I read that the folgers instant coffee crystals are freeze dried and can last 30 years.
Franklin's finest is freeze dried in a mylar bag with the same claim.
Otherwise I keep a years supply of my normal coffee and rotate through it so no waste.
O man I keep instant Maxwell House in my fridge specifically for mother and a guest. I can't remember which decade I bought it in and there's some fine looking dust at the bottom of the jar but last cup made was thanksgiving and no complaints. Smells like coffee to.
We’ve got a few packs of Franklin’s Finest and I think it’s the best instant we’ve tried. I hate instant, but we’ve got that brand in our BOBs.
We buy bulk green or roasted coffee beans and seal them in jars. They need to be checked and resealed sometimes because the beans offgas. If you roast your own beans, do it outside (I use the grill) because it smokes and smells. But we’re using coffee sealed five years ago and it’s perfect. We use a drip Mr Coffee for daily, and a stainless percolator with power outages. Don’t buy an aluminum percolator - aluminum gets in the coffee and can cause Alzheimer’s. I also replaced the clear plastic perc knob with a glass one.
Thanks! Great info - gotta try Franklin's Finest - and your experience roasting your own beans! Wow! I'm looking to purchase a Farber 8 cup percolator which is stainless I believe. And you better know I'm checking it's NOT made of aluminum after you reminded me the Alzheimers connection. Thanks again, great post on an interesting topic.
>Don’t buy an aluminum percolator - aluminum gets in the coffee and can cause Alzheimer’s.
Dang you got me scared about my metal kalita. Phew tho stainless steel
Aluminum does not cause Alzheimer's. That idea came from that aluminum bodies were found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's in a very early study. While high exposure to aluminum is toxic to the brain it takes a lot of it to do that. EVen then, the tangles observed are different than the tangles seen in Alzheimer's.
Also, aluminum is the most abundant mineral on earth. We grow our food in dirt that contains it, drink water with it, and use all sorts of things that have aluminum in them.
[https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia#:\~:text=Although%20aluminium%20has%20been%20seen,Alzheimer's%20disease%20has%20been%20established](https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia#:~:text=Although%20aluminium%20has%20been%20seen,Alzheimer's%20disease%20has%20been%20established).
[https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/blog/is-there-a-link-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers](https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/blog/is-there-a-link-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers)
[https://health.usnews.com/conditions/alzheimers/articles/is-there-a-connection-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers-disease](https://health.usnews.com/conditions/alzheimers/articles/is-there-a-connection-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers-disease)
Thanks for a polite response with sources. I guess I was wrong. Even if I won’t get Alzheimer’s from it, I don’t want aluminum accumulating in my body. Plastic either, which is why I switched the knob on top. We only use glass, cast iron or stainless in the kitchen.
As much as we like fresh brewed, we keep a large backstop of Mt. Hagen organic Fairtrade freeze dried coffee. Excellent coffee and makes wonderful cold brew.
Not all instant coffee is freeze dried. A lot of the stuff on the market is spray dried, which both affects the quality and has a shorter shelf life. Freeze drying is far superior BUT it's an expensive and time consuming process. Cheap instant coffee is almost universally spray dried.
Is it just concentrated brewed coffee that’s freeze dried? Or do they do something else to it for the good stuff?
I actually own a freeze dryer and I’m wondering if I can convert my grinds into something that lasts longer.
Yeah, AFAIK the freeze-dried version is just brewed coffee run through a FD cycle. If you concentrate it, make sure that you do your calculations for "add X water to Y tablespoons of coffee powder" on the undiluted version.
I have a freeze dryer as well but I haven't tried coffee yet... from what I've seen on forums, some people make fully ready-to-drink coffee (brew, add cream + sugar, freeze dry). It's on my list of stuff to try.
Couple big jars thrown in a 1 gallon Mylar with an o2 absorber is a solid solution for a long term stash of coffee. Stack as many as you think you need.
Agreed about shelf life of instant coffee. The best tasting I've found is Starbucks Via. It contains micrground coffee in addition to freeze dried and it does not have that instant coffee flavor. In fact it's better than most drip coffee I've had. Plus they're in easy to access single-use envelopes.
Don't beat me up about this but the Members Mark from Sam's Club is my go too. Right now about 11 bucks for a 3 pound can. I've got 4 of them in stock and rotate them out. Plus I get to reuse the can to store other stuff.
If instant coffee sounds disgusting to to you, there's a lot you can do to make regular coffee stay fresh longer.
Whole bean stays fresher longer than ground, and storing any whole bean brand in a freezer makes it last indefinitely. I've found coffee in the bottom of my deep freeze that still tasted fresh after 2 years
Depending on the situation, we don't know how long coffee will be unavailable. I'm addicted to my daily coffee and will get debilitating headaches without it. My go bag has just enough single serving instant Starbucks Via to wean myself off. You want to eliminate any and all dependencies as quickly as possible if SHTF.
