3 (easy) Ways to Make Coffee While Camping
My husband and I recently got back from a month-long excursion where we spent the majority of our time camping and backpacking. One thing I wasn’t willing to leave behind was the coffee.
Knowing that I couldn’t carry a bag of coffee, a kettle, filters, my french press, and a mug up the mountain, I made some adjustments to what we did pack so we could welcome the sunrise with a hot cup of joe.
We brought three different types of coffee making processes that took up little to no room: instant, single serve pour overs, and a percolator.
Instant Coffee
Many people will tell you that instant coffee is “meh” compared to what you normally drink. And while sometimes this is true, I have found quite a few instant coffees that I thought were delicious to drink.
Instant coffee is great because it comes in tiny, transportable, fit anywhere packets. When I wanted to be gone for a five day trip, I could pack five of these tiny packets and forgo the rest of the coffee brewing equipment.
Another major benefit of instant coffee is that it is super cheap! I can get instant coffee at the grocery store for a dollar! A single dollar for six cups of coffee! And when you find a flavor that you like, you can’t beat that price.
Both Folgers Original and the Nescafe French Roast are great instant coffees that still taste rich and dense.
Single Serve Pour Overs
I have been seeing single serve pour over coffees popping up more and more. All you have to do is prop open the coffee grounds over your cup, slowly pour your water over it, and wait for it to drip out the bottom (compared to dumping the crystals into a cup and swirling it around for the instant stuff).
These are also very transportable and easy to pack. The single serve pour overs that I have seen have a slim profile but are more square. So while they take up slightly more room than the instant coffee, they can still lay flat and be squeezed into your gear.
On our backpacking trip, we tried Kuju Coffee’s single serve pour overs. They offered a more robust flavor than the instant coffee and reminded me more of the French press coffee I make at home. There are a lot of companies that are making coffee in this style and I am eager to try a few more.
The Percolator
This is NOT for carrying in a pack unless you are willing to carry the extra weight. The percolator we own is small (they do make them bigger) and is designed for camping and backpacking. But for us, this method of making coffee is reserved for base camp.
This method of coffee making is old (dating back to 1819) and often reminds me of old westerns with the cowboys sitting around the fire. Although fairly simple, the percolator does require carrying a filter and ground coffee separately.
It creates a great cup of strong coffee and is fun to use over the fire or on a small cook stove. We love using the percolator as a way to make coffee when we go camping.
The truth about drinking a cup of coffee while looking at a mountain lake is that no matter how it got in your cup, it is likely going to be great. So find your preference and you will not be disappointed with the outcome.
Cheers,
Mrs. Brew