I Need my Morning Coffee :)

[realfoodrebel]

Hi there! I love my morning coffee! Two large cups before I do anything. Do most of the Alberques serve coffee early in the morning? Are places open that sell coffee early? Can I make my own coffee?

Thanks for any responses!

 

[DurhamParish]

Most albergues don't offer coffee in the morning. But one of the great joys and treats on the camino is to start walking for a time and then stop in to a cafe and order a cafe' con leche with all of the other pilgrims. I love it.

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Every morning is different. Some places have a restaurant that opens for morning walkers, some places have a coffee machine (better than it sounds), sometimes there is nothing at all and you have to walk a while until an open bar for your first cafe con leche. You will adjust to it, no worries.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Two large cups of North American coffee (my apologies to my compatriots who worship Tim Horton's) cannot be found in Spain. But on the Camino Francese I was never more than a half hour away from some of the best coffee on the planet. The pilgrim's cafe con leche each morning is one of the more memorable aspects of the Camino. As Phillypilgrim says, you will adjust to it, and your greatest disappointment on returning home will be the general unavailability of cafe con leche.

 

[realfoodrebel]

Sounds like there is plenty of coffee to be had! Smiles...

 

[Deleted member 43985]

It can be very tough making real coffee (drip, espresso, French press,etc) but we always carry some small packets of instant coffee as our backup plan. Recently I have seen some camping drip coffee filters that weigh only 14g so will bring that rig with some ground coffee for our next Camino because in the winter months even fewer opportunities present themselves for early coffee.



Some long-time Peregrinas take along a electric coil heater as their luxury item to ensure they have a morning coffee before they leave!

 

[realfoodrebel]

It can be very tough making real coffee (drip, espresso, French press,etc) but we always carry some small packets of instant coffee as our backup plan. Recently I have seen some camping drip coffee filters that weigh only 14g so will bring that rig with some ground coffee for our next Camino because in the winter months even fewer opportunities present themselves for early coffee.

View attachment 27538

Some long-time Peregrinas take along a electric coil heater as their luxury item to ensure they have a morning coffee before they leave![/QUOTE

I love this idea! I'm sure I will survive. I think the packets of instant coffee make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Nanc]

So Jozero, the presumption is that any albergue lets you have access to boil water?

 

[KristinSdV]

Are there no Pilgrim Tea Addicts? I am allergic to milk and medically not allowed coffee. I am addicted to black tea - no milk no sugar. I cannot begin the day without a cuppa! So, if and when I get to do my Camino, I will have several boxes of Nature's Cuppa tea bags in my backpack. LOL

 

[realfoodrebel]

Jozero I must look for one of these!

 

[Deleted member 43985]

So Jozero, the presumption is that any albergue lets you have access to boil water?

Many but certainly not all. Unfortunately, IMO, many of the newer private Albergues seems geared towards making money so don't offer a kitchen but rather have a dining room where you can buy their menu del dia. However, if you use the 'All Albergues' download on this forum you will see which Have a kitchen and then you can boil water in the morning or alternatively buy one of those electric coils and stay anywhere and have it guaranteed.

 

[Bajaracer]

I had coffee from a drip coffee machine twice on the Camino, at the municipal albergue in St. Jean Pied de Port served in bowls (a French thing,) and Hornillos del Camino (private albergue.) Everything else was made with a commercial espresso machine, and I never had a bad cup the whole time in Spain, even the vending machine coffee was really good, I was ripped off once when the cup didn't drop down and I watched the nectar of the gods go down the drain.

 

[mspath]

realfoodrebel,

Some of us carry the 'little luxury' of an electric water heating coil. See various posts here regarding using it (or not) and viable alternates as well as appropriate types of cups. As with most camino equipment the choice is large.

Happy brewing and Buen Camino!

 

[DurhamParish]

. . . . and your greatest disappointment on returning home will be the general unavailability of cafe con leche.

Amen.