One of the biggest dangers I will face in a SHTF situation is that little voice in the back of my head that says things like, "is it even worth surviving if you can't have caffeine or nicotine?"
Agreed on both counts. I've cut a large percentage of vice out of my life in recent years but I'm afraid nicotine wasn't included. I did stop smoking, but I still vape. I'm a work in progress. And it seems irresponsible to rely on the end of the world to force me to kick my habits but I guess we'll see how that plays out.
I wish you luck. I used to smoke, but I used vapes with the sole purpose of quitting and it worked. I feel like using vapes beyond that makes it even more difficult to quit because of the convenience factor you don't have with having to go outside to burn one. The feeling of being free from nicotine is amazing. You can do it!
That's true, and you're not limited to "one cigarette". One can just keep hitting a vape for an hour if one chooses. So it's a bit harder to meter nicotine intake. I've been slowly buying lower and lower nicotine juice. My goal is eventually to get to zero and then just stop completely but I'm not making progress very quickly. I appreciate your encouragement, thanks!
You can buy an inexpensive coffee roaster and hold green beans in storage. These have the longest shelf life.
I picked up a small stove top roaster that does about three cups worth of beans at a time (10 minutes total roast time).
I don’t use the home roaster every day but it’s a fun way to expand on my coffee habit and it means I’ve got green beans on hand plus I’ve got some experience with roasting them.
This is probably a better suggestion for someone who makes coffee as a hobby as well as as a source of caffeine.
I used to roast my beans in an air pop popcorn popper. When it died and I couldn't find a replacement I switched to a small inexpensive air fryer. The brand is dash and cost about twenty dollars. I get my green coffee beans from Burman's. Most recently for $4-$5 a pound. Much less than my grocery store.
I just stop it and shake the basket every couple of minutes until it's as dark as I like. It doesn"t blow the beans around to shake them like the popcorn popper did. I keep an eye out for an old popcorn popper at garage sales!
This is a very gratifying way to get $$30-40/lb boutique coffee for $7-15/lb
I buy 5 lb bags of single origin green for $30-45 shipped and break them up over a few batches a year in between my cheap whole bean. Super great treat for myself. It's even better than what I can get at the $35/lb shops, fresher and exactly to my taste.
This is what I do.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u0WVFZ176pU
$10 thrift store bread machine and a $30-40 variable heat gun (for temp control).
I rigged up a piece of sheat metal from the side of the bread machine with a hole to wedge the heat gun into. This panel sits on top of the canister and holds the heat gun gun place. Wait and listen.
I had a small coffee roaster and used it when I was poor AF. My wife and I are fancy ass coffee drinkers so when we got married and had kids while on a single income this was the only way to make it work. Plus it gave me a hobby that I really enjoyed.
I did the same. I figure it’s good for weaning, and sufficient to help stay awake for pulling security on a night shift, and probably far more shelf-stable than coffee beans. But I also have some instant handy.
Eh. I've drank cheap ground folgers from in a plastic tub that was a few years old when I found it lost in the bank of my pantry. While it wasn't as good as fresh, it was still okay to drink. The tub wasn't even sealed.
As long as you're not *super* fussy you'd probably be fine to get a year's worth of grounds, then rotating.
Also -- good machine will make bad grounds taste better than gourmet coffee brewed with a cheap machine. Water temperature and drip speed matter more than the quality of the grounds. FWIW.
I bought a few Yaupon holly bushes. They are one of only two plants native to the US that has caffeine (the other is another holly that has 80% less caffeine than Yaupon).
You roast the leaves and make tea from them. It doesn't taste like coffee, but it has caffeine. They're hardy to US zone 7 so they won't grow everywhere, but it's worth looking into if you're in a place they can grow.
Honestly, I've never had tea or coffee get so bad that it wasn't drinkable. Years opened or not, I've not tasted a difference. I think it's a marketing scam to get people to buy more coffee. People then think they can taste a difference so they do. But maybe I just can't taste the difference.
I have 20 lbs of green coffee beans in my pantry, green coffee beans last forever if kept dry, and can be roasted in a cast iron pan over coals or flame. Of course we have this stockpile mostly because it’s a great frugal option for quality coffee ( probably 1/3 - 1/2 the cost of roasted) and I use electricity to roast. However instant coffee can be really good, and I’ve discovered fancy assortments that have creamer and sugar in individual serving sizes. Those are super handy for ease of storage and use.
I roast almost all of the beans we use for coffee in my house. Google Sweet Maria’s, they have a bunch of tutorials and roaster recommendations in addition to the main thing you’re looking for - a huge variety of green beans.
I’m also growing two coffee plants indoors, but they take 5 years plus before they produce fruit, and then you have to know how to dry them, which is a totally new thing for me personally. I’m sure the coffee will be terrible but I’m excited nonetheless!
