I have been buying a lot more coffee during work hours than I have in the past, so I decided to save some money and start brewing at work with a kit inspired somewhat by my coffee outside set up.
The mug is a stainless steel mug that I salvaged and repaired. I don’t have a link to it but this one is a more colorful version and works as well. As a bonus the lid was designed to be easily cleaned!
The grinder. This is an off brand little grinder that I picked up through the Amazon vine program. It works okay, but has a bit too many fines and bouldering to make a really great cup of coffee. This grinder is the hand grinder I use at home, and works much better than the previously shown grinder. Finally, my coffee outside kit includes the Cafflano Krinder which is better than the off brand and not quite as good as the knock off. The Krinder is a little bit fiddly but as a grinder that travels, it’s better than either of those I listed.
The dripper, or pour over, or filter or whatever you want to call it. I’ve picked up a few of these little laser cut stainless steel no filter needed drippers over the years and they do okay. But lately they have been producing fantastic cups of coffee. I decided to take one of these to work with me.
I also use these little bags. I really like these for coffee outside, but it feels a bit wasteful when I have the previously mentioned drippers.
To transport the coffee I use 2 different items. With the little bags I pack and seal them at home and carry them in a labeled recycled Nudge Coffee Bomb tin. For whole bean coffee I carry 15-17 grams of coffee in these little black tins. Yes I know that those tins are meant for… herbs. They are the perfect size for carrying a single dose of whole bean coffee.
I serve tea in my group space so I have an electric kettle there and often on. But when I do coffee outside I use an inexpensive clone of the Trangia Alcohol Burner with the ZenCamp stand. I use yellow bottled Heet as my fuel and a basic lighter to light it up. Technically you could use the alcohol burner in a well ventilated area to heat up your water, but in my case, work is a little weird at the idea of open flames, even when kids aren’t in the building.
So those are the tools I use to make coffee at work.
Generally speaking the coffee ends up being pretty tasty. The water at work is a little softer than what I have at home so it can impact the flavor of the coffee, but mostly it’s good. It beats the uneven brews at the 3 local cafes. To be fair to the cafes, one does a great job but serves darker roasts that aren’t my faves. The other cafe has a lot of turn over due to their model of being a training program. The other I no longer go to because they were adding in a gratuity and increasing tax charges without telling customers. This isn’t just about saving money but about making a great cup of coffee. I buy great coffee through Trade and Bottomless and I just want to enjoy that coffee even more.
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