here, though I've never jumped in on them before, I don't think.
I've used all sorts of things to make coffee while wandering, from paper filters to French Press, old-style percolators, to throw-it-all-in cowboy style, to stainless 1 cup pour overs.
Then, a couple years ago, a friend came to camp and brought his family. His wife is from Central or South America and had a Colador. A simple cloth strainer of close weave cotton around a wire rim, with handle. She made quick, simple, and delicious coffee and kept a pot all day long.
She gave me the Colador (Spanish for strainer) when they left. I used it 'til it was about worn out, then went searching for more. Now I buy them by the
six pack and keep a couple in my van and chuck box, and a couple in the kitchen wherever I'm staying. I just ordered more and see the last six pack I bought was July 2019, to give you an idea how long they last. That's 19 months for five (just got the last one out this morning for these pics), and that's with making a cup for myself every single day, and my kid making coffee with hers like 3-5 times a week.
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Left: 2
Coladors, one brand new and clean, and one well-used and steeping in a travel mug. Right:
Manual Coffee Mill Grinder and two Coladors ready to use (one with grounds still in, drying for ease of cleaning).
A couple tips for longevity and better coffee with these:
- I use them inside out, so the hem and stitching is on the outside. Much easier to clean the grounds out that way, and less fussing and strain on the seam when cleaning, so longer lasting. That's typically where they eventually fail.
- I like using a level measure (in image below) for 16oz travel mug size and letting it steep about 4 minutes. The measure says 36cc / 1oz, so I have no earthly idea where it came from originally.
- I usually leave the grounds in the Colador after making coffee, then put it somewhere convenient to dry (see photo above). It is really easy then to dump the dry grounds out by turning it out (much easier than dumping wet and trying to rinse, as well as conserves a ton of water), brush it clean with my hand, turn it back in, and use.
- Every once in a while give it a thorough rinse in really hot water to keep the rim from getting too dark, stiff, and brittle and to just clean the whole thing better. I use no soap or detergent on these, ever.
Using these is not as wasteful as paper filters, though fresh paper filters will help keep coffee oils rom appearing on the top of your coffee. To be honest, I'm not enough of a coffee snob to notice the difference in taste between a fresh paper filter and a well-used cloth one.
What I really like about these Coladors is that they are super simple to use for either a big pot or a cup (they can hold a
lot of ground coffee), so you're not making several separate cups with a 1 cup pour over; you can use any grind from coarse to fine; it fits right into my travel mug for daily use, so no extra stand or holder needed, takes up no room at all in my kit or if backpacking, and makes really nice simple gifts for camp guests.
Preferred coffee these days; sometimes already ground, sometimes whole bean: Cameron's
Toasted Southern Pecan,
Dark Skies whole beans,
Black Thunder from Coffee By Design.
** If anyone lives near an HEB and wants to pick up six pkgs of
Texas Pecan for me and ship it, I'll gladly send the pesos and shipping cost. Too expensive on
Amzn compared to in-store HEB.
To grind, I really like a simple
Manual Coffee Mill Grinder (in right top image) with ceramic burrs, adjustable grind, and extra container for storing fresh grounds. I don't usually take that on the road, but am thinking of getting another to throw in my van's coffee kit.
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Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
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