 

[Falcon]

can anyone please describe an average morning? Get up at?
to include, washing, breakfast.
e.g do you have to provide all your own coffee, milk, ?
would you buy that the night before or be on the road for breakfast?
Thanks

 

[AcrossTheWater3008]

@mspath I ordered one of these luxuries... the great water coil heater off ebay but may not arrive until I leave! Do I need a special jug or mug to boil water with it please? Cheers

 

[mspath]

@mspath I ordered one of these luxuries... the great water coil heater off ebay but may not arrive until I leave! Do I need a special jug or mug to boil water with it please? Cheers

Nothing very special is needed. If plastic make sure it is dish washer proof, ie takes high heat. If metal make sure that the rim will not burn your lips.

For more on cups and coils see this thread.

Good luck!

 

[April Jo]

Before my Camino I was sort of convinced that if I didn't have my morning coffee within five minutes of getting out of bed I'd probably "die then and there".... and was horrified to find that coffee wasn't as readily available first thing in the morning as I'd assumed..... but as others have said above, I quickly adjusted, and realised that I could walk well for even a couple of hours or so on no coffee and no food, if necessary. Even only walking for seven days broke my "coffee habit", and now I'm home, I don't need to have coffee and food first thing. Yay, freedom!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Morning routine: jump out of bed, brush teeth, put on clothes for the day, pack backback, fold albergue blanket and tidy up around you and head out the door. Walk to the first cafe for a croissant, freshly pressed orange juice and 2 cafe con leches. Bars often open a couple of hours after your departure time, so breakfast can happen after you have walked a few km (my preference as I don't like to,eat first thing in the morning).

If the albergue has a kitchen, you have have purchased something the evening before to eat at the albergue. If the albergue offers breakfast it is usually a disppointement: weak coffee, packaged magdalenas or stalish bred from the day before with jam and butter. You are very lucky if you get yogourt and a juice that is not too synthetic. I always pass.

 

[errol]

Morning routine: jump out of bed, brush teeth, put on clothes for the day, pack backback, fold albergue blanket and tidy up around you and head out the door. Walk to the first cafe for a croissant, freshly pressed orange juice and 2 cafe con leches. Bars often open a couple of hours after your departure time, so breakfast can happen after you have walked a few km (my preference as I don't like to,eat first thing in the morning).

If the albergue has a kitchen, you have have purchased something the evening before to eat at the albergue. If the albergue offers breakfast it is usually a disppointement: weak coffee, packaged magdalenas or stalish bred from the day before with jam and butter. You are very lucky if you get yogourt and a juice that is not too synthetic. I always pass.

Starting my first Camino in October and hope that I will be able to buy some fruit and protein bars the day before so that I would have an early start. I would then be looking at my coffee fix at 10-11 am by which time I could drink washing up water with relish!

 

[David]

Morning routine .. it is dark, maybe 4 am and you will be woken out of an exhausted sleep by rustling noises and a vague sense of torchlight .. you blearily open your eyes and sit up a bit to look around, trying to remember if you brought a gun or a large custard pie with you, and the person who has chosen to repack their rucksack in the dark, in the dorm, rather than outside, who is wearing a headtorch .. will turn in your direction and blind you with the torch beam .... you fall back horizontal, stunned, with after-image circles in your eyes ... you just begin to get off to sleep again and it happens again ... so you think you might get up ... and then the pilgrim on the bunk above you, who has the same idea, lands a soft and slightly smelly foot onto your face ... ahhh, another day on Camino!

and for all you caffeine addicts!!!!

 

[domigee]

can anyone please describe an average morning? Get up at?
to include, washing, breakfast.
e.g do you have to provide all your own coffee, milk, ?
would you buy that the night before or be on the road for breakfast?
Thanks

Can only give you an idea of what I did - and quite a few other pilgrims had the same routine.
In an albergue, rarely slept beyond 6 a.m. No alarm (GAAAAH) but awaken by other pilgrims ... If there was a coffee machine, I'd have a coffee. Otherwise, it was walk until you come across an open cafe.
I always had something to eat in my rucksack, bought the night before usually (either fruit, nuts, chorizo, turrón ) just in case...
Some albergues provide breakfast (Rabé, Hospital de Orbigo...).

