Camp coffee making

[Scoutfish]

Been to WalMart a few times and looked at their campfire powered coffeemakers. You know, the older style perculating coffe pots.

 

I'd love to have one, but I do not want a 12, 18, or 28 cup coffee pot. Just a 6 or 8 cup would be just fine.

 

So while vacationing this past weekend, I came across something in the grocery store:

 

Folgers makes indivdualy sealed , tea bag style coffee bags. Just pour a cup of hot water, dip the bag to steep it, then drink away.

 

Yeah, I know there is instant coffee, but I can't stand the taste of instant coffee. To ....acidic or harsh for me.

 

Anyways, I bought the regular roast blend, which is what I drink anyways.

 

The box was around $3.00 for 19 individual bags.

[Stosh]

There is a combination of instant and grounds in the packets.

 

I would suggest just doing it the old fashioned way. Works just fine, makes great coffee and is a lot cheaper.

 

The farm wives of North Dakota taught me how to make great coffee, nothing can beat it

 

Buy a small campfire coffee pot.

 

Toss away the innards (aluminum perk basket and tube).

 

Fill with cold water.

 

Toss in coffee grounds.

 

Crush a whole egg and drop into the pot, shell and all.

 

Do a quick stir for a few seconds.

 

Put on fire, wait for it to boil, let boil for about 3-5 minutes, depending on your level of darkness/taste.

 

Pour slowly. If you're worried about a few grains of coffee grounds, put a filter over your cup as you pour. The reason you pour slowly is some grounds float and get caught in the egg and some sink and if you pour slowly the grounds will stay in the pot.

 

Clean up? Toss out dregs from the pot, egg should come out in one lump. Rinse, fill with cold water.....

 

You'll never go back to regular coffee again.

 

Stosh

[perdidochas]

My preference for camp coffee is a French Press coffee maker. Starbucks sells a travel mug with a built-in French press, and I've seen other brands at Target. Makes absolutely delicious coffee, and fairly easily. However, you're going to get a few grounds in it.

[Buffalo Skipper]

I never did like the coffee "singles" or dunkers. They just didn't taste right. Now I know why. Thanks for the info.

 

For ease of coffee making in smaller quantities, I would highly recomend a French press. This makes "cowboy" style coffee (with grounds boiled directly in the water) but is equipped with a strainer. You have to learn how to balance the water quanitity, amount of grounds, and cooking time. This is some of the best coffee I have ever had.

 

I am looking into a titanium french press (Snow Peak) for backpacking, and having it double as a small boiling pot.

[Gunny2862]

You can also Reverse French Press with your Jetboil, it's much easier to clean up that way.

 

Caution: 1)Bring water to a boil lower heat or turn off 2) put Press in upside down 3) add coffee, steep appropriately(if you feel you must reheat here keep the press about about 1/2 to one inch from bottom and watch for boil-over) 5) Pull plunger and almost every single ground out 6 )enjoy

[Twocubdad]

I was given the camp version of a french press several years ago and use it every campout. Love it. It makes two good-sized mugs of coffee, which is my normal morning ration. (Dr. said several years ago to cut back to two cups. I did, but bought bigger cups.)

 

It's a little fussy if you're trying to make coffee for more than two people, but I've found I can make a second pot by adding half the amout of coffee to the used grounds. One of the nice things about this one is it came with an insulating sleeve which keeps the coffee hot longer, since you can't put the pot, which is made of Lexan, on the stove

 

REI and Campmor both sell them. I've also seen attachments which turn your Nalgene into a french press, but I've not tried them.

 

One thing about the old, cowboy-style percolators, is you have to take care of them. I could never get them to work until someone finally pointed out to me that the base of the stem has to be flat and sit tight on the bottom of the pot. If it gets dented or warped (which is common banging around in a back pack or patrol box) the hot water goes out the sides instead of up the stem.

[Stosh]

The one thing about the presses is that it is just one more thing to tote along. I have made coffee in the boiler of my mess kit as well as making it camp style with grounds in an individual metal cup (be careful not to burn your lips!!!!!)

 

I got desperate once and made coffee in a fry pan. The only problem was with the pouring. The top layer of grounds was not that far from the bottom layer. But with a bandanna over the cup, I could just pour away and not worry about it.

 

Once one gets good at pouring, I bet I can pour less grounds than one gets with a french press because 95% of the grounds are stuck in the egg.

 

It's the egg that clarifies and holds grounds. It also reduces the bitter oils a ton. The ladies of North Dakota made the blackest Norwegian coffee I had ever seen in my life but it never had a hint of bitter in it ever!

 

And so what if you don't have eggs and are backpacking? Go to the fabric store, buy cheap cotton material, $1/yard or less. Any color, just 100% cotton. Cut into small squares, fold, sew two sides, fill with pre-measured coffee grounds, sew last edge. Doesn't need to be pretty, just sealed.

 

Toss in a small plastic container to stay fresh, and head on out.

 

Boil water, toss a packet in your cup, pour in hot water, let steep for a while, pull out the bag and drink your coffee. For those that need it, you can also include your creamer and sugar in the packet.....

 

OMG! One does not need the guts of the "cowboy" pot, That's the first thing that gets thrown away, even before the first grounds. Mine always get bent and dented when it hits the bottom of the trash can!

 

If you wish to backpack your coffee, I would assume that if you filled your nalgene bottle with water, tossed in a packet, screwed on the top, within a quarter mile down the trail you'd have hot coffee. I've never tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

For those that really enjoy their coffee fresh ground/fresh brewed, carry the beans, grind them up with the handle of your camp knife in the coffee cup then proceed as if you're doing regular camp coffee. It takes a while to grind them, but it's worth the wait.

 

Stosh(This message has been edited by jblake47)

[Knot Head]

I feel kinda old school here since we still use the 12 cup old style perculating coffe pot.

 

 

[Eagle92]

This is what I use.

 

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80750

 

I love it, and got one for my wife's uncle who lives in assisted living.

[Readyman]

Does this mean that I can't bring my Keurig Coffeemaker to Philmont?

[VigilEagle04]

Same here Eagle92 , I have one of those for my Klean Kanteen insulated. Absolutely love it.

[qwazse]

All of this is fine and good if you like runny stuff, but ...

 

I got a stove top espresso maker from the local Italian foods store. (Bought two, actually, one 3 cup for backpacking and on 12 cup for when the van is less than a mile from site.) Pick your favorite beans, have them espresso ground. What I like is no filters: the coffee grounds sit in a basket above the water chamber, and the flavor is expressed through the steam as it passes up and is condenced in the recieving chamber.

 

When I really feel like roughing it, I bring along a set of little porcelain cups.

[Stosh]

Holy cow, guys, with the effort everyone seems to be putting into their coffee, why not just hike over to StarBucks!

 

A pocket full of beans and a tin cup and you can make coffee!

 

Stosh

[evmori]

We got us one of them there Coleman Drip Coffee makers for a camp stove! Excellent!

[ScoutNut]

I have made "cowboy" coffee for years. I usually boil the grounds for a while first, then put the egg in. When it gets to the right color, I dump in a cup of cold water. The egg collects the grounds, and the water settles them. The very few bean/egg bits that manage to make their way into a cup, are just part of a complete breakfast!

 

If you want to avoid the egg, and don't like bean bits, you can always make a cheesecloth drawstring bag, put your ground beans in, and boil away.

 

I also have a big old (very old) peculator pot that I use sometimes. Never had any problem with the stem, or base, and it has not exactly been handled gently.