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Writer's pictureJason G. Freund

Camp Coffee

I will be the first to admit that while I enjoy a good cup of coffee, I am not a coffee snob. I will drink most any cup of coffee (except the shit they serve at functions on the UW - La Crosse campus, I don't know how they make it is so awful) - nor do I think that I have the taste buds to full recognize the differences in the country of origin of the beans, the drying process used, or how it was brewed. I am certainly no James Hoffmann. That said, my preferred cup of coffee is a lighter roast which tends to accentuate the sweetness and floral qualities and downplays the bitterness which often comes from a more heavily roasted bean. And I like a bit of half and half in my coffee. Absolutely nothing beats a cup of coffee in the morning.

My daily cup is a pour over in a metal Hario V60 that is fresh ground in my cheapo electric burr grinder. It used to use a hand grinder but I dropped it and it only sort of works now and I used to use a ceramic Hario but I dropped at least two ceramic filters so I bought a metal one. I've dropped that one too but it withstood the fall. Sensing a trend here - I need my morning coffee otherwise I am prone to dropping stuff. I typically buy locally roasted beans - Cabin Coffee in La Crosse roasts their own beans and I tend towards the single origin beans. And Wonderstate in Viroqua (and Madison and Bayfield) is another great local option. Or bring something from where is local to you - and be kind enough to share.

I am not a coffee aficionado but I do like a decent cup of coffee to start the day. Camp coffee has always been a bit more of a luxury than a necessity. I am more than happy to hit the local Kwik Trip for a cup of coffee - they make a perfectly fine cup of coffee. However, nothing beats a lazy morning around camp while sipping on a good cup of coffee.

For camp coffee, I typically either make a pour over cup - like I do at home - or I use my Aeropress. For a larger crowd, a percolator full of coffee is a good option. Though more typically, I carry my good old Stanley thermos and fill it with pour over coffee. I have a few friends that are fine with an instant cup of coffee but it just does not do it for me. Pretty much every instant coffee I've had is, at best, mediocre. And nobody has time for a mediocre cup of coffee. Instant coffee works in a pinch but I certainly would not drink it given (nearly) any other choices.


Camp Considerations


There are a ton of options for camp coffee, which you choose is a matter of personal choice. My thoughts on what makes for a good camp coffee process are:

  1. What you make it in should be (nearly) unbreakable. As you read to get to this point, I'm good at dropping coffee making equipment. I have a good friend that carries his trusty glass French press but that would not work for me. I would buy something unbreakable - like a metal or plastic pour over filter or an Aeropress.

  2. Be a relatively simple process. I have no desire to make espresso while camping. The closest that I come is using the Aeropress and make something that is kind of / sort of similar to an espresso. I almost always add water and make something like an Americano, my espresso drink of choice most of the time. Since I am making coffee while half awake, I want to heat up some water and pour it over some grounds. Nice and simple!

  3. Unless you have a camper, the process should not involve electricity. I'm not going to judge but if you're carrying an espresso machine along while camping, you might be taking your coffee too seriously (is there such a thing?). Mr. Coffee has a place if you have a camper, I suppose. At home, my morning cup uses an electric gooseneck water kettle, I am more than happy to heat water on my camp stove and dump it over the grounds while camping.

  4. Separate equipment is a necessity. I don't want to have to move gear back and forth between my kitchen and my camp kitchen box. I have an Aeropress and a couple of pour over filters in my camp box ready to go. I'll grab the percolator when I think I might need it for a crowd. I camp enough that separate equipment is a necessity.

  5. "Real" camp coffee is overrated. That is, the idea of throwing grounds in a pot and "settling out" the grounds pretty much guarantees you are going to be straining coffee grounds with your teeth. Ain't nobody got time for that.


Whole or Ground Beans?