The getting up/getting dressed and off-you-go routine takes very little time as I shower at night, not in the mornings.
Hope this helps?

 

[t2andreo]

My early morning coffee fallback solution for when fresh brewed coffee is not available where I slept, is a single-serving coffee singles "tube" dissolved in one of my four .5 liter (16 oz) bottles of water. Take a nearly full bottle of water, add a tube of coffee, shake and drink. Alternatively, allow it to "steep" for a bit before drinking, for fuller flavor. I usually start off with a supply of Starbucks single serving tubes I brought from home.

Once those initial tubes are gone, I just buy Nescafe singles in any tienda or supermercado along the way. They are readily available, in boxes of 10 tubes.

Just be careful that you buy tubes (sobres) and not tea-bag (bolsas) like coffee servings. The tea-bag format does not work well in a water bottle and requires hot water in a cup to brew. This defeats the purpose of using the tubes, "on the go."

That first caffeine "jolt" albeit served at room temperature, is typically enough to get me to the first cafe down the path, where I can get the first of several proper cups of brewed coffee. Coffee in Spain is typically served in a small, expresso-sized cup. As I like to say, it ain't much...but it is ALL coffee.

For larger, North American-style coffee servings, simply ask for "Cafe Americano." The proprietor will dilute your expresso-sized shot in a larger cup or mug with hot water. That is exactly what they do in Starbucks...

For those who do NOT know, "cafe con leche" means coffee with milk. For those of us who cannot take milk in or coffee (goes RIGHT through me...oops TMI...sorry), simply ask for "cafe solo" which means coffee alone, or black coffee.

If they ask "con azucar," they are asking if you desire sugar in our coffee.

I hope this helps...bottoms up!

 

[Rod Murray]

Hi there! I love my morning coffee! Two large cups before I do anything. Do most of the Alberques serve coffee early in the morning? Are places open that sell coffee early? Can I make my own coffee?

Thanks for any responses!

WE made a habit of walking 5-10 km each morning before a coffee stop. Some of the hotels and inns we stayed in served us coffee. We noted that many bars, restaurants and albergues served grandé café con leché upon request. It's superb!

 

[Montana Jayne]

can anyone please describe an average morning? Get up at?
to include, washing, breakfast.
e.g do you have to provide all your own coffee, milk, ?
would you buy that the night before or be on the road for breakfast?
Thanks

We got up 5:30 - 6 a.m., dressed, washed faces, brushed teeth and left. We had cafe con leche and breakfast after walking for a couple of hours, of course, it depended on the days route. Sometimes we did buy fruit and/or bread the night before to get us through til there was a cafe. Just plan on being flexible. It all works out.

 

[jsalt]

can anyone please describe an average morning? Get up at?
to include, washing, breakfast.
e.g do you have to provide all your own coffee, milk, ?
would you buy that the night before or be on the road for breakfast?
Thanks

Well, it all depends if you wear a sleep mask (like the ones you are given on long-haul flights), and ear plugs, or not. If you do, you can sleep through all the bag rustling, and cell phone alarms, and backpack packing, and then get up at a perfectly normal time (about 7am) after everyone else has left. You then have the bathrooms to yourself, you can spread all your stuff out over the beds around you, pack nicely, then wander down to the café, which opens at 8.30am or thereabouts (it depends what time THEY got to bed last night), and have a leisurely breakfast with at least 2 cups of café con leche before you hit the road . Jill

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

On the CF, cafe con leche is always close by. And it is goooood...

