It didn't happen EVERY day at SERE. Some days it wasn't necessary for me to make my own coffee due to the overwhelming hospitality of the host nation.
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What type of coffee are you drinking?
- Thread starter ea6bflyr
- Start date
Exactly! Why bother with coffee when you have room service and a free honeypot?
A Bialetti Moka pot might do that Espresso a little more justice then a standard percolator. They're easy to use and pretty cheap.
Max the Mad Russian
Hands off Ukraine! Feet too
Honestly? No. We have a lot of "coffee" ivents in everyday life but the coffee here is mostly shitty mix from secondary European distributors, even if it advertised as "100% Arabica", "mild robusta", "original Paris taste" - almost everything is trash. Definitely the second best coffee I've tasted was the espresso in Italy. The best one - in Istanbul. Well, not so bad one was on the bridge of USS Mount Whitney during her port call in Kiel, Germany, several years ago.
Of course we have Starbucks, MD, BK, KFC coffee but have you ever met a person who dares to call that paper/plastic taste "good"?
Tea is another matter. There are four meals in Russian Navy aday, midrats aside: morning tea, dinner, supper and evening tea - those are official names. No breakfast, just morning tea - tea, white bread, butter, sometimes jam (I preferred cherry one) and shokolade, cheese, everything just like in that fucking old England except milk (powder and canned milk might be asked but of little use). Same with evening tea. Black one, of course, no green and fruit tea in the Russian Navy. Strong, black, hot, sweet. A tea.
Same color as brandy, btw. It's useful when you stand JOOW beyond the Polar circle at winter. Just breathe by nose to avoid OOD interest. Or offer him a cup - it usually works;-)
Tea is everywhere here. In a fastfood courts, where coffee is usually instant or sour, the tea could be quite great.
So if you are coffee maniac and want to visit Russia, bring your coffee in a luggage.
But if you visit Ukraine, especially Western part, or Lithuania - well, they'll prepare a COFFEE! Mild beans, slightly touched by fire, milled manually, boiled with a drop of honey and a leaf of apple tree - deadly tasty!
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Follow on question for the gang: how do you prepare your coffee?
My current favorite is a breville espresso maker we got for Xmas last year. That freed up the bonavita drip maker to go to the office at work (where it still sits all alone). Ive also used a French press a lot. I have a moka but haven't played with it enough to get really good at it. I've never personally done pour over but have enjoyed it at one of the local coffee spots (St Inies for the SOMD folks).
For Fallon airwing dets I'd bring an Aeropress and a cheap electric kettle to use in the Q. At home I used a Bialetti Moka pot for a while then moved on to the french press. A couple months ago I picked up a Gaggia Classic Pro espresso machine and a Baratza Sette 30 grinder. I don't think I'll be going back to home drip coffee any time soon. Turns out by switching to espresso I actually decreased my caffeine consumption.... but adding in a noon pick me up shot might be getting me back up there.
So are samovars standard in every wardroom and on the mess decks like we have coffee makers installed? Do you have the same unspoken requirement to always have hot tea ready like we always have a coffee maker with coffee ready?
I had a coworker who swore by the aeropress. We had a standing Friday coffee time where we'd BS and tell sea stories. Aeropress made great coffee, I just never got one because I had enough other ways.
Agreed on never going back to drip now that I have an espresso machine. I even briefly considered getting an espresso machine for the office but max telework solved that for now.
-> going to publix and not buying bustelo
I've been having a blast with the Gaggia, I installed a PID kit a couple weeks ago and just installed a 9 bar OPV spring that's made an enormous difference. I've been impressed with the level of detail some folks take it to, to chase that perfect shot. There is a travel Espresso maker I might dabble with in the future.
I have a feeling that's what it is, just repackaged as the store brand.
Well beyond my level or nerdery but hats off to you for the effort!
Max the Mad Russian
Hands off Ukraine! Feet too
Samovars are the habitants of souvenir shops for at least 50 years ?
But yes, a tea pot with a bottle of brandy and slised lemon are the signs of a ready wardroom 24/7. Though formally forbidden just like in USN, alcohol is widespread within Russian Navy. Mostly brandy, since vodka is melting human attention sharply, and thus vodka is mostly Army toy.