- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances 15,16,18
VdlP 23, Invierno 23, Fisterra 23
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Aggghhh!bit of coffee fasting at home
Do check out this long thread detailing how some of us brew and drink when in an albergue and it is too early for any bar to be open or the only nearby place is closed.
Contrary to popular belief, caffeine is a totally odorless and tasteless compound. It is the aromas contained in coffee that give coffee its flavor.Coffee..is my preferred caffeine delivery method.
So
Is it the coffee
Or the caffeine made tasty?
you probably know that many recent scientific papers indicate that coffee actually has a beneficial effect on health, if drunk in moderation (3-4 coffees a day, I mean Italian-style coffee). But mind you, as I wrote above this does not imply that caffeine is responsible for the beneficial effect. It could be another of the thousands of molecules in the drink. The last time I read something about it, it was not well known.Aggghhh!
You're absolutely right, it would be better for my health. However this is one of my few (consumable) vices (the other is chocolate).
Like my chocolate, I can walk without but I don't want to walk without.
The implications of facing a day without coffee is sometimes horrid and anathema to my tired self!Contrary to popular belief, I have read that caffeine is a totally odorless and tasteless compound. It is the aromas contained in coffee that give coffee its flavor.
For this reason, many people confuse the “strength” of coffee, or its “bitterness” and the amount of caffeine contained, which is more or less proportional only to the processed coffee. So an “Italian-style” espresso, small but intensely flavored, contains MUCH less caffeine than an American long coffee or a French one.
" ...and have always found a bar with reasonable to good coffee before I fell to the ground writhing from coffee deprivation."
What is a Cafepen? I'm intrigued, especially since I sometimes resort to caffeine pills. Can perhaps one vape caffeine?In my humble opinion, for emergency self-dosing, one should always carry a Cafépen.
Perhaps more than one.
Better yet. Toss it in the microwave for 60 seconds and Bob's your uncle.I know there are those who struggle to get going in the morning without a coffee.
And sometimes on Camino a coffee is not always available at the start of your day.
This idea might work?
I drink a lot of iced coffee on Campervan road trips here in Australia.
I find 7-8 hours on the road each day I need something to keep me alert.
I go through 1 or 2 a day.
But store bought iced coffee is:
So I tried making my own, which works great and tastes about the same.
- Expensive
- Full of fats and sugars.
Take a 600 ml water bottle, half full.
Put in three teaspoons of instant coffee.
Add sugar / sweetener to taste.
Give a good shake to mix.
It mixes very well
Top up with milk
Leave in the fridge a couple of hours or overnight.
I use fresh low fat milk, but the UHT milk in Spain would work well.
Personally I can get started OK without coffee.
So just a thought for those who can't.........
You could carry a few sachets of coffee and sugar.
And get a small UHT milk in a local shop maybe.
For my 'road trip' coffee I use Nescafe Blend 43.
It mixes well in cold water.
Note. on road trips it stays in the van fridge or chiller box.
Not sure how it would stay fresh in a pack on Camino!
I'm a real coffee addict, but whenever I'm travelling I try to go with the flow. My first Camino I had way too much stuff, which ever since I've done without.I know there are those who struggle to get going in the morning without a coffee.
And sometimes on Camino a coffee is not always available at the start of your day.
This idea might work?
I drink a lot of iced coffee on Campervan road trips here in Australia.
I find 7-8 hours on the road each day I need something to keep me alert.
I go through 1 or 2 a day.
But store bought iced coffee is:
So I tried making my own, which works great and tastes about the same.
- Expensive
- Full of fats and sugars.
Take a 600 ml water bottle, half full.
Put in three teaspoons of instant coffee.
Add sugar / sweetener to taste.
Give a good shake to mix.
It mixes very well
Top up with milk
Leave in the fridge a couple of hours or overnight.
I use fresh low fat milk, but the UHT milk in Spain would work well.
Personally I can get started OK without coffee.
So just a thought for those who can't.........
You could carry a few sachets of coffee and sugar.
And get a small UHT milk in a local shop maybe.
For my 'road trip' coffee I use Nescafe Blend 43.
It mixes well in cold water.
Note. on road trips it stays in the van fridge or chiller box.
Not sure how it would stay fresh in a pack on Camino!
For the handful of us that walk the camino in Germany they're available here too! Love 'm !if it's not summer, IMHO, this is much better:
View attachment 177341
can be found at the SPAR supermarket sometime, in Spain.
Of course each to their own, but I prefer the natural goodness of espresso with proper milk, rather than all the sugar and other synthetic stuff that is likely coming along with the caffeine.The Kopiko UK website advises that "4–5 sweets contain the caffeine equivalent of a cup of espresso"
I bring mini coffee sachets (small packed ones) and drink with the warm tap water.I know there are those who struggle to get going in the morning without a coffee.