 

[Falcon]

All sounds wonderful , a few kms under the belt i'm sure
adds atmosphere and appreciation for the morning cuppa + nibbles.
Not one for breakfasts - my multi vitamins/mineral is purrfect.
A piece of fruit /health bar sounds like a good thing to source though
Cheers my dears .

 

[Anemone del Camino]

You can forget anout protein bars, not a Spanish concept.

 

[Falcon]

You can forget anout protein bars, not a Spanish concept.

Oh there's a fix for that:
take a bunch of dates/nuts/raisins squash them together
that's called a protein bar a-la-carte

What about Tea , esp for the Brits

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Bring your own Ty-phoo. Or be prepared to drink what ever comes out of ols and stale baggies of something.

 

[Falcon]

Bring your own Ty-phoo.
Or be prepared to drink what ever comes out of ols and stale baggies of something.

*Ahem* PG-Tips .. pul-eese -- decorum anemone decorum on the forum por favor

 

[november_moon]

I pretty much always had nuts and dried fruit to munch on first thing in the morning before actual breakfast.

Also, not everybody gets up at the crack of dawn and rushes out the door, so dont worry if that's not your cup of tea (or coffee ). We usually got up between 6 and 6:30, and we started walking around 7 or so. Some people left before us, some after.

 

[JRO]

@mspath I ordered one of these luxuries... the great water coil heater off ebay but may not arrive until I leave! Do I need a special jug or mug to boil water with it please? Cheers

Hi, don't know where you are flying from, but I have seen the little electric coils that clip to the side of a cup in airport stores with the travel items. If you have a day or so, a hardware store in your area will have one. You will need a converter for the plug, of course, as Spain is the two round prongs. You will also need a sturdy cup to clip it to the side, or I suppose one could just hold it in the water with a paper cup. For you coffee addicts, I took quite a few of the instant Starbucks packets because I too thought I wouldn't get my coffee. Most came home with me, as the cafe con leche is awesome. I miss it now...nothing here compares. There were very few mornings that there wasn't cafe con leche available within a short walk, if not where I stayed.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

*Ahem* PG-Tips .. pul-eese -- decorum anemone decorum on the forum por favor [/QUOTE

I just googled something alomg the lines of top 10 UK teas... I could not beleive worshipping any of those "dust of tea" bags as teas when at home. Mine comes from a particular grower, oftwn under tents, bio, hand handled. And brewes at proper low temps.

But if looking for an am baby bottle equivalent any old crummy pouch will do.

 

[Kerstinh47]

I got off-trail one morning following café signs instead of yellow trail markers....after my coffee, I set off again, only to be set right by a thoughtful garbage truck driver. Later that day, I stopped and was enjoying a cold beer outside of a café and a garbage truck pulled in the parking lot - same guy - we waved at each each other and grinned You'll get your coffee and a smile somehow each day on the camino!

 

[peregrina2000]

Here's a very long thread that considers the coil or no coil question from every possible vantage point. Some would call it tedious in its detail, I find it complete and informative.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ric-coil-changed-my-life-on-the-camino.19167/

I think it's always important to make clear which camino you are going to walk. If you are on a camino like the castellano-aragonés or the Ruta del Ebro like I was just a few weeks ago, there are many times when the coil was the only way I could get a hot cup of coffee before leaving -- and without it, I would frequently have had to walk 2o or so kms before the first open bar.

I ended my camino this year on the Salvador/Primitivo/Francés and used it only every few days. Many private albergues offer breakfast as early as 6. And if they don't, they are likely to have a coffee machine (though I prefer my coil to coffee in a plastic cup). I think that on the francés it would be overkill, but some real coffee lovers would probably disagree with that.

 

[Rod Murray]

WE made a habit of walking 5-10 km each morning before a coffee stop. Some of the hotels and inns we stayed in served us coffee. We noted that many bars, restaurants and albergues served grandé café con leché upon request. It's superb!