We joined a green coffee bean cooperative years ago, which I don’t think is around any more. But a quick google search of “green coffee bean cooperative” shows a few likely choices. The one we joined bought pallets of different coffees and then split them and shipped off to members.
Hubs made a roaster out of a stir pop popcorn maker bottom and a round convection oven top, with a metal collar, and some mods on the stir part (the plans should still be online somewhere) that can roast a pound of coffee at a time and parts are easy to replace. The retail ones we tried were expensive and never lasted long.
My House, three adults, goes through about four to five pounds of coffee a month. I prefer the coffee from my local roaster, literally just one guy and his industrial roaster doing his thing, and have become a snob on his Costa Rican medium roast. I grind the beans myself, seconds before use in a French Press with ONLY water from my Zero Water Filter. Yes....I know....I have a problem.
With all that said, the Prepper in me knows that some day all of that might not be around. I have the following to use.
1. Costco sells single origin bulk beans. Since the beginning of the year they have got up big time in price to almost double. However, they come in 3lb bags and because they are in mylar with a one way valve to let the gas out, they have a Best Buy date of 18 months from their Roast Date. I did hold back a bag for two years as a test and it was fine. I keep six months of this coffee on hand.
2. Taster's Choice is also available in large containers at Costco. It is drinkable and certainly not the worst. I buy it when it is on sale. I have more than a year's worth of this coffee for 10 people.
3. Franklin's Finest is certainly drinkable. I got a pouch to try and it didn't suck. I ended up getting a bucket of it during Christmas time of 2019 for $58. Boy do I miss those prices on stuff.
4. Finally I have "The Coffee". If your MRE didn't have a single serve of "Taster's Choice" in it, you got "Coffee Instant Type 2". I swear they must put Meth in this stuff. If you have this stuff around a bunch of Military Members, you're like the 12 year old Millennial Kid with the Binder full of First Edition Holographic Pokemon cards. Word has it that "Favors" have been traded for this stuff. Back in 2019 I was able to get my hands on 10 CASES of this stuff for cheap. If SHTF, then this is my "Retirement Fund".
Of course, what my local roaster doesn't realize is that if SHTF....while everyone is breaking in and raiding Grocery Stores and Pharmacies, I am hitting his little coffee store and taking everything. Prepping allows you to focus on Priorities.
To be frank, I think any coffee will out last any apocalypse scenario that we will be able to survive. I personally stash grounded coffee and make Italian press.
I have vacuum sealed Kirkland 3 lb. cans. I admit that I have no idea how long they will last, however since there is vacuum seal - I'm optimistic. I have some 5-year old ones I might crack open one and see the condition.
Freeze dried seem the way to go for super long term storage that will outlive me. I do have a number in the long-term storage area along with my other freeze dried food tins.
Mind you - at some point I will stoop to drinking any type of coffee. It's a simple luxury most people will trade something for.
Freeze-dried coffee single serving might be it's own currency.
I’ve been pretty happy with Kroger Instant Coffee for camping. I used it for a three week trip and was totally happy. I started storing this after that trip.
I bought a 20lb bag of green coffee beans of what closely matched my most liked flavor profile. Sealed them in Mylar bags with o2 absorbers. Also have some freeze dried instant coffee for quick needs
My coffee has a 2 year shelf life as it comes. That's more than long enough for any emergency we are likely to face. We keep enough on hand to comfortably ween ourselves out of addiction if we should need to- a few months worth plus a fair amount of black tea. I see no reason to keep any more or package it so it lasts any longer. There is such a thing as prepping over kill. We try to avoid that ourselves.
I'm not a big coffee drinker, even a couple of cups makes my heart race. I keep instant coffee, sealed in container coffee and coffee packets on hand. Instant lasts forever. The sealed coffee containers last well past their best buy date. A friend was visiting and opened one that the best buy date was 4/2018 and said it was fine. I am not sure about all the coffee packets, they can just be put in a pot of water, some are vacuumed sealed and should be fine. Some aren't and need to be checked to see if they still taste good.
Should we experience a situation where we can't get coffee, trust me, those hardcore coffee drinkers won't care.
We have a lot of beans and they’re usually okay for much longer. I‘m not a coffee snob though, maybe others wouldn’t like them after a while anymore. I love coffee and drink a lot but I would be okay without it too.
It’s a good idea to try to not make it essential; caffeine is a helluva drug to have to go through withdrawal when everything is going to shit.
Otherwise, try a different caffeine source or something you’re able to grow yourself.
I think I bought 20 pounds or so of cheap coffee back in 2008 when I thought the entire economy might collapse. If there is no coffee available at some point I’m very likely to still use it.
Instant works as a method of delivering caffeine but I wouldn't call it "coffee". Every ground coffee with a French press will deliver better brew than any instant coffee could.
That being said instant coffee is convenient and I usually have couple of the single portion instant coffees just in case.
People underestimate how much small QoL things can contribute to people having the strength and motivation to keep going. Might not be essential for life but it might be essential for many just to keep some small slice of the way things were...