And sometimes on Camino a coffee is not always available at the start of your day.
This idea might work?
I drink a lot of iced coffee on Campervan road trips here in Australia.
I find 7-8 hours on the road each day I need something to keep me alert.
I go through 1 or 2 a day.
But store bought iced coffee is:
So I tried making my own, which works great and tastes about the same.
- Expensive
- Full of fats and sugars.
Take a 600 ml water bottle, half full.
Put in three teaspoons of instant coffee.
Add sugar / sweetener to taste.
Give a good shake to mix.
It mixes very well
Top up with milk
Leave in the fridge a couple of hours or overnight.
I use fresh low fat milk, but the UHT milk in Spain would work well.
Personally I can get started OK without coffee.
So just a thought for those who can't.........
You could carry a few sachets of coffee and sugar.
And get a small UHT milk in a local shop maybe.
For my 'road trip' coffee I use Nescafe Blend 43.
It mixes well in cold water.
Note. on road trips it stays in the van fridge or chiller box.
Not sure how it would stay fresh in a pack on Camino!
What is a Cafepen? I'm intrigued, especially since I sometimes resort to caffeine pills. Can perhaps one vape caffeine?
Bob is everybody's uncle. Unless you choose to exclude yourself. But then you miss out!!!!Some of my best morning coffees were the ones I had to postpone for an hour or longer, before finding anything open...
Funny thing with expectation, anyway they felt so much more deserved to me...
I have generally regretted every 1€ cup from the automat in the albergues, however
And Bob never was my uncle
I 'trained' myself to drink espresso/ (long or short) black coffee only as I couldn't get used to the taste of the uht milk in coffee in Spain. Much easier to throw back a shot of coffee, hot or cold than be disappointed with the taste if the leche isn't to my liking. More and more you find those little pressure cans of cold brew in supermercados/ vending machines in spain (and Australia) if no bar open on the way... I also take a couple of the coffee bags with me in case I am stuck...Addicts may wish to consider “cold brew “ coffee. Take the used grounds from your cafetière, steamer, or drip pot. Mix 25/75 with unchlorinated water and leave in the fridge for a few days. Refilter and drink.
not that I disagree with you (even a "Pocket Coffee" is totally different from a good cup of coffee), but in a cup of coffee there are over 1,000 different compounds, even without counting milk. And the difference between "synthetic" and "natural" is highly debatable.Of course each to their own, but I prefer the natural goodness of espresso with proper milk, rather than all the sugar and other synthetic stuff that is likely coming along with the caffeine.
80€ plus tax? Presumably Jeeves the butler can conjure up the hot water?I just received an ad for this: https://www.wacaco.com/es/products/nanopresso-journey-spring-run. 333 g in total (and the need to find hot water...).
Yes - did this on VDLP in 2022. But somehow just couldn't get it together enough for the Frances this year. It does take a tiny bit of forward planning and accurate info about what will or will not be open at 6.30 - 7.00 am.Another approach is to buy a coffee the night before when the local bar is open and heat it up in the albergue microwave in the morning.
Yes but it's better than nothing on a day when the next coffee or any hot drink is 25+km awayResorting to 2nd grade alternatives to a fresh espresso would not be my approach. I have been walking in Spain for many 1,000 kms including Caminos with not-so-many bars as there are on the Frances, and have always found a bar with reasonable to good coffee before I fell to the ground writhing from coffee deprivation.
Perhaps others are more dependent than I am, and for those perhaps a bit of coffee fasting at home as part of your Camino preparation regime. It will make your walk more hassle-free.
And for @SioCamino 's idea I wonder if you have done that? Maybe your palate is different to mine. Reheated coffee is nothing like fresh coffee IMHO so perhaps only for the truly desperate.
Exactly that's where this tip was given to me. I walked so many days leaving at 6-7 where the bar in the town I was sleeping wasn't open until 10... And then you might not have a town until the end of the stage.Yes - did this on VDLP in 2022. But somehow just couldn't get it together enough for the Frances this year. It does take a tiny bit of forward planning and accurate info about what will or will not be open at 6.30 - 7.00 am.
I wouldn't call it an addiction (and am ever so slightly offended by implication in this thread that people who would like a choice in the morning are somehow addicted or weak for their preference).Wow, as a non-coffee drinker, I realize how amazingly freeing it is to not suffer from this strange
addiction.
Whilst at home in my quiet country town in Australia I have a cafe that opens at 5am and another at 6am so I am well catered for whenever I choose. Whilst on a Camino life doesn't provide for such predictabilityand enjoy whatever you drink this morning to break your fast
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