To add a little context, as we had booked with Caminoways.com, so all of our accommodation provided coffee (not sure how it was made, sometimes filter, occasionally French Press) with hot milk. Only a few did espresso café con leche, so we always stopped around 10-11 at the 2nd place we could see in a village for café con leché. We discovered that the first always has longer lines and the 2nd was always better (in our minds at least).

 

[GRR]

Some alburgues serve coffee, the coffee vending machine is in many alburgues, and many have no coffee at all. Most of the time you can get coffee at a shop in town if it is open early enough. Sometimes you just can't get any coffee. I once had to walk 10kms for my coffee. Definitely take some back up coffee.

 

[Gabrielleroux]

Walked the Camino Français May/Jun 2016. Oeee coffee in big cup. Croissant every morning.
Walked Finistère Maciá Santiago and Santiago to Porto. Both backward.
To get coffee in small villages become a problem. Big towns and cities no problem.
Aways carry Nestlé Cuppacino sachets with if you can get boiling water at Albergues.

 

[Albertagirl]

I like my morning coffee, but can do without it, as I recently did in a twelve day excursion in the Rocky Mountains. I guess that the effort to get coffee, and the quality of that coffee, have to be commensurate, or it just isn't worth it to me. Maybe that means that I am not totally addicted, or maybe just lazy. If coffee is not easily available on the Aragones (see post #37, above), it might be more convenient for me to just wait until I can get a cup, rather than carrying instant coffee (which I loathe) and trying to arrange to have hot water. On the other hand, I think that I shall look for an electric coil in a Chinese shop in Santiago, to have for future trips.

 

[ngm]

Sounds like there is plenty of coffee to be had! Smiles...

In other cases, if you thinking about starting very early... you can buy coffee at the bar in the evning before, and keep it under the bed..drinking cold coffee its better than not drink at all, if you need it like my wife use to do...!! If you plan to walk on some/one of the other Caminos ..i.e those who start in the Southeast, or the South... Via de la Plata, Mozárabe, de Levante ... you'll probably have to do it everyday

 

[peregrina2000]

I like my morning coffee, but can do without it, as I recently did in a twelve day excursion in the Rocky Mountains. I guess that the effort to get coffee, and the quality of that coffee, have to be commensurate, or it just isn't worth it to me. Maybe that means that I am not totally addicted, or maybe just lazy. If coffee is not easily available on the Aragones (see post #37, above), it might be more convenient for me to just wait until I can get a cup, rather than carrying instant coffee (which I loathe) and trying to arrange to have hot water. On the other hand, I think that I shall look for an electric coil in a Chinese shop in Santiago, to have for future trips.

Hi, Albertagirl, On the Aragones last year, I don't think I had to resort to my coil much. Sanguesa and Canfranc Estacion are two places that come to mind. So since you seem to be able to tolerate not having coffee without adverse effects, you might not want to bother with the coil.

Just two thoughts -- if you buy instant coffee in Spain, the little envelopes (10 for about a euro) are NOT at all a good deal. Buy a 100 gram jar, and put it in a plastic bag. It's extremely lightweight.

And if you do buy a coil, I would be careful of the Chinese stores. I have been told by a lot of people that though their electric/electronic items carry the seal of approval (that C with what looks like the Euro sign), those stickers are frequently forgeries. I have one I got online from a reputable travel store in the US and have used duct tape to connect my adaptor.

 

[Albertagirl]

Hi, Albertagirl, On the Aragones last year, I don't think I had to resort to my coil much. Sanguesa and Canfranc Estacion are two places that come to mind. So since you seem to be able to tolerate not having coffee without adverse effects, you might not want to bother with the coil.

Just two thoughts -- if you buy instant coffee in Spain, the little envelopes (10 for about a euro) are NOT at all a good deal. Buy a 100 gram jar, and put it in a plastic bag. It's extremely lightweight.

And if you do buy a coil, I would be careful of the Chinese stores. I have been told by a lot of people that though their electric/electronic items carry the seal of approval (that C with what looks like the Euro sign), those stickers are frequently forgeries. I have one I got online from a reputable travel store in the US and have used duct tape to connect my adaptor.

