Coffee musings brew responses
Judging from the correspondence we received in response to Sunday’s column about cowboy coffee, many sportsmen are passionate about their java.
We might disagree on many things about deer hunting, duck hunting, turkey hunting and all things fishing, but coffee is a tie that binds. It’s an icebreaker and sometimes even a peacemaker, and what we really want in life is a few minutes alone with a good cup or two.
One reader noted that I failed to mention how much coffee I use for my 32-ounce morning jolt. It’s inexact, but seven cups as measured in my Mr. Coffee pot roughly equals 32 ounces. I use one level tablespoon per cup.
According to one of my favorite baristas at the Benton Starbucks, the lighter the roast, the greater the caffeine concentration. Therefore, I prefer Folgers light roast, but it is sometimes hard to find. That’s why Starbucks blond roast has a stronger kick than its darker blends.
We were exceedingly pleased Sunday to get an email from none other than Kent Rollins, author of A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail. That’s the book that contains Rollins’ delicious cowboy coffee recipe, and he commiserated with our difficulty in finding a graniteware coffee pot for a reasonable price.
“Amazon has 3qt. for $12, just type in: Granite Ware 6006-1 3-Quart Coffee Boiler,” Rollins wrote. “That’s what we use at the house.”
Michael Dougan, distinguished professor of history emeritus at Arkansas State University, was highly suspicious of cowboy coffee. He said it is culturally corrupt.
“This ‘Cowboy coffee’ that made its appearance in Sunday’s newspaper is obviously some Texas innovation and not part of the Great Outdoors history of camping and floating in the Ozarks,” wrote Dougan, who is also an ardent advocate of all things that are good for bobwhite quail.
“Going back to even before the Civil War, the correct form for concocting the caffeinated enrichment of morning stimulation has been known as ‘Creek Coffee,’” Dougan continued. “It shares with your foreign intrusion only a graniteware coffee pot; indeed the one I inherited became so expensive in antique stores that I retired it to a place of honor and bought a new one for regular use.”
Dougan included his recipe for Creek Coffee. It is very similar to a Missouri version perfected by my old friend and mentor, Joel Vance, an august outdoor writer of Russellville, Mo. There’s even an avenue named after Vance in his hometown of Dalton, Mo.
First, build a fire or rekindle the previous evening’s fire so as to have a bed of coals.
If no grill is available, the pot can be balanced between two rocks, preferably not of flint, Dougan wrote.
Add creek water that is free of “cow pods” or other obvious contaminants.
“Remember that probably all springs are now polluted with E. coli or worse,” Dougan wrote. “Blame people, large animal concentrations and karst for that.”
Dougan recommended boiling the water at least 10 minutes before adding coffee grounds.
“Coffee and chicory is favored by the cognoscenti,” he wrote. “After a few minutes of saturation, add the egg shells from your hearty camp breakfast. They cause the grounds to settle, so let the pot sit in an honored place close — but not too close — to the fire. Pour out carefully, while hopefully taking in the quiet hours before dawn with the dew on the spider webs and while a profound silence sits upon the earth. Enjoy another cup as the first birds awake.
“Blessed be those who can enjoy the hearty breakfast, pack up their gear in utter silence, and can then paddle into the mist without ever making a sound.”