At home, I almost always buy whole beans. For camping, I typically either grind beans at home and put them in an air-tight container (like a ziplock bag) or I buy pre-ground coffee. I have hand-ground them at camp but it is more work than I want to do in the morning. And grinding beans at camp means carrying my glass hand grinder with me which I'd prefer not to do. So, yes, freshly ground is better but I prefer the ease and time saving of not having to grind beans at camp. I'm not sure my taste buds can really tell the difference but if it important to you, by all means, bring a grinder.


Brewing Options


There are so many options for making camp coffee. We are rather obsessed with coffee and have no shortage of options. There are pre-packaged options: instant coffee, a coffee bag, a disposable pour over, frozen concentrated coffee. Or you can make your own, which is my preference. Bringing homemade cold-brew is a wonderful option in the summer. I have not tried the pre-made frozen concentrated coffee but for a short trip, that is probably a decent instant coffee option.


You can spend a lot of money on camp coffee, if you'd like. The Yeti French Press is a mere $110 - actually not that incredibly awful, at least not by Yeti standards ($130 for the 64 oz. version). Or you could spend next to nothing in buying a plastic pour over filter and some paper filters. One of the Aeropress models will cost you between $30 and $45 and is a great option. My Aeropress (original version) has traveled to Australia and New Zealand and now hangs out in my camp cooking box. If I were new to camping, Aeropress would probably be my first choice. I don't think you need to go with the more portable "Go" version but it is likely a great option.

Percolator
An percolator on a large propane stove - this stove is my choice when space and weight is not an issue.

At the end of this post, there are a number of links comparing different camp coffee methods. I use those links rather than write about differences in coffee preparations which is not at all my expertise and I'm not all that picky about my morning cup.


Heating Up Water


There are so many options for heating up water to make coffee and the best option is probably whatever option you currently have. That is to say, there is no need for special equipment to make coffee. A camp stove - large or small, a jet-boil type stove, something you can put over a campfire, or my most commonly used options, a butane or propane stove, all work for camp coffee. Most of the time, I use a single burner butane stove because it is quick and easy. When weight and space are not an issue, I have a large propane stove that I can connect a 20 pound propane tank to. I'll use this when I am car camping for more than a few days or when I know I'm making coffee for a crowd. For shorter trips, I have a couple of smaller stoves that I use. For really short trips - like a recent one night camping trip - Kwik Trip coffee works just fine. I generally don't love the idea of heating up water over the campfire because it means starting a new fire, waiting for it to get hot, and then heating up water. I would rather have my cup of coffee be the first thing I do in the morning (well, maybe the second).


Creamer?


I like a little creamer in my coffee and typically save a little space in my cooler for real half and half. However, I don't have to have creamer but I do almost always carry some with me. You could also opt for the little half and half cups that seem to have about a million year half-life. Or you could opt for powdered creamer but I have never much cared for its flavor. It is a small luxury but a luxury none the less. I am just fine with "roughing it" and drinking my coffee black.


Traveling Light?


I am a car camper these days but a few years ago (OK, many years ago), longer backpacking trips were common. If you've done a bit of backpacking, you understand that space and weight are at a premium. This is a situation where finding the best instant coffee you can might work but the Aeropress or a pour over filter don't take up that much room. A travel camp stove - either a canister stove or one that is refillable - is something you are already going to have with you so making a real cup of coffee isn't that much of a challenge but is a great morning luxury. And, if you've done a bit of backpacking you know that little luxuries are important and help bring up morale. The sacrifice I am almost certainly making is drinking my coffee black, because carrying anything other than that crappy powdered creamer is going to be a hassle. But on a backpacking trip, I am OK with that.

Backpacking into our study sites.
Packed up for a week of research in the Shavers Fork (WV) watershed. There is coffee in there somewhere.

As always, lots of links...


A lot of other people have opinions on camp coffee. I mean, a lot! I had no idea there were so many webpages about camp coffee. People take their coffee seriously.



What are your thoughts on camp coffee and what is your brewing process?

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