http://www.tasterschoice.com/p/sample/

Sample single serving coffee packets. Good for survival kits

I thought that received wisdom had it that Tea quenches thirst, Coffee aggrovates it? Bit of a problem for a coffee addict like yours truely, what?

Wisdom also says in a stress situation familiar items help the emotional aspect of survival. Religous texts, teddy bears and coffee can be every bit as valuable as that wunder steel, oversharpened dedicated survival knife. " water can be precious, sometimes more precious than gold." - B. Traven, Treasure of the Sierra Madre

What if my comfort object is an oversharpened wunder-steel survival knife? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Alex

Wisdom must say I'll stick with Folger's singles then. It's a morale booster for me which is very important. Taster's Choice never has been actually "tasty" to me with any product before. I save my Earl Grey for 4 o'clock--> evening morale boosting. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

A good sharp knife and a cup of coffee, what more can a man ask for?
Flogers also makes a single serve coffee bag that I have used, and they make a perty darn good cup of joe

"I thought that received wisdom had it that Tea quenches thirst, Coffee aggrovates it? Bit of a problem for a coffee addict like yours truely, what?"

I've heard that coffee is a diuretic, meaning that it causes you to pee more than you would otherwise. That means you lose fluids by drinking it. I'm not sure tea is any better since I'm thinking it is the caffeine that causes the problem. Tea does have less caffeine than coffee however. But the Decaf coffee bags I use have less caffeine than tea does.

At this point a doctor needs to chime in. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

If water is scarce, then neither caffeinated coffee or tea or hot chocolate are entirely appropriate physiologically since they are all mild diuretics (emphasis on mild in moderate quantities). OTOH, the morale boost and/or pick-me-up and/or warming from the drink can be worth a lot to a survivor. Like with everything, you have to use a little common sense, balance the pros and cons, and do what's best for the particular situation in which you find yourself. Like anything in your survival kit, they are a tool. One to be used when and as appropriate, no different than any other tool. And, water isn't always scarce, either.

There are studies out currently (I will try to find a copy online and link it) that show that caffeinated beverages are not the evil dehydrator they were once thought to be. These studies done in reference to endurance sports showed that resonable amounts of caffeine (1-2 cups before 3 hours before a workout) actually added in hydration! So, resonable amounts of caffeine will not hurt you in a survival situation...

This study is why you can now find more and more drinks and fuels for endurance sports avalible with caffeine.

Phew! For a horrible moment I thorght that the other survivors where going to have to deal with bears, mountain lions and me, caffeineless in the morning...