Which camp has the best coffee on the playa?

[LittleJack]

I didn't know whether to post this here or in the Theme Camps section, so I flipped a virtual coin.

I like an occasional cup of coffee or espresso, usually in the afternoon, or with dessert. I'm not an every-day coffee drinker, and it's not unusual for me to go weeks without a cup. However, I really like good coffee when I drink it. I have another thread talking about cool playa toys to make coffee, but I know that people like to extol the virtues of their particular brews and that there are a number of camps that pride themselves on serving awesome java.

So here goes: Which camp has the best the coffee?

I think my favorite cup came from a camp called Elvis Espresso, but I can't remember if that was last year or 2011.

[Boijoy]

YOURS !! now where will you be so I can come by for a cup?

[LittleJack]

I may give the best spanking, but probably not the best cuppa joe...

[mudpuppy000]

The best one is the one that you're at when you want some coffee!

[Eric]

The camp that is serving coffee when I want it & am near it has the best.

The camp that usually serves it but is closed when I want it is the worst.

[maladroit]

Center Camp has the coffee that you don't bring for yourself.

[LittleJack]

I always think of Center Camp coffee for when one *needs* a cup. I drink it when I'm volunteering for Center Camp sound, but only because it's offered and convenient. I wouldn't say it's great coffee.

[lemur]

my fav on the playa:

playa jazz cafe: irish coffee during the evening jazz sets which start nightly at 9pm

they will be just off of esplanade on the outer ring of center camp on rods road and 8:30 this year

[maladroit]

I always think of Center Camp coffee for when one *needs* a cup. I drink it when I'm volunteering for Center Camp sound, but only because it's offered and convenient. I wouldn't say it's great coffee.

It's not bad, but that's beside my point: if you want really good coffee on the playa, you should probably bring it yourself. Asking around for where to find the camps with the best coffee reeks of...shopping. Can we open up the discussion to which camps have the most comfortable chairs, the camps with the best free swag, menus and mealtimes for the best free dinners, and so on?

[tamarakay]

I only had coffee at two camps. Best cup I had was a gift from a sweet boy who ran and got me a cup while I was working ice. 3o'clock ice station, Tuesday morning shift. Hint hint

[trilobyte]

I'm giving this a nudge over to the 2013 camps board, since the question seems to be focused on answers that pertain to the 2013 event.

As for the question, I'll abstain. Every place I've been to has been unique and brought it's own kind of awesomeness to the playa, it's never seemed to me like something that needs to rank and judge.

[LittleJack]

No hold on a minute there, Maladroit. The point of this thread isn't about "shopping", this about giving coffee oriented camps a chance to brag and boast. I bring everything I need with me, and plenty of extra to share. I even bring excellent coffee and ways to make it*, even though I generally don't drink much of it and usually just make it for friends. I'm not looking for "Who will feed me, give me coffee or booze, give me a shower or a place to sit", etc. I'm ALL about radical self reliance.

Coffee for some is almost a religion, in terms of bean origin, grind, tamping pressure, water temperature, methods of extraction, etc., not to mention what one might add to their coffee after it's brewed. I was hoping for a discussion from the camps that make coffee that they consider to be great why theirs is better, and ideally to foster some esoteric conversation as to relative merits of preparation and serving.

But, alas, this thread fell the way of so many ePlaya threads, into snark, burnier-than-thou, and drift. Really, it was silly of me to expect any different.



*I bring medium-dark roasted Indonesian beans with full body and low acidity, which I grind at home (a cardinal sin, I know). I brought a hand-mill to grind beans on playa one year, but it was WAY too MOOPy. I then prepare the coffee in a Bialetti stove top espresso maker, which makes a rich and yet mellow cup, although this year I'm thinking about an Aeropress or a Cafejo with the refillable cup option. I generally serve it with sugar, as that was how I was taught to drink espresso by an Italian friend when I was a young man, and often with a cookie or other treat on the side.

[maladroit]

Thanks for the clarification. If what you actually meant to type as the subject of your topic was "Any other coffee enthusiasts on the playa? Let's meet and trade tips and sips!" then I can see how your fingers would slip and accidentally type this one.

[LittleJack]

Bravo and well played!

[mulch]

I'm bringing my Gene Cafe roaster and roasting any number of varieties of Sweet Maria's dot com green beans at our camp and brewing it up in my Technivorm dripper. We'll share with whoever bumbles by. You might get lucky.

