While we may not all be daily or regular coffee drinkers, not addicted to a daily “Starbuck’s” fix, coffee in its whole bean and ground forms has a place in prepping supplies.
With the introduction of “energy drinks” coffee, made from a good coffee maker, has real competition for that morning “wake up” call, especially among the coming-of-age generations
However there is an additional downside to energy drinks, when you also consider the salt, sugar, and other ingredients they introduce into your system. And while coffee may indeed be the same dose of caffeine ounce for ounce, depending on the brew, coffee does have some other valuable uses for preppers.
Most prepper neglect this valuable commodity by investing insufficient time and resources to stockpile coffee. In fact, preppers should give coffee a deeper look as a high priority item in their stores.
Being a prepper means that we are willing to take responsibility for our own safety and security. After all, we do know that it is still beneficial to prep even if disaster never comes. Some pros would include helping you to save a bit on grocery shopping as you get good at spotting deals and you can save on your utility bills when you install self-sufficient off-grid options like solar, backup generators, rainwater collection systems, gardens and even small flocks of livestock like chickens or rabbits.
Coffee as Barter
And there are whole economies based on coffee production – coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the whole world, second only to crude oil. Cultivated in over 70 countries by thousands of independent farmers, coffee is one of the oldest commodities in the world. Coffee Futures are traded on The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), which is part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) offer the Coffee C futures contract, which is the world benchmark for Arabica coffee.
The hype towards coffee has developed to even include World Coffee Conferences and the International Coffee Organization to promote this industry. No doubt, coffee would be in high demand even when SHTF.
Coffee as a Source of Energy
Drinking coffee, only one of it’s uses for us all, should not be due to a caffeine addiction, but should be taken wisely where it is adequate for us to obtain some much-needed energy to overcome our everyday hardships. We just need some basic form of coffee to get by the day. There is a reason coffee is served to rescue crews during disaster recover work, the same reason we seek it out to start a day or get some energy when we need an extra jolt.
Scientifically, coffee would be able to increase your brain receptor activity to around 65%, keeping you alert and help you adapt to precarious situations. Hence, it would help you to keep your thinking clear, helping you make the best decision in most situations. When you are caught in a situation of life or death, keeping your mind clear would aid tremendously.
Keeping you and your loved ones morale at a moderate level would be made easier if you have stockpiled sufficient coffee. Endurance would be necessary, and having the energy to face your daily challenges would help you endure what you need to face.
Coffee – Make Filtered Water More Palatable
After a disaster strikes, clean water is usually a scarce resource. It cannot be stressed enough that your emergency water supply would be essential for your survival and finding ways to store, obtain and make ‘consumable’ water would be of utmost important.
Although pure caffeine may dehydrate you, you can add coffee to water to help with this. Filtered or chemically treated water may not have the best taste, but your coffee can help you make taking that water more palatable. Especially in long-term emergency situations, the water quality which you have may deteriorate making it even harder to consume. Coffee may just be the trick.
This applies to purified water. Although it may not have a pleasant taste, you can utilize coffee for your advantage. Staying hydrated and healthy would be a vital factor for your survival and to help you keep going.
Coffee – Keeping Yourself Healthy
During an emergency situation, your health would be in a vulnerable position. Since coffee is rich with antioxidants, it would bring great benefit to your health by reducing the rate of oxidation in your body. The process of oxidation is a chemical reaction that damages your body cells.
Also, it is scientifically proven that coffee would be great to help prevent diseases such as heart failure, Type 2 Diabetes, Stroke and Parkinson’s disease. This would not only be important in a SHTF situation, but also your everyday life!
Furthermore, it reduces the probability of you contracting Cholera, a bacterial disease, and Dysentery, which causes intestinal inflammation. Both these diseases are caused by taking contaminated water, which is something you must take note of especially when clean water is scarce. By taking in brewed coffee, you are adding a layer of processing (boiling water) to the reduction of these bacteria. Yes, boiling water to help purify it is not specific to coffee, but the routine of the processing to make coffee adds this step without having to think about it. You would be surprised at how easy it is to forget vital steps in any water purification procedure when you are dying of thirst and under added stress.
Coffee – Save on Food
Coffees are natural appetite suppressants, making you feel full although you have not eaten. Especially during long-term emergencies and your supplies are depleting, coffee could help you to get by sufficiently. Furthermore, being energy-packed, it would be able to supply you with the energy you need.
Coffee Grounds – More than Garden Nutrients
Coffee grounds would also help enrich your soil, letting you enjoy a greater yield of fruits and vegetables. If you are committed to being self-reliant, you will need to consider having your own garden and coffee may be just the thing to keep your soil constantly fertile. In fact there are many uses for used coffee grounds, in fact many more than you think. While not all something one would need in TEOTWAWKI, some are kind of interesting for a preppers DIY nature.
Conclusion
If you are convinced that you should stockpile coffee, again as barter, a food supplement, a homeopathic medical treatment, or an energy boost, the next step to take would be investing time to learn and implement ways you can effectively stockpile coffee. Do remember, that coffee would only be capable of staying fresh in the whole bean form. Once it is ground the natural oils are released and its shelf life is greatly reduced.
There are many ways that are considered to be ‘proper’ for keeping coffee, but it varies in effectiveness of course. You can choose to buy vacuum sealed coffee beans straight from the shelf, keep those in an airtight container and store them in a dark, dry place.
If you have any other ideas you would like to share, please share with me by commenting below!
Author Bio: I am Florence Mandel, a blogger, a coffee lover and a survivalist enthusiast. You can follow me over at Coffee Standards.
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