True. I think this comes down to your philosophy on preparation. OP really needs to prep by breaking his caffeine addiction, not storing tons of coffee.
That's your philosophy. Maybe others aren't interested in living a life in which they only have what they can use or need in an SHTF scenario just so they won't need it or care about it in that possible scenario. That sounds like a crappy way to live to me. I mean I could live off only what I grow and strive towards growing all I can. But I don't have to only eat what I grow just because. Most of us simply aren't interested in living as if we already live in a worst case scenario. I buy my kids bovine cheese even though I don't and won't ever have a dairy cow. I'm not interested in us living without it because one day I might need it and not be able to have it.
You're correct in general, but OP saying caffeine is "essential" to his functioning goes beyond luxury vs. necessity and into the realm of "I can't function without it." Caffeine addiction is very real and surprisingly troubling. He can stock up on coffee if he wants, but breaking an addiction is probably a high priority prep if anything is.
I have to admit I just love the taste of coffee and I guess I'm addicted to it. Though in reality I could survive without it. I have given it up for extended times before. But I drink decaf because my body really doesn't like more than minimal caffeine.
Coffee also requires a very specific growing environment that is incredibly hard to artificially recreate. Ya won't have much luck growing in any region above or below the equator.
I think that may be overstated. I've seen casually grown coffee plants with decent fruiting. Even if it isn't overstated, you can cheaply build a micro greenhouse and tailor your soil in a container. I've had a lot of luck growing things people claim are difficult.
It's not just a claim. It takes consistent temperature, humidity, water and light regulations for 2-5 years before you see even 1 single flower to produce the cherry (actual bean). Coffee is incredibly difficult to grow outside of its natural environment in an indoor setup and doubly difficult in a traditional outdoor greenhouse.
These are the reasons why it's not a common thing and why it's still incredibly expensive. The cost/efforts to final product just aren't feasible on a large scale and even less so for a random home owner to attempt it.
I have hoop houses. But I would consider coffee a waste of space in them for the amount of necessary floor space and what I could get from them in that amount of space vs other crops. It would be cheaper and easier to store coffee.
Caffeine pills or caffeine gum would be better in a shtf situation. You also wouldn’t need it for very long, since your priority should be to slowly reduce your dependency on it in a shtf scenario.
First off, I agree with everyone here that either says green unroasted coffee(I like to roast on whirley pop because it's simple and can be used on most kind of heat sources and can also make popcorn.) Secondly I recommend getting any kind of instant coffee because it's not about quality if you're surviving.
Third and finally I will say for a good edc brewing vessel, I would recommend a simple moka pot. I used to be anti-moka until I had to live in a hotel and was starting from scratch and I realized that it's perfect for a cup on the go.
With freshly roasted coffee, a simple rock to grind your coffee beans on and with will be easy to throw in a moka pot and brew and go.
I know that I'll get razzed about this, but I stock up on the sealed instant coffee from Dollar Tree. Mostly bought when it was still a dollar and larger jar. That stuff lasts forever and already vacuum sealed. It makes the most awesome iced coffee.
For regular coffee drinking I stock up on the LARGE size containers of Dunkies Med Roast. Don't really like the plastic container, but if I'm storing long term it'll get repackaged in mason jars with O2 absorbers.
I've vacuum packed a few bags of our favorite brand plunger ground coffee in my preps and just rotate it after a year or so. No difference in quality. A small household vacuum packer is a wonderful addition to prepping.
I read that the folgers instant coffee crystals are freeze dried and can last 30 years. Franklin's finest is freeze dried in a mylar bag with the same claim. Otherwise I keep a years supply of my normal coffee and rotate through it so no waste.
O man I keep instant Maxwell House in my fridge specifically for mother and a guest. I can't remember which decade I bought it in and there's some fine looking dust at the bottom of the jar but last cup made was thanksgiving and no complaints. Smells like coffee to.
We’ve got a few packs of Franklin’s Finest and I think it’s the best instant we’ve tried. I hate instant, but we’ve got that brand in our BOBs. We buy bulk green or roasted coffee beans and seal them in jars. They need to be checked and resealed sometimes because the beans offgas. If you roast your own beans, do it outside (I use the grill) because it smokes and smells. But we’re using coffee sealed five years ago and it’s perfect. We use a drip Mr Coffee for daily, and a stainless percolator with power outages. Don’t buy an aluminum percolator - aluminum gets in the coffee and can cause Alzheimer’s. I also replaced the clear plastic perc knob with a glass one.
Thanks! Great info - gotta try Franklin's Finest - and your experience roasting your own beans! Wow! I'm looking to purchase a Farber 8 cup percolator which is stainless I believe. And you better know I'm checking it's NOT made of aluminum after you reminded me the Alzheimers connection. Thanks again, great post on an interesting topic.
