If you love coffee, and it is something that you have to have in the morning then bringing a good coffee maker for your camping trip is going to be important. There are many of us who already have some sort of coffee flavor that we love to drink every morning. We want to be able to enjoy this flavor every morning or everyday. For us outdoor enthusiasts, getting that nice flavorful cup of coffee while in the outdoors can be difficult. It is important that we get our gear right in order to enjoy a good cup of coffee while camping or on a backpacking trip.
Types Of Outdoor Coffee Makers
Pour Water Then Drip
One of the simplest ways to make coffee is through a drip type of system. You fill a filter with coffee, pour water over it, and let the coffee drip to a cup or container. This is a very simple way yet very effective as well. You can grind your own coffee, control the flow of water, control the temperature, and so on. This type of system is very good and allows people to have a lot of control over the flavor of their coffee.
Percolators
This is another very popular coffee maker that is used in the outdoors. Percolators use this thing called convection. Convection is basically the tendency of hot liquid to rise, and cold liquid to sink because of gravity. Percolators will usually have a steel rod with a hole in the middle. This steel rod will be placed at the center of the percolator. The top of the steel rod will have a steel basket where you put the coffee grounds. The hot liquid will rise and pour over the coffee grounds. The water will become colder as it rises and hits the coffee grounds, which will make it sink along with the coffee ground, thus creating flavorful coffee that we can enjoy. You can check out youtube for a visual demonstration of how percolators work.
French Press
A french press is a nice system also that creates very good coffee. In a french press, you put the grounds at the bottom of the container. You will then add some water to the coffee grounds, just enough to soak the coffee grounds. You wait for 30 seconds while stirring the mixture. You add more water to the container. You place the screen, plunger or top part of the french press. Wait for 3-4 minutes then you press the plunger or screen down. The coffee grounds will get filtered by the screen or plunger. You will be able to pour your coffee to your cup and enjoy it. You can look at youtube videos for a more visual representation.
Espresso Makers
There are portable espresso makers as well that you can use to make your own coffee. The most popular one I know of is the Bialetti Moka Express. I have had mine for a long time. Mine is pretty old and works well. There hasn’t been any new inventions or new designs that makes me want to replace it. This is not as good as a normal espresso maker though. I don’t think this generates enough pressure to be considered truly an espresso. It is somewhere in between coffee and espresso.
Pump Action / Battery Operated Espresso Makers
So you can bring this also in the wilderness. This type of espresso maker is pretty good and pretty portable. There will be a place to put the coffee grounds and put the hot water. Once you put all the ingredients in the machine, you will either pump it out to make an espresso or press a button to make an espresso. A good example of this is the Wacaco Nanopresso. This is more lightweight than the Bialetti Moka Express but you cannot boil water with the Wacaco.
Instant Coffee
So a lot of people are not that picky with their coffees which makes instant coffee good enough for them. This is the easiest way to prepare coffee because you will just add water to the ground coffee. You will get your caffeine or coffee fix in the morning. This is really not the most flavorful way to make coffee. You are very limited with the way the coffee will taste. Still much better than no coffee while camping or backpacking.
Coffee Equipment And Additives To Consider
Creamers
There are people who use creamers and there are people who don’t like it. However, if you love milk in your coffee, you don’t have much of a choice. Milk tends to spoil very easily in warm weather. Even in a cooler, they tend to spoil fast so in order to get a milky or creamy taste in your coffee, you will have to use a creamer. Creamers are very portable and they do not require to be stored in a cool environment.
Sugar
If you want your coffee to taste sweet then putting sugar on it is very important. You have to bring a couple of cubes of sugar. You will be very disappointed with the taste of your coffee without sugar if you like it sweet.
Coffee Filters
Coffee filters are good for two things. They can serve as a prefilter when you are trying to purify your water. They get rid of sediments and big rocks. You can use the filter for your coffee as well. They are lightweight, compact and easy to carry. It is not that big of deal to bring one or two even if you don’t need it for your coffee.
Backpacking And Camping Equipment To Consider
Water Filter
When you are boiling the water, the heat will kill a lot of the bacteria, parasites, and other harmful organisms that you will find in the rivers, and other pools of water. You don’t really need a water filter so that the drinking water will be safe to drink. You need a water filter because making coffee out of muddy water is just not going to taste good. It is also not going to look good. The water filter will usually make the murky water somewhat clear. It depends on how good your water filter is.
Gas Stove
You will need a gas stove to boil water for the coffee. There are plenty of gas stoves to choose from. You can get a wood burning stove, propane stove, butane stove, tail gating grill and so on.
Cups
When you boil the water, you need to use a pot. There are camping cups that can be used as a cookware as well. These cups can boil the water for you. However, how are you going to drink your coffee if you use the cup to boil the water? The cup is going to be hot, you are going to burn your lips or your hand if you use the cup. It is better to bring a cup just for the coffee and use a pot to boil the water.
Other Things To Consider
Number Of People
If you are making coffee, you need to make sure that you know how many people you are going to make it for. If you are in a remote place, you may not have enough supplies if you don’t plan ahead. The nearest store might be 2 hours away even if you are just doing car camping. So make sure you know how many people wants to have coffee and the supplies that you are going to bring.
Weight
Weight is not much of a factor if you are car camping but if you are backpacking, then you have to consider the weight of all of your equipment. The coffee maker, water, coffee beans, creamers, sugar, and so on will all have a weight. They can add up really fast. You may end up carrying a very heavy backpack if you don’t consider the weight.
Backpack Space
If you are car camping, then you don’t need to worry about your backpack space. You can put all of your gear in your car. However, if you are backpacking, you need to consider the amount of space that your coffee equipment will take. Your backpack will have a limited amount of space so you need to budget your space wisely.
Resealable Plastic Bags
Resealable plastic bags like Ziploc bags are a great way to carry ground coffee, instant coffee, coffee beans, creamers, sugar and so on. They are resealable, easy to carry, won’t get wet even if the weather is rainy and you don’t have to worry about leaks.
Alternatives To Brewing Coffee
Tea
If your friends or group mates don’t want coffee, you can ask them if they want tea. Tea is pretty good for the body, has a lot of antioxidants and has caffeine as well. Tea is one of the best alternatives to coffee and most of the time, if the person does not want coffee, they would prefer tea.
Store Bought Coffee
You can also get store bought coffee. Walmart, BJs, and other big supermarket stores sell them in huge quantity for a reasonable price. You can drop by one of these stores before going to the camping grounds or trail head. You can get different flavors and different brands. From my experience, people like the Starbucks coffee but I tend to prefer the Double Shot Espresso ones..
Energy Drinks
You can also get energy drinks as an alternative. Some people prefer this. Not me though, I like coffee. This is still a good option in case other people want it.