Bill's Brew or Type I, II, or III
Bill's Brew or Type I, II, or III
Am I in the minority that the older type coffees were much better?
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DangerousDave
- Posts: 1148
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 4:48 pm
- Location: Virginia
Re: Bill's Brew or Type I, II, or III
The old foil packs of 'spray-dried' powdered was the best. They went to tasters' choice crap, then freeze-dried, brought back spray-dried for a couple years. Gone. Never be back. You could open a pack of powdered coffee, dump it in your mouth, big swig from canteen, swish it around. Worst case scenario, but it worked. Bill's is better than nothing, but need in every single MRE Menu. If you don't drink coffee, 10 soldiers that do. TRADE. 
After the Chicken and the Egg, came the "Omelet"!
Type I, II, or III
The Type II or Type I was the real deal as far as I’m concerned. Very finely powdered. Anecdotally, I purchased the Sbux “Via” on user reports and my first impression was “OK for freeze-dried”. My second impression was it reminded me of late MCI or the MRE Type II coffee!
When I was a troop I needed caffeine more than once, and it did the job. It was “better” in that sense. The packets were 2.5 grams. Then 2.0 grams. So it may be a matter of cost. For a time they had “Cool Refresh” mint flavored caffeine tablets. Those worked pretty well too.
On a related quality subjective, their Cocoa beverage powder is awful now, compared to days of yore. I prefer simple things done well, compared with fancy things done half-fast (half-assed, if you prefer). It is laudable that NATICK does such a great job coming up with tasty, nutritious meals of such a variety but sometimes they downgrade quality or quantity in other areas, perhaps.
When I was a troop I needed caffeine more than once, and it did the job. It was “better” in that sense. The packets were 2.5 grams. Then 2.0 grams. So it may be a matter of cost. For a time they had “Cool Refresh” mint flavored caffeine tablets. Those worked pretty well too.
On a related quality subjective, their Cocoa beverage powder is awful now, compared to days of yore. I prefer simple things done well, compared with fancy things done half-fast (half-assed, if you prefer). It is laudable that NATICK does such a great job coming up with tasty, nutritious meals of such a variety but sometimes they downgrade quality or quantity in other areas, perhaps.