[maryanimal]

No hold on a minute there, Maladroit. The point of this thread isn't about "shopping", this about giving coffee oriented camps a chance to brag and boast. I bring everything I need with me, and plenty of extra to share. I even bring excellent coffee and ways to make it*, even though I generally don't drink much of it and usually just make it for friends. I'm not looking for "Who will feed me, give me coffee or booze, give me a shower or a place to sit", etc. I'm ALL about radical self reliance.

Coffee for some is almost a religion, in terms of bean origin, grind, tamping pressure, water temperature, methods of extraction, etc., not to mention what one might add to their coffee after it's brewed. I was hoping for a discussion from the camps that make coffee that they consider to be great why theirs is better, and ideally to foster some esoteric conversation as to relative merits of preparation and serving.

But, alas, this thread fell the way of so many ePlaya threads, into snark, burnier-than-thou, and drift. Really, it was silly of me to expect any different.



*I bring medium-dark roasted Indonesian beans with full body and low acidity, which I grind at home (a cardinal sin, I know). I brought a hand-mill to grind beans on playa one year, but it was WAY too MOOPy. I then prepare the coffee in a Bialetti stove top espresso maker, which makes a rich and yet mellow cup... I generally serve it with sugar, as that was how I was taught to drink espresso by an Italian friend when I was a young man, and often with a cookie or other treat on the side.

I have a stove top espresso maker, not sure it's a Bialetti, but It belonged to my Sicilian grandma. Mom had a glass coffee/espresso stop top coffee maker! In the addition to sugar, my family members would squeeze a little fresh lemon juice along with a piece of the rind! My mom would always let me have the last sip in the bottom of the cup, where the sugar, the rind, and maybe a seed sat! Thanks for the tasty memory!

I like a cup of coffee once in a great while, and I drink most of that on the playa. I'll make a pot, drink a cup and give the rest to neighbors or anyone that wants coffee!

[gaminwench]

I bring my espresso machine and make lattes daily for my campmates (and anyone else who happens to be around).

They all swear it's the best, but I'm not a coffee camp.

[mudpuppy000]

I love my Bialetti. I just have the small one but am thinking of upgrading to one of the 9 or 12 shot versions as it goes fast when you're making coffee for a whole camp.

[dubz]

Our coffee should be pretty tasty! We are bringing it from Extracto Coffee House here in Portland, OR. They hand roast their own Fair-Trade blend that is darn good. They'll be roasting 30 pounds for us a few days before we leave, so it will only about a week old once we start serving it!

We will be serving in large amounts, so it will be coming from a 42-cup urn, but how else would we give away about 22 gallons of coffee per day? Come on by and see us at the Burn After Reading Magazine and Raised by Wolves Coffee House! We will be on Desiderata and 8:45. We'll have plenty of shade, seating, good magic and great conversation!

[graidawg]

I can't remember getting any coffee from someon else on the playa. MA offered some in 2011 but MDF and I had a pot already, This year i am bringing my stove top espresso machine (no idea of brand) and a very small amount of kopi luwak (yea cat-shit coffee) just because I have tried pretty much every other generic blend personally I think the bean/grind/age/any other thing coffee snobs rant about makes very little difference it's all in the water. the best coffee i have had outside of Italy was in a DIY store in Ireland (soft water there)

hopefully this year though I will find some camp still serving coffee when i get there and have some Espresso (no sugar, sugar is evil) whch will change my mind

[Elorrum]

I love my Bialetti. I just have the small one but am thinking of upgrading to one of the 9 or 12 shot versions as it goes fast when you're making coffee for a whole camp.

Stainless steel Bialetti (or versions of similar) is my favorite for camping. cleans up so easily. Bringing a large drip cone this year though to fill a big thermos as well. Will be delivering via R/C tank.

[Captain Goddammit]

personally
I think the bean/grind/age/any other thing coffee snobs rant about makes very little difference it's all in the water.

Yes, that's exactly how I feel too. Except it can also be in the other ingredients.

There's a certain white cabin cruiser that has been known to have a coffeemaker on in the morning, serving "Joe's joe"... that's my own special blend of rather ordinary but fresh coffee with kahlua, Irish cream, whiskey or tequila, and topped with a shot of whipped cream.

