Espresso Cold War Brewing - Extras Bitter

[Caomhanach]

Prove me wrong. My anecdote came from several veterans I sit with at the V.A. hospital.

 

[JammieDodger]

Originally Posted by Caomhanach

Prove me wrong. My anecdote came from several veterans I sit with at the V.A. hospital.

I don't know what an "MRE" is. But since when has caffeine made people urinate less?

 

[amerikajinda]

^^It stands for "Meal, Ready to Eat" and "is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging procured by the United States military for its service-members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRE

 

[JammieDodger]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

It stands for "Meal, Ready to Eat" and "is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging procured by the United States military for its service-members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRE

Thanks. We just call them rations.

 

[bearlydavid]

Originally Posted by Caomhanach

Along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border our troops take the instant coffee packets from MREs and chew them on late night watches. It gives a slow caffeine fix and eliminates having to urinate, taking attention off the immediate horizon.That is real war.

Isn't coffee a diuretic... ?

 

[Caomhanach]

If you drink a MRE coffee packet in 8 oz of WATER, you have something to urinate. If you merely chew the crystals you do not have that 8 oz. I am merely repeating what a injured vet at my V.A. told me while we waited. Prove me wrong, and I will push him down the stairs next week. Curious, coffee seems to provoke such anger in any form. I think I'll return to an exclusive tea consumption. Earl Grey, milk or not? Thoughts?

 

[whodini]

I'm not sure what goes on along the Pak/Afg border but chewing on instant coffee crystals isn't anything new and hardly ridiculous. I remember hearing the same around the time of the Gulf War when the explanation wasn't about not having to urinate but conserving water. I used to take MRE's on camping trips as a cub scout/boy scout and prefered the instant coffee pack to chew on for dessert over the awful green gum they give you.

 

[JammieDodger]

Originally Posted by Caomhanach

If you drink a MRE coffee packet in 8 oz of WATER, you have something to urinate. If you merely chew the crystals you do not have that 8 oz. I am merely repeating what a injured vet at my V.A. told me while we waited. Prove me wrong, and I will push him down the stairs next week. Curious, coffee seems to provoke such anger in any form. I think I'll return to an exclusive tea consumption. Earl Grey, milk or not? Thoughts?

I don't really know if foot soldiers eat coffee or not. But I'm almost certain it would make them urinate more and not less. Coffee is a diuretic not because of its water content but because it causes water to be additional taken from your blood.

 

[redcaimen]

Here is a picture of a young Caimen actually at the Pakistani/Afghani border. He hasnt developed a taste for raw instant coffee crystals but did pick up the trick of chewing on the dessicant packs you sometimes find in beef jerky. Apparently it provides you with a brief window of superhuman strength, and much like jazz era african americans on cocaine, it makes you impervious to bullets.

 

[Lucky Strike]

 

[amerikajinda]

Well I went to Murky's this morning... not sure why exactly, but I guess I'm just sick of Starbucks since I go there every day during the week. So I had their traditional Italian-style cappuccino (which has less milk than a normal cappuccino) and it was quite good... then a while later I ordered a medium iced Americano... saw the sign on their register saying "What we don't ice -- cappuccino, espresso, lattes" so got the iced Americano with no problem whatsoever and the barristas were quite nice. Tipped three bucks because I felt kinda bad about the attention they've been receiving because of this whole ordeal... also picked up some whole beans while I was there (gold label selection ethiopia yirgacheffe -- idido misty valley reserve.) I just noticed on the label of the bag of coffee beans it says, "12 ounces net weight of the best damn whole bean coffee there is... yes, we said 'damn'"

So they're a young, quirky bunch of coffee lovers offering a great product with a bit of edge that they're passionate about and I hope they're around for a long time!

 

[montecristo#4]

During the summer months, I typically stop at Starbucks on the way to the office and order an iced Americano with no water, largely because the water dilutes the espresso. I put a tiny bit of cream in there -- no more than a splash, because I hate a lot of dairy.

In any case, the barista actually instructed me to start ordering espresso over ice instead of the Americano, because it will save me about $0.15 per day.

I really don't care too much about the $0.15 savings, but I just thought this was an interestig dichotomy.

 

[amerikajinda]

^^My usual drink of choice at Charbucks is a "double espresso with two inches of steamed milk" -- which is cheaper than a dry no foam double cappuccino...

 

[Ludeykrus]

Originally Posted by Caomhanach

Along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border our troops take the instant coffee packets from MREs and chew them on late night watches. It gives a slow caffeine fix and eliminates having to urinate, taking attention off the immediate horizon.That is real war.

Talk about out of the blue, who cares? What does that have to do with the original post?

 

[Caomhanach]

It's connection with the original post is simple, perhaps to simple.We have young men and women overseas, like every generation seems want to do. And they drink, or chew coffee from MREs while people outside the perimeter scheme to stop them from ever chewing, or drinking coffee again. And back home two theoretically grown males get into a protean struggle you think would alter the course of great rivers, the alignment of the planets and migration of arctic herds over what?