Coffee lovers would probably agree that ‘Life Begins after Coffee’. Indeed. Sometimes, it’s just the idea of drinking your morning coffee with a dear person, or in a relaxed atmosphere by yourself, that makes one crave for a cup of morning coffee. Speaking from a personal point of view, aside from its amazing benefits, I simply cannot live without it, so even when camping, I have found a way to make extremely tasty coffee.
Personally, when camping, I prefer to grind the coffee by myself with a manual grinder and to make it with a French press camping coffee pot maker. However, there are many other popular ways of making coffee while in nature.
Before we dive into all that, I want to address two important things you shouldn’t forget yo consider:
- The Number of People in the Camp – Well, the first thing to consider when camping is how many people are coffee drinkers. This is important not only for knowing how much coffee you should take with you, but also for choosing the right coffee making method. For instance, some coffee makers are designed for making coffee only for one person, which is not suitable when camping with a lot of people.
- How Many Days you Plan to Stay – This is also an important thing to have in mind, as you don’t want to run low on coffee after the second day of camping.
French Press Coffee Maker
As I already mentioned, this is one of my favourite ways of making coffee when camping as it gives me the chance to grind and make my own coffee, which is something I love the most. The main things you will need for this method of making coffee is camping coffee pot/maker, fine coffee grounds, water, kettle and a source of heat. Usually, each type/model of camping coffee pot can be matched with a kettle and even heat source of the same brand in order to ease the whole process. However, if you are not able to attain exactly that, you can always heat water in an ordinary pot and pour it in the camping coffee pot. However, before doing that, you can grind your own coffee like me, or you can add a ready-made one.
Once done, you can add half of the water into the press, let a few minutes for the coffee to ‘bloom’ and add the rest of it. A piece of advice I have found extremely useful is letting the water to steep for several minutes in order to make a stronger coffee (I like it that way). Once done, you should press the French press plunger slowly and serve the coffee. Simple as that! This procedure (without taking into account the manual coffee grinding) will take up to 5 minutes.
The Cowboy Way of Making Coffee
According to experienced campers, the cowboy way of making a coffee is another popular, yet easy way to do it. For this procedure, you will need finely grounded coffee, kettle, water, cup and of course, a source of heat (whether it is a campfire or a stove). Having a mesh strainer is optional, but when used, its purpose is to sieve the coffee grounds in order for them not to settle on the pot’s bottom part.
Now, when it comes to making the coffee, you will need to add water in the coffee pot, then coffee and place the pot over the campfire/stove. Once heated, remove the pot from the heat, let it cool for a bit and once the coffee grounds have settled on the bottom of the pot, the coffee is ready to be served.
Making a Cold Brew Coffee
According to campers, this is the simplest way of making a coffee when camping as you won’t need to boil the water in order to brew your cup of coffee. All you will need is the right cold brew coffee grounds and a clean room temperature water. Mix both of these ingredients, stir it, add some ice cubes (optional) and voila! Enjoy your coffee!
Stovetop Espresso Maker
If you are in love with espresso, then you will probably love the idea of drinking it even when camping. That being said, stovetop espresso makers or also known as Moka pots are all-in-one coffee makers. All you need to do is add water to the bottom compartment and add the coffee to the middle compartment. Once done, you should put the serving carafe at the top and place the pot on a campfire or on a camping stove. When the water is heated, the coffee extracts will start to float on the serving container, and you will have your freshly made espresso coffee in less than 2 minutes.