[BBadger]

My only escapade in trying to find some coffee outside my own camp came when I tried getting a cup of Vietnamese coffee at some camp that was a block or two away from ours. Unfortunately, I arrived late; while in line they ran out. Such as it goes on the playa. I was, however, impressed by the generous proportions of coffee and condensed sweetened milk they provided for each of the people who got some. Normally, you're looking at a standard 6oz of concentrated coffee, and maybe 1-2oz of the milk, but they were really giving bigger proportions. Maybe they added extra water, but it still looked like they gave substantial amounts of the milk, which isn't cheap. Hopefully, they were using Borden's Eagle brand condensed sweetened milk, or at least that Chinese old man brand. If they were using that dairy-diarrhea Meadow Gold brand I'd have been pretty sad... though I doubt I would've cared really.

Assuming that the best camp coffee camp is next door, probably the best coffee for me would be the coffee that has any of the non-coffee condiments to use. Those are in short supply. It's a pain to haul out, for example, dairy products because they have to be cold. If it's just "coffee" -- well, when I'm hot or tired, it tastes about the same to me. Some unrecognizable local roast name will sound the same as any other. Even if it didn't, I probably wouldn't care. It's like being a beer-snob out there when it's hot.

If I wanted a truly unique flavor of just "coffee" I'd haul out some of that Kopi Luwak -- coffee made from digested coffee beans of the Asian palm civet. Reading that the civet's "Anal scent glands emit a nauseating secretion as a chemical defense when threatened or upset" convinces me that the coffee they literally shit out has a very unique flavor. True Kopi Luwak is not cheap, at $400/16 oz on Amazon.com, and the process of obtaining the beans is not exactly nice, as those poor civets are caged up with chicken wire beneath their feet so their shit can fall through.

Fortunately, there are alternatives if you want that unique flavor. Trung-Nguyen Coffee had some German scientists ANALyze the chemical process by which the civet's digestive system affects the coffee beans they consume, and isolated the enzymes that transform it. Supposedly Trung-Nguyen's Legendee coffee reproduces that unique anal flavor of Kopi Luwak without all the caged up cats, or more importantly, the cost. Legendee is still pricey though -- 250g (8oz) for $20, whole bean. We won't be seeing large proportions of that being given away if it is going to last a week. I still have no idea what it tastes like either. I bought a gift box with some of that for a coffee-loving friend, but he never got back to me on what he thought about it. So I wonder...

The best cup of coffee though? The coffee someone else makes for me. I like drinking high quality coffee at home -- especially as it ends up being much cheaper than buying pre-made coffee at a shop -- but I'm not the kind who is willing to bring out the tools, beans/grounds, and condiments to do it on the playa. When I wake up and someone tells me that he made some coffee -- in addition to some eggs and bacon -- I'm all over that. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I don't care if it's been sitting in that pot for 20 minutes off to the side, it still tastes good. Sure it's a little weak, and I would normally have my coffee with creamer and sugar. But whatever. It tastes good, and I didn't have to bike over to some camp a few blocks down only to find out that it has run out because I got up so damn late.

This year i am bringing my stove top espresso machine (no idea of brand) and a very small amount of kopi luwak (yea cat-shit coffee) just because I have tried pretty much every other generic blend personally I think the bean/grind/age/any other thing coffee snobs rant about makes very little difference it's all in the water. the best coffee i have had outside of Italy was in a DIY store in Ireland (soft water there)

Holy shit I just saw this. Well I guess I won't be able to sample some this year, but good on you for bringing a very unique coffee to the playa.

You're right about the water, but it's really more about the amount of water per amount of coffee (or vice-versa). Too much and it's over extracted, too little and it's under. The magic formula is about 57g per liter or about 2 Tablespoons of coffee grounds per 6oz of water (but also account for some getting soaked into the grounds). This is in agreement with both American and European standards for brewing.



But again, out there I probably wouldn't give much of a damn.

[mudpuppy000]

I think the best coffee I've had was at one of my homebrew club meetings. One of the members was giving a talk on roasting your own beans and he brought in some samples of his coffee. I think they were cold brewed, as it was more geared towards adding it to beer but holy crap it was dramatically different than any other coffee I've ever had.

[The Rod]

uh.. Cafe Negra. usually in the 3:00 and G ish area. every afternoon they serve delicious, iced BLACK coffee. But it's not the coffee that's makes it the best, its the Blaring Black Metal that accompanies it. I try to make it there at least 2 or 3 times in the week.

[haupia808]

Speaking of coffee, I just discovered this really recently but Patron Tequila makes a bottle called "XO" which is fucking amazing. Tequila and coffee together. 70 proof. Sounds gross but god damn its amazing.

Its gonna make my burn this year have some really amazing morning coffee!