Thursday, August 19, 2010

Cowboy Coffee...and Ultrarunning

We have a coffee pot with a timer so that the magic elixir will be ready when we arise (but please don't confuse coffee with that other magic elixir that is also key to Ultrarunning).

Problem comes when I get up early for a long run.  If I've set the coffee to brew then, I'll be happy but the bride's coffee will probably be stale and cool since the coffee pot shuts off after 2 hours.

So I leave it set for her...and I enjoy me some cowboy coffee.  I don't know where I first heard the term, but basically in the old days, cowboys would crush some beans and throw them into boiling water, then drink the resulting brew through clenched teeth,

Well, I've improved the process.  The night before an early departure for running I will fill a large mug with water and a standard scoop of ground coffee (I think it's 2 TSP, or 1/8 C).  I like my coffee good and strong.  Next I microwave it for 2-3 minutes to a near-boil.  Then I stir it well, cover it with a saucer, and let it sit until morning.

Overnight the grounds will have settled fully to the bottom.  I then pour the coffee off into my travel mug.  Since I used a larger coffee cup for the intital brew than the travel mug, I don't have to pour all the way down to the dregs.  Actually, I get little to no grounds.

Then I dose it heavily with cream and sugar, pull my bagel with cream cheese (also made the night before) out of the fridge, and head for the hills as quickly as possible.

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