There are a lot of ways to brew coffee. Some are better than others, but there’s a never-ending array of devices or gadgets to brew coffee. Throughout the years, I’ve bought countless items at Goodwill and other thrift stores. Every time I walk in, I’m excited with eager anticipation about what I may discover.
I have a soft spot for old things. I say “older” as I’m not talking about antiques, per se. I have a 1987 Diamondback Ascent EX mountain bike I’m converting to a bikepacking bike. I also have a circa 50-year-old Schwinn that a friend sent me in the mail before moving overseas. It was a rusted mess, and over time I kept swapping out parts until it became an around-town cruiser bike.
A few weeks ago, on a slow weekend morning, I loaded some of my coffee brewing equipment into panniers on my Schwinn and headed out for a cruise. My goal? Find a quiet spot to stop, brew coffee, and take photos.
I brought my Canon EOS R for my photos, but I also added a little gem I found at Goodwill into my pannier. It’s a Canon PowerShot A610 camera that came out in 2005. For $5 at Goodwill, I thought, “why not?” The plan was to use both cameras while I took photos and see the difference.
I ended up pedaling only a few blocks away before I found just the right spot. I wasn’t looking for some “wilderness vibe” or anything like that. Just a clean place to set up my coffee gear, brew a cup of coffee, and enjoy a pumpkin muffin from Scratch Gluten Free Bakery.
For my little excursion, I decided to bring a collapsible coffee dripper made by Ortlieb. Last year I picked up a few Ortlieb bags for bikepacking, and I’m not sure how, but this coffee dripper came with it. I don’t even remember ordering it, but I’m glad I did. It has sat in a kitchen cabinet at home tucked away with other coffee gear since last fall. I rediscovered it when I was rummaging through looking for something else. I decided to put it to use finally.
It’s a relatively simple device (if I can call it a “device”). It is designed for camping and brewing coffee outside. Ortlieb presupposes that you’ll have tent stakes handy to thread through the holes, so the dripper holds up and sits on your cup. Since I didn’t want to dig out my tent, I went with some chopsticks I had in a drawer at home.
While brewing my cup of coffee, I switched back and forth between two cameras. Another reason I decided to bring my $5 Goodwill camera is that I’m teaching an Intro to Digital Media undergrad course this fall. When I talk about photography, I like to point out to students that you don’t always need the latest and greatest gear to take amazing photos. You can capture great photos with what you have with the proper lighting and set-up. That was one of my motives for picking up a $5 digital camera at Goodwill. Will it take at least decent photos?
All in all, my morning cruising and brewing coffee at a random spot was successful. Sure, it wasn’t as pristine as brewing coffee in the backcountry, but it hit the spot on a slow weekend morning. The Ortlieb dripper did what it was supposed to do (hold a filter). My coffee and muffin were a spectacular combo, and I couldn’t be happier than with my old bike and camera and enjoying #coffeeoutside.
We don’t always need the latest and greatest to enjoy the little (or big) things in life. The most important thing is getting out, enjoying, and having fun. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself a treasure the next time you’re at a thrift store.
(could you tell which photos came from which camera?)
