Is there anything better than a steaming cup of coffee on a crisp camp morning? It’s the perfect beverage to grasp and warm your hands on while watching the fog roll off a glass water lake at sunrise. Now how to obtain this wonderful cup of awake juice?
These are the three best ways I’ve found to make coffee on an outdoor excursion. They’re fast, easy, and don’t require much cleanup.
Instant Coffee
The easiest coffee option for camping is an instant coffee. Simply mix in hot water and there you go… instant coffee. There are various brands that vary in quality.
- Folgers
- Nescafe
- Starbucks
- Black Rifle Coffee Company
This is a great option for those trying to cover a lot of ground in a day and don’t have much time to spend on camp kitchen duties. It’s also the most lightweight option.
Supplies Needed:
- Fuel & Burner (or Jetboil)
- Pot/Kettle
- Mug
- Spoon
- Clean Water
- Instant Coffee Packet of Choice
Steeped Coffee or Diy Teabag Coffee
Using a simple coffee filter and your favorite ground coffee, you’ll be able to craft your own coffee teabag. This is a fairly cost effective and personalized option. The only drawback I found with this method, is that the coffee bag needs to steep for quite some time and needs to be agitated. There are also steeped coffee teabags that can be purchased.
Supplies Needed:
- Fuel & Burner (or Jetboil)
- Pot/Kettle
- Mug
- Clean Water
- Pre-made Coffee Teabag (Coffee grounds, coffee filter, staple, kitchen string) or purchased Steeped Coffee
Collapsable Coffee Filter
In my search for the best backcountry coffee, I discovered this little device. It’s a simple, silicone, collapsible coffee filter. It features a mesh reusable mesh disk at the bottom and easy clean silicone material. We gave it a whirl and loved it! Of the different options of coffee in the backcountry, this has produced the most flavorful and satisfying cup of coffee.
One flaw that I found is that after one cup of coffee, the filter becomes gunked up. It does need to be cleaned out after each cup, but cleaning it is as simple as scooping out the old grounds and rinsing the mesh filter.
This is a great option for bringing your favorite coffee to the backcountry, especially if your particular brew doesn’t offer an instant option.
Supplies Needed:
- Fuel & Burner (or Jetboil)
- Pot/Kettle
- Mug
- Collapsible Filter
- Clean Water
- Coffee Grounds (Caribou is my favorite)
Creamer options
I love coffee, but I don’t love how coffee tastes… Figure that one out. Creamer is a must for me in any coffee related situation, whether I’m at home or in the backcountry.
Hot Cocoa Packets: Before venturing further in the coffee creamer quest, I used Swiss Miss packets as my coffee creamer. I still use this method when we are out of other options and love it! It’s great when you can’t decide if you want hot cocoa or coffee, just have both! I call it my Hot Cofflate, just for fun.
Creamer Cups: Did you know that you can purchase those little creamer cups that you see at cafes? I just learned that they can be purchased right at Walmart or order on Amazon. Wild! I like this option for camping at a campground or near my vehicle. I wouldn’t bring this type of creamer into the BWCA or backpacking as it doesn’t pack well. The risk of one bursting and stinking up my pack is too prevalent. I would also require a lot of them to make my coffee drinkable.
Powdered Creamer: This might be the best option for canoe camping or backpacking. It’s lightweight, can be transferred to a smaller canister, an has little risk of making a mess. There are different varieties on the market to test out. Some are more cost effective than others. There are also dairy free options available online.
I like to use an old spice container for my powdered creamer, it’s smaller than the canister it comes in and makes it easy to use while camping. Note: Wash the spice canister well and don’t use any that held things like cayenne pepper. A cleaned parsley container will do just fine. Yikes! Also, label all containers in your food back, mixing ingredients up can get gross fast.
However your drink your coffee in the wilderness, enjoy every sip.
