Coffee Could Be More Valuable Than Gold in a Crisis
I recently saw a woman wearing a t-shirt that read, “But first, coffee.” I chuckled over it, because there have been many mornings in my life where I’ve uttered the same thing. Then I started thinking a little more about coffee and how our very survival may become dependent on it.
Do you have survival coffee included in your survival food supplies? There are numerous reasons why coffee could be more valuable than gold in a crisis, but let me share my own top five.
1- Increased Energy and Alertness. The caffeine in coffee increases adrenaline levels in the bloodstream. That ‘fight or flight’ hormone is designed to make us ready for intense physical exertion, so that cup of coffee may just save your life. I don’t know about you, but when a crisis hits, I plan to be alert and ready for whatever may come next.
2 – Bartering. That morning cup of coffee is practically a sacred ritual for many, so what happens when coffee is suddenly limited? Not only do you want to have enough coffee for daily survival in a disaster, but think about this: if you have a vast supply of survival coffee on hand, you have an incredibly valuable resource for bartering. Consider all the people you know who drink coffee daily and are hooked on caffeine. Have they included survival coffee in disaster planning? Doubtful. Having some extra survival coffee for bartering will be key in a disaster.
3 – Water Purification. Depending on the crisis, you may be filtering water with purification tablets. The taste of water is known to change with use of those tablets. Coffee will improve the taste of your water and mask the taste that tablets can leave behind. Better tasting water and additional energy is a win in my book.
4 – Coffee Is Good for You. We’ve all seen the studies about the positive effects coffee consumption has on our physical health due to the richness of antioxidants, but what about our emotional health? Some studies suggest drinking coffee combats depression. This may not be something you deal with on a daily basis, but depression could easily develop in a stressful disaster situation. Not to mention, several studies show that coffee drinkers live longer and have lowers risks of premature deaths. I’ll drink a cup of joe to that!
5 – Coffee Grounds Make Great Fertilizer. Don’t forget to save your coffee grounds to use as fertilizer. If you have survival seeds for planting during an extended emergency situation, there are numerous advantages to using coffee grounds for gardening. They add organic material to the soil, which improves drainage and water retention. The grounds also help microorganisms, which aid in plant growth.
As you can see, including survival coffee in your emergency food supplies is essential! Be sure to include a percolator for brewing survival coffee right over your campfire or on your propane stove.
Coffee beans keep better than ground coffee. We have a small hand grinder and an old-fashioned espresso pot (Bialetti, comes in different sizes) that goes on the stove or over a flame. Espresso will give you a good caffeine jolt or you can mix it with dried milk for your morning latte! Also, you can buy espresso powder in jars (Medaglia D’Oro brand, in your grocery store or on Amazon),, just mix with hot water to your desired strength and add dried milk powder if desired. Could make a mix like hot chocolate mix and store in Mason jars for instant coffee.
P.S. Prepping since Haiti earthquake; I have restored a treadle sewing machine from 1922, stocked heavy fabrics and thread. I am an avid gardener and have all my seeds ready; trouble is I’m 64 and disabled, DH is 68 and not interested in prepping. No kids. Advice for us old folks who won’t be out in the woods making shelters, etc?
I recently commented on phone charging in times of emergency, which offers the comments and plugs for “how to”.
I included that I used a wind up charging unit, which gives you the much needed extra muscle in your arms to aid you when wrestling with someone who’s trying to steal your coffee!? Just saying!
Will tolerate the 4-5day headache for the barter-bility of coffee. No brainer. Also, just as am getting off prescription drugs, will do whatever it takes to survive.
I love my coffee, at least one pot a day ,and in the evening I switch To tea . that we grow most of ourselves , except chai , between coffee @ green tea will solve most of your ailments, plus lavender for tea brings up to 40,00 an ounce .I”ll trade the tea not my coffee ,tea stores in gallon glass jars and mylar bags, coffee I drink , thank you very much
Coffee, barter item…big time.
$ store. jar of instant coffee. Still, will barter
Some extra notes regarding my previous post along with an apology for it being so long. There’s just a lot of information to share and a WHOLE lot of misinformation out there as well.
1. Full City Roast could be labelled a medium roast, perhaps medium-dark depending on how quickly the beans were cooled.
2. Rules of thumb for coffee flavor peak after it’s been exposed to atmosphere:
Ground coffee: 1 day
Roasted coffee: 1 week
Green coffee: 1 month (there’s some discussion on this last point as some tasters believe that green beans get a “sacky” flavor from being too long in their burlap bags. Truth be told, I think the combination of time that green coffees are in shipping from processors to ports to ships to ports to trucks to distribution points etc. could easily be longer than a month but won’t argue the point as there’s little we can do to address that issue other than grow and process our own.)