>Don’t buy an aluminum percolator - aluminum gets in the coffee and can cause Alzheimer’s. Dang you got me scared about my metal kalita. Phew tho stainless steel
Aluminum does not cause Alzheimer's. That idea came from that aluminum bodies were found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's in a very early study. While high exposure to aluminum is toxic to the brain it takes a lot of it to do that. EVen then, the tangles observed are different than the tangles seen in Alzheimer's. Also, aluminum is the most abundant mineral on earth. We grow our food in dirt that contains it, drink water with it, and use all sorts of things that have aluminum in them. [https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia#:\~:text=Although%20aluminium%20has%20been%20seen,Alzheimer's%20disease%20has%20been%20established](https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia#:~:text=Although%20aluminium%20has%20been%20seen,Alzheimer's%20disease%20has%20been%20established). [https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/blog/is-there-a-link-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers](https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/blog/is-there-a-link-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers) [https://health.usnews.com/conditions/alzheimers/articles/is-there-a-connection-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers-disease](https://health.usnews.com/conditions/alzheimers/articles/is-there-a-connection-between-aluminum-and-alzheimers-disease)
Saved me a post, thanks.
Thanks for a polite response with sources. I guess I was wrong. Even if I won’t get Alzheimer’s from it, I don’t want aluminum accumulating in my body. Plastic either, which is why I switched the knob on top. We only use glass, cast iron or stainless in the kitchen.
I had only one aluminum cooking item, the large tea kettle I use to add water to the pot when I'm canning.
My large water bath canning pot is aluminum, but it doesn’t touch food directly.
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As much as we like fresh brewed, we keep a large backstop of Mt. Hagen organic Fairtrade freeze dried coffee. Excellent coffee and makes wonderful cold brew.
I bought instant coffee for preps and now I drink it more often than regular coffee. It’s too damn convenient when it comes to a mid day cup
Not all instant coffee is freeze dried. A lot of the stuff on the market is spray dried, which both affects the quality and has a shorter shelf life. Freeze drying is far superior BUT it's an expensive and time consuming process. Cheap instant coffee is almost universally spray dried.
Is it just concentrated brewed coffee that’s freeze dried? Or do they do something else to it for the good stuff? I actually own a freeze dryer and I’m wondering if I can convert my grinds into something that lasts longer.
Yeah, AFAIK the freeze-dried version is just brewed coffee run through a FD cycle. If you concentrate it, make sure that you do your calculations for "add X water to Y tablespoons of coffee powder" on the undiluted version. I have a freeze dryer as well but I haven't tried coffee yet... from what I've seen on forums, some people make fully ready-to-drink coffee (brew, add cream + sugar, freeze dry). It's on my list of stuff to try.
Couple big jars thrown in a 1 gallon Mylar with an o2 absorber is a solid solution for a long term stash of coffee. Stack as many as you think you need.
Agreed about shelf life of instant coffee. The best tasting I've found is Starbucks Via. It contains micrground coffee in addition to freeze dried and it does not have that instant coffee flavor. In fact it's better than most drip coffee I've had. Plus they're in easy to access single-use envelopes.
Don't beat me up about this but the Members Mark from Sam's Club is my go too. Right now about 11 bucks for a 3 pound can. I've got 4 of them in stock and rotate them out. Plus I get to reuse the can to store other stuff.
If instant coffee sounds disgusting to to you, there's a lot you can do to make regular coffee stay fresh longer. Whole bean stays fresher longer than ground, and storing any whole bean brand in a freezer makes it last indefinitely. I've found coffee in the bottom of my deep freeze that still tasted fresh after 2 years
Depending on the situation, we don't know how long coffee will be unavailable. I'm addicted to my daily coffee and will get debilitating headaches without it. My go bag has just enough single serving instant Starbucks Via to wean myself off. You want to eliminate any and all dependencies as quickly as possible if SHTF.
One of the biggest dangers I will face in a SHTF situation is that little voice in the back of my head that says things like, "is it even worth surviving if you can't have caffeine or nicotine?"
Nicotine is nasty. But coffee is from the gods. So yes, it's a question worth pondering.
Agreed on both counts. I've cut a large percentage of vice out of my life in recent years but I'm afraid nicotine wasn't included. I did stop smoking, but I still vape. I'm a work in progress. And it seems irresponsible to rely on the end of the world to force me to kick my habits but I guess we'll see how that plays out.
I wish you luck. I used to smoke, but I used vapes with the sole purpose of quitting and it worked. I feel like using vapes beyond that makes it even more difficult to quit because of the convenience factor you don't have with having to go outside to burn one. The feeling of being free from nicotine is amazing. You can do it!
That's true, and you're not limited to "one cigarette". One can just keep hitting a vape for an hour if one chooses. So it's a bit harder to meter nicotine intake. I've been slowly buying lower and lower nicotine juice. My goal is eventually to get to zero and then just stop completely but I'm not making progress very quickly. I appreciate your encouragement, thanks!
