thermal flask for brew transportation

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thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby dsc » Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:01 am

Hi guys,

because I usually drink just a small mug of coffee in the morning and the stuff at work is seriously awful (really I'm talking vile stuff) I thought I would brew some more in the morning and drink it while driving to work and/or during the first hour or so in the office. Anyone here does something similar? is the brew going to suffer a lot when transported in a metal container? I've never tried this to be honest and I don't really want to bring coffee stuff into the office (grinders, FPs and so on). Are there any thermal flasks out there which have a porcelain covered insides so that the coffee doesn't touch any metal? I'm not even sure if that's bad for the coffee, but I always prefered glass/porcelain over metal (beer for example always tastes better from a bottle in my opinion).

Regards,
dsc.
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RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby bruceb » Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:42 pm

TTBOMK All of the flasks from WMF and Alfi have glass vacuum liners.
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I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
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RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby Jules » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:35 pm

I have this Thermos flask which is great for heat retention and is completely leak-proof, but it does alter the taste of the coffee. It's still way more palatable than the dirty dishwater they offer at the hospital, though.

http://indoors.pricegrabber.com/drinkwa ... 60754.html

That's the only link I could find but I think it was bought from eBay.
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RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby jon » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:45 pm

I use a bog standard thermos flask. It's not quite as good as fresh brewed (it does cool slightly, and you lose a bit of the smell of the coffee) but absolutely beats the bad coffee you often get from coffee shops etc.
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RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby dsc » Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:52 pm

Hi guys,

Bruce WMF is insanely expensive, but Alfi looks quite good. It says on their website it's produced in Germany but I only found a US based store. Do you know if they sell stuff in Europe as well?

Jules do you think the odd taste is caused by metal contact?

I might buy something small and cheap simply to test it out, will have to visit some tourist gear shops during the weekend.

Regards,
dsc.
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RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby bruceb » Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:56 pm

Alfi is a German company and the bottles are sold in every department store in Germany. There are 835 of them on German ebay at the moment. If you need any help let me know. It'll be easier to pack than that ship's anchor of a grinder.
:shock: :lol:

Edit: Just looking at ebay I see that some of the Alfis have stainless steel innards, so you'll have to be sure if you do buy one. The majority are glass, however.
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
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Re: RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby Jules » Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:14 pm

dsc wrote:Jules do you think the odd taste is caused by metal contact?



I'm not sure. The odd taste is plastic-y instead of metallic and the coffee tastes a bit flat/stale after an hour or so. My thermos is stainless steel with a plastic rim/cover on the top.

I think the odd taste is also caused by the decay of the flavours and even if you had a glass or ceramic lined thermos, a lot of the subtle flavours especially acidity will be lost or altered after an hour or so.
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RE: Re: RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby DrTom » Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:33 pm

I think I experienced what Jules explained - I made a coffee and put it in a pre-heated metal lined thermos - 40 minutes later and it was awful! I seem to remember reading somewhere that coffee kept hot for extended periods of time degrades greatly. I will just stick to soup in the thermos from now on! Good luck with your search :)
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RE: Re: RE: thermal flask for brew transportation

Postby bruceb » Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:50 am

I agree that coffee seriously degrades in any thermos. It's not quite as bad as the degradation on a hot plate (probably caused by the additional evaporation), but it is noticeable after a relatively short time. I don't think the liner material (aside from cheap plastic) will affect the taste a great deal. I have a dozen stainless- and glass-lined jugs

For many years I kept coffee in thermos jugs, and I still do if I'm forced to serve filter coffee. It's probably best to make weaker coffee and use varieties that are not too acidic. It will take some experimentation, but I'm sure you will find certain varieties that hold up better than others.
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
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Postby GMRK » Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:46 am

How about making a strong concentrate with something like the Toddy brewer, keeping it cool or at room temperature and making up to full volume with hot water when needed?

http://www.toddycafe.com/

I've taken cold espresso into work and made it up to an Americano, it's not too bad.
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Postby geedee » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:03 pm

I put coffee from a cafetiere into a metal thermos at least twice a week during the shooting season and providing I skim the grounds before plunging it is ok until mid afternoon ... but then maybe my standards are just very low ... :cry:
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Postby dsc » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:19 pm

Hi guys,

I don't really like americanos to be honest, I prefer a proper drip/FP, so I'll stick to a flask for now. Those Alfi ones look very nice and I might order me the isoTherm in a small size. Thanks for the offer Bruce, I'll let you know if I choose anything.

Regards,
dsc.
"This week I are mostly...trying to build a grinder..."

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Postby dsc » Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:35 am

Hi guys,

just to update this topic I got me a Sigg mug:

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looking forward to using it this week.

Regards,
dsc.
"This week I are mostly...trying to build a grinder..."

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Postby Jasonscheltus » Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:30 am

whatever you do, i'd suggest you filter your brew as best you can before 'storing it'.

While I love the flavour of fresh french press, it falls apart very very quickly - the brew just contains a lot of fines that keep extracting. In america some cafes keep french press brews in an airpot for 30 minutes before tossing it and making a fresh one. But even this amount of storage was dreadful for the flavour of the coffee (not to mention how hard the airpots were to clean).

I'd suggest vacuum or paper filter for keeping more than 10 minutes.
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Postby dsc » Sun Oct 18, 2009 11:48 am

Hi Jason,

I'm planning to use a drip filter now, when brewing larger amounts of coffee. As the mug is around 350ml and I drink around 200ml in the morning, I can easily do 500-600ml batches each morning and simply take some with me to work. I switched to FPs a while ago simply because I was only brewing 200ml and I've discovered that such amount doesn't work as well as larger ones in the drip.

Regards,
dsc.
"This week I are mostly...trying to build a grinder..."

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