Fully loaded freeze dried lattes
We have been bringing a little Keurig in the road with us in the van so we can have our non-negotiable morning coffees, but thanks to an inspiring session at the recent Homestead Conference, Steve wondered whether we could use our freeze dryer to make our own instant version instead. There are plenty of good options now for “instant” style coffees (eg I love Starbucks’ Via’s, and Trader Joe makes very similar little single-serving packets. But by freeze-drying the coffee fully loaded, this way we not only recoup the storage space for the machine (always at a premium in Van Life), but we also do not have to remember to bring pods, half and half, and Splenda along with us.
Plus, who doesn’t love a good freeze drying experiment?
I made up three cups of coffee, sweetening and creaming them in a “medium” way (Steve likes extra sweet, I like a little less). Then I poured them into two freeze drying trays and first froze them in the freezer. Interesting freeze dryer fact: Freeze drying works by taking the ice crystals and turning them directly into vapor, which then condenses and leaves the machine through a small drain tube. It tends to be quicker to do the freezing part first, using a normal freezer, and THEN popping the frozen materials into the freeze dryer for steps 2+. It’s not a requirement, but it tends to work better that way.
In they go! Poor freeze dryer gets a non-prominent location in the corner of the garage.
I didn’t actually measure how long it took to completely freeze dry the pans (one of the good/bad things about having the unit out in the garage.) But here are the finished trays. You can see how powdery the freeze-dried coffee really is.
Ready to be pulverized into a powder.
This is what one tray reduced to once powderized.
I wasn’t sure exactly how many spoonfuls of our new concoction would constitute a cup of coffee. It turns out that three cups of coffee loaded actually makes four perfect cups when reconstituted.
Total winner for the Senior Van Life crew over here! We are heading to Mount Rainier later this week, so we will take this along and see how it works “in the field”!