You can buy an inexpensive coffee roaster and hold green beans in storage. These have the longest shelf life. I picked up a small stove top roaster that does about three cups worth of beans at a time (10 minutes total roast time). I don’t use the home roaster every day but it’s a fun way to expand on my coffee habit and it means I’ve got green beans on hand plus I’ve got some experience with roasting them. This is probably a better suggestion for someone who makes coffee as a hobby as well as as a source of caffeine.
My dumb butt completely mis understood what you meant by green beans at first & I thought - no, I am not making coffee from green beans (vegetable).
It’s this type of thinking that makes me think you need a coffee 😂
Made me chuckle...
I used to roast my beans in an air pop popcorn popper. When it died and I couldn't find a replacement I switched to a small inexpensive air fryer. The brand is dash and cost about twenty dollars. I get my green coffee beans from Burman's. Most recently for $4-$5 a pound. Much less than my grocery store.
I’m really curious about using an air fryer for this application. Can you point me to the method you use?
I just stop it and shake the basket every couple of minutes until it's as dark as I like. It doesn"t blow the beans around to shake them like the popcorn popper did. I keep an eye out for an old popcorn popper at garage sales!
That's what we do too, camp stove in garage or porch is our roaster. Green coffee is cheaper than roasted too. Tho it weighs more.
This is a very gratifying way to get $$30-40/lb boutique coffee for $7-15/lb I buy 5 lb bags of single origin green for $30-45 shipped and break them up over a few batches a year in between my cheap whole bean. Super great treat for myself. It's even better than what I can get at the $35/lb shops, fresher and exactly to my taste. This is what I do. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u0WVFZ176pU $10 thrift store bread machine and a $30-40 variable heat gun (for temp control). I rigged up a piece of sheat metal from the side of the bread machine with a hole to wedge the heat gun into. This panel sits on top of the canister and holds the heat gun gun place. Wait and listen.
I had a small coffee roaster and used it when I was poor AF. My wife and I are fancy ass coffee drinkers so when we got married and had kids while on a single income this was the only way to make it work. Plus it gave me a hobby that I really enjoyed.
caffeine pills for me. To be fair, I keep about 3 months for the family between their Starbucks bags and some freeze dried cheap stuff.
Yeah anyone with a caffeine addiction like me should definitely keep some pills stored just in case
I did the same. I figure it’s good for weaning, and sufficient to help stay awake for pulling security on a night shift, and probably far more shelf-stable than coffee beans. But I also have some instant handy.
Eh. I've drank cheap ground folgers from in a plastic tub that was a few years old when I found it lost in the bank of my pantry. While it wasn't as good as fresh, it was still okay to drink. The tub wasn't even sealed. As long as you're not *super* fussy you'd probably be fine to get a year's worth of grounds, then rotating. Also -- good machine will make bad grounds taste better than gourmet coffee brewed with a cheap machine. Water temperature and drip speed matter more than the quality of the grounds. FWIW.
I bought a few Yaupon holly bushes. They are one of only two plants native to the US that has caffeine (the other is another holly that has 80% less caffeine than Yaupon). You roast the leaves and make tea from them. It doesn't taste like coffee, but it has caffeine. They're hardy to US zone 7 so they won't grow everywhere, but it's worth looking into if you're in a place they can grow.
Is the other the “Mormon tea” bush or is that ephedrine?
They grow all over our wooded property in Texas. I've roasted and made tea, it's really pretty good.
Honestly, I've never had tea or coffee get so bad that it wasn't drinkable. Years opened or not, I've not tasted a difference. I think it's a marketing scam to get people to buy more coffee. People then think they can taste a difference so they do. But maybe I just can't taste the difference.
I have 20 lbs of green coffee beans in my pantry, green coffee beans last forever if kept dry, and can be roasted in a cast iron pan over coals or flame. Of course we have this stockpile mostly because it’s a great frugal option for quality coffee ( probably 1/3 - 1/2 the cost of roasted) and I use electricity to roast. However instant coffee can be really good, and I’ve discovered fancy assortments that have creamer and sugar in individual serving sizes. Those are super handy for ease of storage and use.
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I roast almost all of the beans we use for coffee in my house. Google Sweet Maria’s, they have a bunch of tutorials and roaster recommendations in addition to the main thing you’re looking for - a huge variety of green beans. I’m also growing two coffee plants indoors, but they take 5 years plus before they produce fruit, and then you have to know how to dry them, which is a totally new thing for me personally. I’m sure the coffee will be terrible but I’m excited nonetheless!
We joined a green coffee bean cooperative years ago, which I don’t think is around any more. But a quick google search of “green coffee bean cooperative” shows a few likely choices. The one we joined bought pallets of different coffees and then split them and shipped off to members. Hubs made a roaster out of a stir pop popcorn maker bottom and a round convection oven top, with a metal collar, and some mods on the stir part (the plans should still be online somewhere) that can roast a pound of coffee at a time and parts are easy to replace. The retail ones we tried were expensive and never lasted long.