3. The mylar bags I use are a combination of both 1-quart and 1-gallon sizes. The smaller size will hold either a half-lb or lb or coffee and makes for an easily-recognized unit of barter. I don’t use the big 5-gallon mylar bags as I like keeping food away from atmosphere until I’m ready to use it. It’s probably a bit more expensive to do it this way. I’ve not run the numbers; doing it my way just gives me more warm-n-fuzzies when I think about possibly losing a seal on one of the bags someday down the road.
4. Instant coffees are ok; once again that’s a matter of personal preference regarding brands and roasts. They’re awfully convenient and I have several small vacuum-sealed packages in my various travel/escape bags. It also can be nicely used for barter as it can be easily pre-measured into tantalizingly-sized packets which will undoubtedly tilt any negotiations your way. Understand that it’s the most expensive coffee you can buy, drink for drink, except for the little coffee pods which are now all the rage.
That’s the way of things though, isn’t it? The more convenient it is, the more expensive per use it will be.
5. Regarding the questions of my fellow posters in this thread, my recommendation is to do what you’re comfortable doing. If you don’t want to mess with roasting or grinding, store up lots of instant or ground coffee. Use mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, and add a dessicant if you think you might be trapping some humidity which could ruin the coffee with mold. We coffee snobs will be the LEAST picky about coffee when there isn’t any coffee to be had, so don’t worry about things like flavor. Be content that you were able to anticipate a need for your fellow survivors and bless them (and yourselves in the process) with a good cup of coffee while gaining something valuable for your tribe.
6. Although I fudged this rule while railing about over-roasting, never criticize a person’s coffee. We’re most likely all going to be old, weak and bitter one of these days!
I wholeheartedly agree that coffee will be a highly sought-after commodity (admittedly stretching the use of the word in this instance). I recently bought 50 lbs of green coffee from a coffee roaster friend. (Would’ve bought more but they’re only buying what they sell nowadays and it was all they could spare at the moment, but no problem for volume if I put in an order when they order in their weekly shipment) So check with a local coffee house who either roasts their own coffees or has good roaster connections with high-quality source coffees.
This coffee will be vacuum-packed in mylar bags and oxygen absorbers for long-term storage. (Remember the main reason for oils becoming rancid is exposure to oxygen. Remove that and the beans will be fine in long-term storage conditions.) Just don’t roast until a day before you’re ready to grind and brew.
It’s easy to roast coffee in a popcorn popper or even a dutch oven or skillet, if you don’t have electricity and a small dedicated roaster.
Coffee drinkers who’ve moved past supermarket coffees develop their own taste preferences for origin and degree of roasts. There’s an entire industry built around coffee consumption and I recommend the book “Uncommon Grounds” as a valuable reference.
My personal roast preference (for most coffees, not all) is what’s called a Full City Roast. Coffee when being roasted will, as the beans are heated, go through two distinct “cracks” as first the water and secondly the oils are being discharged from the beans’ interiors. When the second crack is heard, it’s time to stop the roasting process and air-cool the beans as quickly as practical. This level of roast can generally be identified by tiny oil droplets just beginning to appear on the surfaces of the beans. (Personal note: if you think the over-roasted oily black roasts which have completely caramelized the flavonoids and sugars inherent in the bean are good roasts, do not blame me for the horrible taste. Blame Charbucks and the rest of that bunch in the Northwest for ruining such good coffees!)
Let the beans off-gas for a day (or not, if the coffee need-fu is strong), grind and brew. Remember to thank your Creator for the blessing of such an incredible substance and for enlightening us in how to properly use it. Enjoy.
If someone has a certain coffee bean they like, how is the best way to package it for long term storage? Anyone out there have some suggestions?
roasting raw beans takes time and energy. buy French roast whole bean in the sealed bag, get a manual coffee grinder. Make sure it grinds fine. the finer the grind, the stronger the coffee or more coffee from less grounds. also, there are a few instants w/ good flavor.
I want to store organic coffee but it has a lot of oil in it and wanted to know if I grind it and seal in an air tight container with the air absorbent will it last or will the oil spoil the product for long term storage?
This is in reference to your Blog about being drug tested for any type of state or federal aid. This is something that I as a Patriot and veteran fully support. I didn’t fight for my country to be a country for just handouts given to a bunch of drug addicts, drunkards and just plain lazy people. Our men and women are still defending and are still dying on the field of battle so that you can continue to live free and live your life as you want too. This however does not give you the right to sponge off of the hard working tax paying American Patriot. So get off of your sorry asses, get off of the things that hold you down and get back to living a decent life. As a tax payer, if you are on any type of substance that hinders you from seeking gainful employment, then I’m sure as hell not going to pay for your bad judgement. I would support a bill such as this if it were to go nationwide.
Also, Coffee grounds in a regular location, (ie; Compost pile) Attracts and feeds earthworms, giving you better soil to turn in to your survival garden, and bait for your fishing hooks. (Plus, earthworms are way higher in protein than many meat sources including beef.
That’s right, Matthew. Great additional idea, thanks.
I would like to see scientific evidence of this, and also by nutritionists.
Teresa. I would suggest you look this up and add to this blog if your findings are negative or positive!!