Jetboil Coffee Press - Owner Review
Review Date: November 30, 2008
Tester Biographical Information
Name
|
Kurt Papke
|
Age
|
55
|
Gender
|
Male
|
Height
|
6' 4" (193 cm) |
Weight
|
220 lbs (100 kg) |
Email address
|
kwpapke at gmail dot com |
| City, State, Country |
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA |
Backpacking background: mostly in Minnesota and Oregon - all of the
Superior
Hiking Trail and Border Route, Isle Royale, dayhiking and backpacking
in the Columbia River gorge.
I've done extensive dayhiking in Utah,
Colorado and Oregon. I am mostly a Spring/Fall season backpacker,
but easing
into more cold-weather/Winter trips. I have been an ardent
coffee drinker for many decades, but until Fall 2008 I drank tea when
backpacking. I now enjoy a steaming cup of freshly-brewed mocha
java on a cold morning.
Product Description
 The
Jetboil Coffee Press is an accessory for the Jetboil PCS backpacking
stove that upgrades the stove/pot system to be used to brew coffee
similar to a French press.
To brew coffee, water is brought to a boil in the PCS mug, ground
coffee is added and allowed to steep, then the plunger of the Press is
pushed down to compact the grounds. The metal mesh of the Press
prevents grounds from being ingested. Coffee can be drunk
directly from the PCS mug, or poured into a cup.
The Press components are shown in the photo at left. At the top
are the two disassembled pieces of the plunger, and at bottom is the
mesh screen. The screen is shown upside-down from the orientation
it would be used in the PCS to show the bottom flange which fits tight
against the walls of the PCS cup and prevents coffee grounds from
escaping.
| Product
Information |
Manufacturer
|
Jetboil,
Inc.
|
Manufacturer website
|
http://www.jetboil.com/
|
Year manufactured
|
2008
|
Listed Weight
|
0.8
oz (22 g)
|
Measured Weight
|
0.8
oz (22 g)
|
MSRP
|
$19.95
US
|
Field Information
I purchased my Jetboil PCS over two years ago, but bought the Coffee
Press in preparation for a Fall 2008 backpacking trip to Isle
Royale. I also used it on a second backpacking trip to the
Superior Hiking Trail in October. These trips are depicted in the
following table:
Dates
|
Location
|
Altitude
|
Approximate
temperatures
|
Trip Photo
|
September 7-14, 2008
|
Isle Royale National Park,
Michigan
|
600 to 1600 ft
(180 to 490 m)
|
Night: 40 F to 50 F
(4 C to 10)
Day: 50 F to 65 F
(4 C to 18 C)
|
|
October 14-17, 2008
|
Superior Hiking Trail (SHT),
northern Minnesota |
800 to 1300 ft
(245 to 395 m)
|
Night: 28 F to 40 F
(-2 C to 4 C)
Day: 45 F to 60 F
(7 C to 16 C)
|
|
Usage Information
  To use Jetboil Coffee Press, I first
assemble the pieces as shown in the photo at left, often doing this
while the water is coming to a boil. The two pieces of the
plunger are screwed together, the plunger is inserted through the hole
in the top of the cup lid, and the screen is screwed onto the plunger
making sure the flange is oriented down.
Then, I add ground coffee to the hot water and let steep for 3-5
minutes. I normally put the cup lid on right after the coffee is
added to keep everything warm.
Next the plunger is pushed down to compress the grounds to the bottom
of the cup. When this is done, the top of the plunger fits flush
with the top of the cup as shown in the photo at right.
Sip and enjoy! But I have to be very careful of not burning my
tongue - the coffee is extremely hot, as the insulated PCS cup keeps
the liquid from cooling off much. In fact, I normally pour my
coffee through the drinking hole in the PCS cup lid to a small cup to
cool. That way I can enjoy several smaller, hot, cups of coffee
without waiting a long time for things to cool off.
Tear down/packing
  After I'm done drinking I remove the Press assembly and
discard the grounds.
I then swish the mesh screen in some water to wash off the
grounds. I don't spend too much effort getting it real clean, as
the next plunge into boiling water will sterilize it pretty well.
Next I unscrew the mesh screen from the plunger stem and drop it
flange-up into the bottom of the PCS mug as shown at left. If it
is put in flange-down, the fuel canister will not nest properly and
the mug cover won't fit on.
Next the fuel canister goes in, cap up. I then unscrew the two
pieces of the plunger and drop them into the mug as shown at right.
The stove itself goes in next, and the mug cover is put in place.
Observations/Performance
The Jetboil Coffee
press makes as good quality coffee in the back country as I've ever
tasted. The taste limitation seems to be in the aluminum mug
walls - they just don't seem to make as clean tasting coffee as
glass. I fresh grind quality beans the night before I leave on a
trip and store them in a zip top bag or a small airtight Nalgene
container.
Cleanup is easy, and all the parts pack into the PCS mug. Sort
of. With the mesh screen on the bottom, the stove is pushed up
far enough that the mug lid doesn't fit tight and seems to fall off if
not packed tightly. The stove igniter seems to press against the
mug lid. Around the time I started using the coffee press my
igniter stopped working. I can't say with certainty that there is
a direct cause-and-effect situation, but the timing and the fact that
the Press pushes the igniter against the lid seems suspicious.
The other issue I have is the plunger pieces rattle around inside the
mug. It is noisy enough that I can hear it when I'm hiking.
I
suppose I could put some toilet paper or other soft item around the
fuel canister to keep the pieces from rattling, but I've been too lazy
and/or forgetful so far.
The plunger pieces also seem easy to lose. I've dropped them
several times out of the mug and either had to wash the dirt off or
search for them in grass. I am a little concerned that I'll lose
one of the plunger pieces some day.
Conclusions
I really like my Jetboil Coffee Press, and regret that as Winter comes
on I'll have to give it up as the canisters don't work well at
sub-freezing temperatures.
Likes:
- Makes great coffee.
- Reasonably priced.
- Minimal weight and bulk - makes multiple uses of the PCS mug.
- Easy to use once I got the hang of it. It took me a few
mornings to get the mesh screen oriented with the flange down the first
attempt.
- Easy to clean.
- Sturdy, and so far, reliable - not much can go wrong.
Areas for improvement:
- Mug cover does not fit tight and falls off with the Press stored
inside.
- Plunger pieces rattle around noisily.
- Small pieces that are easy to lose.
- It is very easy to screw the mesh screen on upside-down. I
don't see why the hole and threads on the bottom have to be exposed to
make it so easy to mess this up.
- Unless I pour the coffee into another container I can't make a
hot breakfast while I have my coffee.
- Easy to burn my tongue on the scalding hot coffee.
Kurt Papke
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|