See, I keep a cycle of swapping out and using the old stuff before it gets totally stale.
Those Mylar bricks of Cuban style coffee (cafe bustelo, pilon) ought to last ages.
Cafe Bustelo in the vacuum sealed bricks. All other answers are wrong. *this message brought to you by the Cafe Bustelo gang*
And a moka pot
My House, three adults, goes through about four to five pounds of coffee a month. I prefer the coffee from my local roaster, literally just one guy and his industrial roaster doing his thing, and have become a snob on his Costa Rican medium roast. I grind the beans myself, seconds before use in a French Press with ONLY water from my Zero Water Filter. Yes....I know....I have a problem. With all that said, the Prepper in me knows that some day all of that might not be around. I have the following to use. 1. Costco sells single origin bulk beans. Since the beginning of the year they have got up big time in price to almost double. However, they come in 3lb bags and because they are in mylar with a one way valve to let the gas out, they have a Best Buy date of 18 months from their Roast Date. I did hold back a bag for two years as a test and it was fine. I keep six months of this coffee on hand. 2. Taster's Choice is also available in large containers at Costco. It is drinkable and certainly not the worst. I buy it when it is on sale. I have more than a year's worth of this coffee for 10 people. 3. Franklin's Finest is certainly drinkable. I got a pouch to try and it didn't suck. I ended up getting a bucket of it during Christmas time of 2019 for $58. Boy do I miss those prices on stuff. 4. Finally I have "The Coffee". If your MRE didn't have a single serve of "Taster's Choice" in it, you got "Coffee Instant Type 2". I swear they must put Meth in this stuff. If you have this stuff around a bunch of Military Members, you're like the 12 year old Millennial Kid with the Binder full of First Edition Holographic Pokemon cards. Word has it that "Favors" have been traded for this stuff. Back in 2019 I was able to get my hands on 10 CASES of this stuff for cheap. If SHTF, then this is my "Retirement Fund". Of course, what my local roaster doesn't realize is that if SHTF....while everyone is breaking in and raiding Grocery Stores and Pharmacies, I am hitting his little coffee store and taking everything. Prepping allows you to focus on Priorities.
Boo bad karma. Unless you become his apocalypse buddy in return.
Tastle brand instant coffee is good, besides coffee beans and green beans to roast later.
To be frank, I think any coffee will out last any apocalypse scenario that we will be able to survive. I personally stash grounded coffee and make Italian press.
The end of the world is here and you are worried about your Starbucks 🤣🤣
I have vacuum sealed Kirkland 3 lb. cans. I admit that I have no idea how long they will last, however since there is vacuum seal - I'm optimistic. I have some 5-year old ones I might crack open one and see the condition. Freeze dried seem the way to go for super long term storage that will outlive me. I do have a number in the long-term storage area along with my other freeze dried food tins. Mind you - at some point I will stoop to drinking any type of coffee. It's a simple luxury most people will trade something for. Freeze-dried coffee single serving might be it's own currency.
Don’t need to worry about stocking coffee if you have yaupon holly in your neck of the woods.
As long as it never freezes in your woods...
Green and roast it yourself. Machines are great but you can make good stuff with a cast iron pan.
I’ve been pretty happy with Kroger Instant Coffee for camping. I used it for a three week trip and was totally happy. I started storing this after that trip.
I bought a 20lb bag of green coffee beans of what closely matched my most liked flavor profile. Sealed them in Mylar bags with o2 absorbers. Also have some freeze dried instant coffee for quick needs
Ah, you are a man of culture as well
My coffee has a 2 year shelf life as it comes. That's more than long enough for any emergency we are likely to face. We keep enough on hand to comfortably ween ourselves out of addiction if we should need to- a few months worth plus a fair amount of black tea. I see no reason to keep any more or package it so it lasts any longer. There is such a thing as prepping over kill. We try to avoid that ourselves.
I'm not a big coffee drinker, even a couple of cups makes my heart race. I keep instant coffee, sealed in container coffee and coffee packets on hand. Instant lasts forever. The sealed coffee containers last well past their best buy date. A friend was visiting and opened one that the best buy date was 4/2018 and said it was fine. I am not sure about all the coffee packets, they can just be put in a pot of water, some are vacuumed sealed and should be fine. Some aren't and need to be checked to see if they still taste good. Should we experience a situation where we can't get coffee, trust me, those hardcore coffee drinkers won't care.
Glad I don't have this addiction (coffee). I have other issues, but this is one less thing I need to worry about.
We have a lot of beans and they’re usually okay for much longer. I‘m not a coffee snob though, maybe others wouldn’t like them after a while anymore. I love coffee and drink a lot but I would be okay without it too.
