OT: coffee bags

ugo.santalucia
ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
edited July 2019 in Commuting chat
I am organising an Audax and would like to move away from instant coffee, but I don't have the time and human resources to brew some proper coffee. Anyone has an opinion on coffee bags, as in the same thing as a tea bag?
left the forum March 2023
«13

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    No, but a few peeps here at work use ground coffee + aeropress which looks quick and easy
  • london-red
    london-red Posts: 1,266
    edited June 2019
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I am organising an Audax and would like to move away from instant coffee, but I don't have the time and human resources to brew some proper coffee. Anyone has an opinion on coffee bags, as in the same thing as a tea bag?

    Pour over drip cup, filters + Rhino hand grinder, surely.

    /edit - didn't see the problem of scale :roll:
  • arthur_scrimshaw
    arthur_scrimshaw Posts: 2,596
    Beg borrow steal a filter coffee machine, I'd take this over instant if proper coffee isn't available. I guess the only issue is the riders will be coming in fits and starts and a jug won't keep for long. Alternatively the Tassimo m/c coffee can be nice but not the cheapest option.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:
    Beg borrow steal a filter coffee machine, I'd take this over instant if proper coffee isn't available. I guess the only issue is the riders will be coming in fits and starts and a jug won't keep for long. Alternatively the Tassimo m/c coffee can be nice but not the cheapest option.

    That's the problem yes... they will arrive in a time window of 30-40 minutes... if bags are no good, I might just stick to instant...

    So is there any instant on the market which is not rank? Any of these any good?

    https://www.roastycoffee.com/best-instant-coffee/
    left the forum March 2023
  • Gallywomack
    Gallywomack Posts: 823
    I've used coffee bags before, they work fine but the end result was not appreciably different to instant tbh.

    Surely Audaxers don't care about fancy coffee though?

    Edit: If you're expecting a reasonable turnover of customers, two or three large cafetieres in rotation could do the job and would be a step up in quality from instant.
    Pompino
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    someone bought me one of these for christmas and they are pretty good - instructions aren't the best but there are many videos on youtube of how to get the best out of it.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/AeroPress-82R0 ... th=1&psc=1

    you may be able to find it cheaper if you shop around - that was just the first link that popped up
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  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,660
    Coffee bags I've tried were not good.

    Could you borrow a cafe style coffee filter machine from anywhere? Like a Bravilor with 2 or more of those glass jugs, you could get them all ready and rotate.

    https://www.nisbets.co.uk/novo-coffee-machine/f454?vatToggle=incvat
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  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,660
    Alternatively depending on the time of year you could make a big batch of cold brew?

    Aeropress / V60 won't work for scale Chris
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,865
    Gallywomack wrote:
    Surely Audaxers don't care about fancy coffee though?
    I'm with Ugo, it's a matter of national pride, an Italian really shouldn't be serving up instant coffee.
    Befriend someone with a mobile coffee van and bribe them.
    I'd be happy to send Ugo my Aeropress if it helps as I don't really use it any more, but I don't think it will do for the scale as mentioned.
    Kinesis Pro6
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  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Budget is tight and I don't want to clutter the house with machines... also a machine will need manpower in excess of simply filling up mugs with boiling water from a hot tap.

    No luck with upmarket instant?
    left the forum March 2023
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,660
    That's true, on an Audax I'd be thrilled with anything better than standard nescafe.

    Starbucks Via was alright last time I had it - pricey at Audax numbers though.

    Azera?
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    - Dolan Tuono
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Never tried Azera, any good?
    left the forum March 2023
  • singleton
    singleton Posts: 2,523
    You can make hot coffee from cold-concentrate - but it might run over budget.
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,660
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Never tried Azera, any good?

    It's ok, only had it at relatives place now and then. Worth buying a small packet to try it out?
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Singleton wrote:
    You can make hot coffee from cold-concentrate - but it might run over budget.

    Is it not a bit chemical? I mean evaporating water to make a syrup and freeze drying to make a powder are in essence similar things
    left the forum March 2023
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    The Azera Intenso is ok and there is an Illy instant I'm about to try ...
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Slowbike wrote:
    The Azera Intenso is ok and there is an Illy instant I'm about to try ...