@peregrina2000:
I live in Canada. As far as I can tell, electric coils are not available in Canada, online or otherwise. I tried an American supplier, but the complications of exchange rate, shipping, customs duties etc. brought the basic cost up to more than $30.oo Can. with no guarantee that I would be allowed to import one in any case, or that it could arrive within a reasonable period of time. I decided then that I would have to buy one in Spain or do without. If not a Chinese store, could you suggest an alternate supplier in Santiago?

 

[peregrina2000]

@peregrina2000:
I live in Canada. As far as I can tell, electric coils are not available in Canada, online or otherwise. I tried an American supplier, but the complications of exchange rate, shipping, customs duties etc. brought the basic cost up to more than $30.oo Can. with no guarantee that I would be allowed to import one in any case, or that it could arrive within a reasonable period of time. I decided then that I would have to buy one in Spain or do without. If not a Chinese store, could you suggest an alternate supplier in Santiago?

Hi Albertagirl,
The original electric coil thread had a discussion about where to get one on line in Spain. Look around post #171. I don't know if they are readily available in stores in Spain, but the object is called "calentador de vaso" and the Spanish store where you would get one is called a "Ferreteria" (kind of like a hardware store).

Maybe this is something that @ivar would consider putting in his store?

 

[mspath]

Albertagirl,
Like Laurie I, too, am a firm believer in carrying a water boiling coil. The Worten shop in Santiago might be a good place to search. Here is their web.

Good luck and happy boiling!

PS: If you are passing through France such a coil, thermoplongeur, can be found in Darty stores.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Oh there's a fix for that:
take a bunch of dates/nuts/raisins squash them together
that's called a protein bar a-la-carte

What about Tea , esp for the Brits

You should be aware that, as far as mainland Europe is concerned, tea is for invalids and the elderly, served tepid and usually contains odd bits of vegetation that have never seen a tea plantation (camomile, verbane etc.) and is probably one of the reasons why Britain (foolishly IMHO) voted to leave.
I once heard an Irishman express amazement that Europeans were able to train gnats to perch on the rim of a cup and pee into the murky mix of lukewarm water and UHT milk therein.
Even Tesco's cheapest and nastiest brew is preferable or just stick to the nectar of the gods - gran cafe con leche.

 

[SYates]

@Jeff Crawley
You obviously never have been to a Frisian Tea Ceremony http://www.ostfriesland-tourism.com/my-ostfriesland/culinary/tealand-ostfriesland.html
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Deleted member 43985]

@peregrina2000:
I live in Canada. As far as I can tell, electric coils are not available in Canada, online or otherwise. I tried an American supplier, but the complications of exchange rate, shipping, customs duties etc. brought the basic cost up to more than $30.oo Can. with no guarantee that I would be allowed to import one in any case, or that it could arrive within a reasonable period of time. I decided then that I would have to buy one in Spain or do without. If not a Chinese store, could you suggest an alternate supplier in Santiago?

Hi - you can buy on Amazon.ca and have delivered to your home. Even comes with a plug converter and is dual voltage so fully ready for Europe! Price is $18.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lewis-Clark-yl205-White-One-Size-Immersion/dp/B001U0PA7M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_236_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=310AKDkKXLL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR100,160_&psc=1&refRID=B0TVJEVFX8RN0FNGG6AS

 

[Albertagirl]

Hi - you can buy on Amazon.ca and have delivered to your home. Even comes with a plug converter and is dual voltage so fully ready for Europe! Price is $18.

https://www.amazon.ca/Lewis-Clark-yl205-White-One-Size-Immersion/dp/B001U0PA7M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_236_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=310AKDkKXLL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR100,160_&psc=1&refRID=B0TVJEVFX8RN0FNGG6AS

@jozero:
Thank you. I have attempted to order this item from Amazon. This is more complicated than I hoped, as the original order appeared to include everything that I had ever inquired about on Amazon. After I cancelled most of it, I was offered something called Prime, referred to as "free postage" but actually an annual membership of some sort, costing about $80.00 You have to be on your toes to order from Amazon. I hope that it will work, but it is not a large investment and this is a good time for me to get it, as hot drinks, and even soup, may be much welcome as I adventure on the camino Aragones in September. I suspect that my efforts to order it the last time were from Amazon in the United States, as the complications of shipping, duty, etc. seemed impossible. Thanks again.