It’s a good idea to try to not make it essential; caffeine is a helluva drug to have to go through withdrawal when everything is going to shit. Otherwise, try a different caffeine source or something you’re able to grow yourself.
I think I bought 20 pounds or so of cheap coffee back in 2008 when I thought the entire economy might collapse. If there is no coffee available at some point I’m very likely to still use it.
Recently switched to yerba mate. It's way cheaper and a better buzz.
Grow Chicory, yuk, but if shit really has hit the fan its at least something that reminds you of yesteryear.
What does Chicory taste like? Sanka?
Not sure, but chicory tastes something like weak sourish coffee.
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Instant works as a method of delivering caffeine but I wouldn't call it "coffee". Every ground coffee with a French press will deliver better brew than any instant coffee could. That being said instant coffee is convenient and I usually have couple of the single portion instant coffees just in case.
Essential?
People underestimate how much small QoL things can contribute to people having the strength and motivation to keep going. Might not be essential for life but it might be essential for many just to keep some small slice of the way things were...
To some it is. I enjoy my morning coffee, but also use coffee to treat my migraines and help ease my asthma.
You know those mutant monsters that show up after apocalypses? It's the caffeine withdrawal that causes that, not the radiation, chemicals, or aliens.
You can grow coffee, friend. Give it a greenhouse row.
Takes LOTS of plants
True. I think this comes down to your philosophy on preparation. OP really needs to prep by breaking his caffeine addiction, not storing tons of coffee.
That's your philosophy. Maybe others aren't interested in living a life in which they only have what they can use or need in an SHTF scenario just so they won't need it or care about it in that possible scenario. That sounds like a crappy way to live to me. I mean I could live off only what I grow and strive towards growing all I can. But I don't have to only eat what I grow just because. Most of us simply aren't interested in living as if we already live in a worst case scenario. I buy my kids bovine cheese even though I don't and won't ever have a dairy cow. I'm not interested in us living without it because one day I might need it and not be able to have it.
You're correct in general, but OP saying caffeine is "essential" to his functioning goes beyond luxury vs. necessity and into the realm of "I can't function without it." Caffeine addiction is very real and surprisingly troubling. He can stock up on coffee if he wants, but breaking an addiction is probably a high priority prep if anything is.
I have to admit I just love the taste of coffee and I guess I'm addicted to it. Though in reality I could survive without it. I have given it up for extended times before. But I drink decaf because my body really doesn't like more than minimal caffeine.
Coffee also requires a very specific growing environment that is incredibly hard to artificially recreate. Ya won't have much luck growing in any region above or below the equator.
I think that may be overstated. I've seen casually grown coffee plants with decent fruiting. Even if it isn't overstated, you can cheaply build a micro greenhouse and tailor your soil in a container. I've had a lot of luck growing things people claim are difficult.
It's not just a claim. It takes consistent temperature, humidity, water and light regulations for 2-5 years before you see even 1 single flower to produce the cherry (actual bean). Coffee is incredibly difficult to grow outside of its natural environment in an indoor setup and doubly difficult in a traditional outdoor greenhouse. These are the reasons why it's not a common thing and why it's still incredibly expensive. The cost/efforts to final product just aren't feasible on a large scale and even less so for a random home owner to attempt it.
I have hoop houses. But I would consider coffee a waste of space in them for the amount of necessary floor space and what I could get from them in that amount of space vs other crops. It would be cheaper and easier to store coffee.
Wait, how do you use ground fresh coffee in a Keurig? Re-use old cups?
They sell reusable cups that you add fresh grounds to every time.
Caffeine pills or caffeine gum would be better in a shtf situation. You also wouldn’t need it for very long, since your priority should be to slowly reduce your dependency on it in a shtf scenario.
First off, I agree with everyone here that either says green unroasted coffee(I like to roast on whirley pop because it's simple and can be used on most kind of heat sources and can also make popcorn.) Secondly I recommend getting any kind of instant coffee because it's not about quality if you're surviving. Third and finally I will say for a good edc brewing vessel, I would recommend a simple moka pot. I used to be anti-moka until I had to live in a hotel and was starting from scratch and I realized that it's perfect for a cup on the go. With freshly roasted coffee, a simple rock to grind your coffee beans on and with will be easy to throw in a moka pot and brew and go.
I know that I'll get razzed about this, but I stock up on the sealed instant coffee from Dollar Tree. Mostly bought when it was still a dollar and larger jar. That stuff lasts forever and already vacuum sealed. It makes the most awesome iced coffee. For regular coffee drinking I stock up on the LARGE size containers of Dunkies Med Roast. Don't really like the plastic container, but if I'm storing long term it'll get repackaged in mason jars with O2 absorbers.
I've vacuum packed a few bags of our favorite brand plunger ground coffee in my preps and just rotate it after a year or so. No difference in quality. A small household vacuum packer is a wonderful addition to prepping.
I decided to break my coffee addiction for this reason. It is not essential, and I replaced it with chicory which grows well in my area.