The cowboy’s recipe for making coffee was “take one pound of coffee, wet it good with water, boil over a fire for thirty minutes, pitch in a horseshoe, and if it sinks, put in some more coffee.”
Fantastic piece on the history of trail coffee. The bit about boiling it for 30 minutes and testing with a horseshoe is genius, basically reducing the water content till the coffe's concentrated enough to stand on its own. I've tried campfire coffee a few times and that cold water splash at the end really does work for settling the grounds. Never thought about why until reading this, but it cools the surface layer fast enogh that the grounds sink instead of floating.
You’ve probably heard this before…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_j9GNv_1eYA
This is fantastic! No, I hadn't heard this before. Thank you for sharing. That was fun.
Fantastic piece on the history of trail coffee. The bit about boiling it for 30 minutes and testing with a horseshoe is genius, basically reducing the water content till the coffe's concentrated enough to stand on its own. I've tried campfire coffee a few times and that cold water splash at the end really does work for settling the grounds. Never thought about why until reading this, but it cools the surface layer fast enogh that the grounds sink instead of floating.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. A splash of cold water works like a charm.
Perfect timing Derrick, I'd just got coffee! Great article, particularly when enjoyed with a ☕!
Thank you, Misty. Did you throw in a horseshoe when brewing yours this morning?
No, I only had a bunch of keys. 🤣☕