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If you’ve not been able to tell from some of my other reviews, I am definitely a fan of coffee. While I like using my burr grinder (when I’m at home) or using the fresh-ground stuff at work, sometimes, you just need something a lot simpler. And if you want to take (and make) your coffee no matter where you’re going, Steeped Coffee has you covered.
Steeped Coffee: what it is
When you think about take-and-make-anywhere coffee, you’re probably thinking about instant coffee. And you know what? Instant definitely has it’s place, and I’m not ashamed to say I’ve made more than my fair share when I needed a quick jolt. Well, Steeped Coffee is not instant. It’s actually a lot more familiar than you’d think.
What they’ve done is take the concept behind tea bags, and turned that to coffee. They’ve got high-quality beans that they’ve ground, popped them into a compostable mesh bag, and you can make coffee just like you would make tea. Even the outer pouch is compostable. To help keep things fresh, they’ve got those outer pouches filled with nitrogen, to keep keep the oxygen away from the grounds.
Making the coffee
If you’ve ever made tea, you know how to make Steeped Coffee. Get you some boiling water, and fill a cup. Dunk the pouch a few times to get the grounds wet, and then let the bag steep for three to five minutes. Pull the bag, squeeze out the remaining bean juice, and you’re good to go.
Now, I will say, the Steeped Coffee pouches float up a lot more than I’ve seen a tea bag do, and it will tend to float at the top of the mug. That said, it still made a tasty cup of coffee. If you wanted to ensure everything stayed submerged, you could wrap it around a spoon, and than sink that down. However you do it, you’re going to have a consistently good cup of coffee, with the coffee bag then ready to go into your compost pile.
Wrapping things up
As I went through the variety pack we had come in, I found myself liking everything I tried from Steeped Coffee. If you’re a flavored coffee person, then sure, these aren’t for you (or you’ll need your flavored creamer). Myself, I drink my coffee black, so you can pick up the flavors. You definitely get a more nuanced, balanced flavor out of the Steeped Coffee pouches than any instant (or other portable coffee method) than I’ve tried, and I appreciate the ease of use and storage.
While I don’t know that I’d replace my daily fresh grind and Aeropress (or French Press) method with these, I think the Steeped Coffee is a great backup method. Also, for camping, these will be great for making a quick cup of coffee in the evening, rather than getting the whole setup going to make a cup of joe.
We tested out their sampler pack, which is a good way to go to get introduced to what they’re doing. An 8-pack (two pouches of each blend) runs $14.95. Once you find the blend(s) you like, then you can get larger quantities (16- or 24-packs) for a bit more, but then you’re stocked up. Check out all the offerings at steepedcoffee.com