 

[Shalaw]

When we did our camino, I stuck with the café con leche while my fiancé who takes his coffee black, had the Americano but it really didn't taste all that great. We managed to have drip coffee at a couple of pensions and it was heaven!! I've seen this portable coffee press contraption thing online and would consider taking it with for my next camino. It's available from REI and something similar from MEC in Canada;

 

[Albertagirl]

you can buy on Amazon.ca and have delivered to your home

@jozero:
So my "calentador de vaso/thermoplongeur" has been delivered to my home, Canada Post having apparently decided to go on working to provide all our Amazon needs. I have tried it out. It is very slow, boiling water when I have pretty much given up on it. But it will apparently work 4x faster on European current. I have packed it up with my Sierra cup to take with me, and am hoping passionately that the security services at the airports I fly through will not decide that it is a dangerous item. I don't know about coffee, but it is very easy to make tea with it, and I have put aside a few tea bags to take with me. Thanks to all those who have assisted me in getting my mobile mini-kitchen started.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

@jozero:
So my "calentador de vaso/thermoplongeur" has been delivered to my home, Canada Post having apparently decided to go on working to provide all our Amazon needs. I have tried it out. It is very slow, boiling water when I have pretty much given up on it. But it will apparently work 4x faster on European current. I have packed it up with my Sierra cup to take with me, and am hoping passionately that the security services at the airports I fly through will not decide that it is a dangerous item. I don't know about coffee, but it is very easy to make tea with it, and I have put aside a few tea bags to take with me. Thanks to all those who have assisted me in getting my mobile mini-kitchen started.

Very exciting! yes, I'm a sucker for a happy ending to a coffee story As for the speed, perhaps you'll find a nice routine of starting your water heating before packing in the morning and by the time you're done, coffee will be hot and ready? Good luck!!

 

[peregrina2000]

@jozero:
So my "calentador de vaso/thermoplongeur" has been delivered to my home, Canada Post having apparently decided to go on working to provide all our Amazon needs. I have tried it out. It is very slow, boiling water when I have pretty much given up on it. But it will apparently work 4x faster on European current. I have packed it up with my Sierra cup to take with me, and am hoping passionately that the security services at the airports I fly through will not decide that it is a dangerous item. I don't know about coffee, but it is very easy to make tea with it, and I have put aside a few tea bags to take with me. Thanks to all those who have assisted me in getting my mobile mini-kitchen started.

So glad to hear that you're now an official member of the electric coil club, Albertagirl! If I were you, I would duct tape an adaptor Spanish plug to the Canadian plug, otherwise you are likely to leave many behind in the albergue socket.

And the one rule to burn into your brain -- you can only plug it in or unplug it when it is in water, otherwise the coil may short out (thanks to @mspath for those words of wisdom)

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jsalt]

And the one rule to burn into your brain -- you can only plug it in or unplug it when it is in water, otherwise the coil may short out (thanks to @mspath for those words of wisdom)

And don’t do what I did once: pulled out the cellphone charger by mistake instead of the electric coil. I was staying in a small reed and thatched hut at the time. After reading for about an hour in bed I had to get up (fortunately) to switch off the overhead light. When I turned back to the bed I saw something glowing bright red on the other side. It was the coil, about to set fire to the whole hut. I still go cold when I think about it. The whole thing was a blackened mess and I had to toss it out next morning.