    Ha... Illy instant might look posh and be the ticket!
    left the forum March 2023
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    this is quite nice:

    IDShot_540x540.jpg

    I don't have it as espresso though
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Slowbike wrote:
    The Azera Intenso is ok and there is an Illy instant I'm about to try ...

    Ha... Illy instant might look posh and be the ticket!

    Just make it in a (whatever your preferred coffee maker is) and Bob's your uncle ... ;)
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    Slowbike wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Slowbike wrote:
    The Azera Intenso is ok and there is an Illy instant I'm about to try ...

    Ha... Illy instant might look posh and be the ticket!

    Just make it in a (whatever your preferred coffee maker is) and Bob's your uncle ... ;)

    that reminds me of a pub i used to work in as a teenager that used to but really cheap ketchup in heinz bottles
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • k1875
    k1875 Posts: 485
    Think Starbucks Via sachets may be the answer here. Given the manpower concerns could you stick a sachet in a bunch of cups in advance and just let folk do it themselves?

    They taste pretty decent tbh and I think most folk would see them as a more premium option than any of the instants in that link.
  • awavey
    awavey Posts: 2,368
    those coffee bags are horrible, and I say that as someone who is prepared to drink instant decaf allday at work (its hot,it distracts & hydrates me and doesnt make my hyper so who cares its rank at work)

    tbf on an audax, if its instant in a mug that would be fine I think, its horrid when they give you those tiny polystyrene cups and charge you £2, and the granules arent stirred in properly and barely any room for milk
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    What about those Rombouts filter things? I haven't used one for years, so can't comment on the quality, but it's plausible that they could be as good as normal filter coffee...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    awavey wrote:
    those coffee bags are horrible, and I say that as someone who is prepared to drink instant decaf allday at work (its hot,it distracts & hydrates me and doesnt make my hyper so who cares its rank at work)

    tbf on an audax, if its instant in a mug that would be fine I think, its horrid when they give you those tiny polystyrene cups and charge you £2, and the granules arent stirred in properly and barely any room for milk

    Definitively no plastic cups and no charge for coffee
    left the forum March 2023
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    k1875 wrote:
    Think Starbucks Via sachets may be the answer here. Given the manpower concerns could you stick a sachet in a bunch of cups in advance and just let folk do it themselves?

    Nearly a quid a sachet is way too much. I can produce a meal for a quid
    left the forum March 2023
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    50% off for Lavazza prontissimo espresso... £ 2.50 for a tin of 100g ... couldn't resist, hope it's decent
    left the forum March 2023
  • k1875
    k1875 Posts: 485
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    k1875 wrote:
    Think Starbucks Via sachets may be the answer here. Given the manpower concerns could you stick a sachet in a bunch of cups in advance and just let folk do it themselves?

    Nearly a quid a sachet is way too much. I can produce a meal for a quid

    Good for you, so can I. They were in the link you posted. So is a jar of instant coffee that sells for 35 quid, so maybe park the snotty attitude.
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,660
    k1875 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    k1875 wrote:
    Think Starbucks Via sachets may be the answer here. Given the manpower concerns could you stick a sachet in a bunch of cups in advance and just let folk do it themselves?

    Nearly a quid a sachet is way too much. I can produce a meal for a quid

    Good for you, so can I. They were in the link you posted. So is a jar of instant coffee that sells for 35 quid, so maybe park the snotty attitude.

    Calm down and have a cuppa
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    - Dolan Tuono
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    50% off for Lavazza prontissimo espresso... £ 2.50 for a tin of 100g ... couldn't resist, hope it's decent

    review required once tested! i'm always on the hunt for good, cheap and quick coffee for work :D
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    pangolin wrote:
    Calm down and have a cuppa
    :lol::lol::lol:

    Compared to sportives, audaxes are run on crazy small budgets; it's part of what makes them what they are. When Ugo says he can produce a meal for a quid, what he probably means is that, somewhere else around the course, he actually is producing a decent meal for a quid per rider.
    Pannier, 120rpm.

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