Live the Life of a Civil War Soldier When you Drink your Mornin' Coffee

Civil War soldiers, Confederate and Union, used to make their coffee in pots. But on the march, they just used their boilers. Remember: don't boil coffee. Confederates and Union soldiers had a little bit of coffee, chewin tabaccie, and that was it. Moreover, Confederates usually had tobacco, and Union troops had the coffee. When the troops would cross paths during the war, they would trade coffee for tobacco and vice versa. Soldiers would take their hardtack biscuits and soak it in coffee and get some fat and put it in a frying pan and fry a crust on the hardtack like chicken…real nutritious diet.

Civil War soldiers drank from large tin cups. Hot liquid filled all the way up in a tin cup will burn yer lips. Soldiers needed at least an inch or two at the top. So they would only fill it two-thirds full and let it cool a little so they could tolerate it. Don't drink from old tin cups that you might find in an antique store. They have lead solder. Buy a reproduction of one at a Civil War reenactment or from a Sutler who advertises in some of the military history magazines. Coffee boilers are large tin cups with a handle on them. Some of them even have lids on them. They hold 22-24 ozs. of liquid. They look like a cup that is a coffee pot.

For more information on coffee drinkin' and the Civil War soldier, email lifecwsoldier@coachscoffee.net

lifecwsoldier@coachscoffee.net

Drinkin' from an antique cup definitely enhances the coffee drinkin' experience. The vibes of all the people who have gone before have left their energy and spirit in the fiber of the cup. Antique tin and enamel cups can be found in antique stores Enamel cups are not as hot as a tin cup, but it has that "nostaaaalgic" cup quality. I like drinkin' from antique cups because I like that "antiqueness" of it.

Enamel cups can be found in antique stores. They range in price from five dollars to thirty dollars. Rare ones are those that are a unique color like brown or gray. Most enamel cups are white with a blue, green or red trim or just plain white. Blue is a common color also. Enamel cups are not as old as tin cups, but they have been being made for about fifty to sixty years. Enamel cups have been around since World War I and are still being reproduced today in a variety of colors. A reproduction of an enamel cup can be acquired for about five dollars.

Everyone needs to have his or her own identity when drinking coffee. Cat people have cat cups, etc. you need just the right cup for drinkin' coffee. A decent coffee cup size should be in the 12 - 16 oz. region because a small cup does not quite get it. It needs to be bigger.

How you drink it is up to you. Be sure you have good quality Arabica beans and that the water is at just the right temperature. Coffee should never touch boilin' water.

For specifics directions on the exact temperature of the water, the feel of the fine grind, what to look for before you stir, what type of strainer to use, and how to serve, and for more information, email openpotbrewing@coachscoffee.net

openpotbrewing@coachscoffee.net

2003 permission granted to reprint this article in print or on your website so long as the paragraph above is included and the contact information is included to coach@civilwaruniforms.net

coach@civilwaruniforms.net

Why You Should Buy Fair Trade Coffee

And many of us think nothing of spending four or five dollars at Starbucks for a gourmet espresso, latte or cappuccino. Here in the West we are massive consumers of coffee.

Most of these farmers are paid less for the coffee beans they grow that it costs for them to produce and pick them. What few of us think about as we sip our favorite brew is that coffee is grown by small farmers in developing countries.

In other words, for every gourmet coffee you and I enjoy, the grower of the beans used is descending into a deeper and deeper cycle of poverty and desperation.

It was in recognition of this cycle that the certification process for fair trade coffee was introduced in 1998.

When you buy a pound of fair trade coffee, $1.26 goes directly back to the coffee growers who grew it.

It doesn't go directly into the hands of an individual grower, but to the cooperative to which he or she belongs. Part of the deal with fair trade coffee is that farmers are required to band together in cooperatives. The money then goes to the cooperative and is shared among all the farmers.

The issue of farmers having to join a cooperative to benefit from fair trade is a complex one, with advantages and disadvantages.

However, the big benefit is that when $1.26 goes to the cooperative, and then to the farmer...they are receiving about the double what they would get outside of the fair trade coffee system.

In other words, when you or I buy fair trade coffee, we are providing the grower with twice the income he or she would normally receive.

Over 100 million pounds of fair trade coffee have now been sold in the U.S. alone. Better still, the numbers are growing fast.

Starbucks now offers fair trade coffees and recently Wal-Mart announced that it would start offering fair trade coffee through its Sam's Club outlets.

When Wal-Mart becomes a buyer, you can be sure that the impact on small coffee farmers in Central and South America, East Africa and the Far East will be substantial.

But when you pay that little extra, you'll be making a real difference to the lives of coffee farmers and their families and communities. Yes, it will cost you a little more to buy fair trade coffee.