[Dan2722]

French Press and "Cowboy Coffee" from Ryan Bros roasters is the the best camp coffee I have ever made.

San Diego Coffee Blends

Check out the savings on a 5lb bag. I drink a lot of coffee and will go through the 5lb bag in a month easy.

[Milkwagon]

If you want a stout and the best cup of coffee, then try a "cafetera greca" / italian mocha pot. They come in 2 to 6 cup configurations, made of aluminum alloy. I make my coffee in one of these and use a little evaporated milk and sugar in the raw. This makes the perfect cup of "cortao." Puerto Rican/Cuban expresso with milk and sugar!

When my cowboy friends are around camp I use the percolator and egg method. They are somewhat terrorized by a cup of coffee that makes their heart jump a few beats. Otherwise I use my "greca."

I love girls in French maid outfits, however, I am yet to have a remarkable cup of coffee (latino style) out of a french press. Maybe, maybe... if it was percolated by a French maid?

Oui, oui, madamme Fifí more café mercí.

[zornff]

We use these Big Sky Bistro Coffee Press for a great cup of coffee. Just add 1 tbls Starbucks columbian, fill with hot water, wait about 4 minutes, push the plunger down and enjoy. They hold up really well to the elements, and it makes 2 cups (16 oz) at a shot. Enjoy.

[bigndn]

Originally Posted by Milkwagon

Have you ever heard of "cowboy coffee?" Well, use the same coffee you use or like. Percolate it. When done, crack an egg and drop it in the percolator after taking out your coffee "filter/percolator unit." The egg will cook and while doing so, will take all the remaining grinds to the bottom.

No egg taste and no grinds.

You ever made poached eggs? That water still tastes 'eggy'. YUCK.

Originally Posted by Doug_S

I roast and grind my own. My dad made "cowboy coffee" by boiling the water and coffee together and then, at the end, he dumped in cold water which made the grounds drop to the bottom. It seemed to work find.

With home roasted coffee, you can control the type and darkness of the roast which yields some good stuff. My roaster cost about $90.00 which I feel was a bargain.

Since I've been making perc coffee for over 20 years, this is the method of choice. Surprisingly, it doesn't take much cold water to settle the grounds, maybe a cup in a 12 C pot.

[Milkwagon]

"You ever made poached eggs? That water still tastes 'eggy'. YUCK."

Contempt before investigation.... Mrs bigndn. Try it and let me know what you think.

[spotcruiser]

I carry one of these now and it works pretty well. It limits the number of separate things I need to carry.
REI French Press Mug at REI.com

[yooper]

Use the most freshly roasted whole bean coffee. Roasted coffee is at its best two to three days after roasting. After a week it has lost half of the flavors. Vacuum packing and freezing helps stretch out the life a bit. Most store bought coffee is weeks old at best. If you can find a small roaster local to you go to them and ask them which of their beans are freshest. If they can't answer that then find another roaster. Personally I roast my own but this is not for everyone.

Grind immediately before you brew - this is the single most important thing you can do to improve your coffee. I use a manual Zassenhaus™ grinder. It only takes a minute or two to hand grind enough coffee for a pot. Zassenhaus Conical Burr Coffee Mills

French Press is an excellent method and great for the trail because you don't need any separate filters and you only need to use as much stove fuel as it take to boil water, which most camping stoves are designed for in terms of efficiency. There are lots of metal and plastic presses out there.

However, an insulated French Press is not a good idea if you plan to use it as a thermos - after about 5 or 6 minutes the cofee needs to be decanted off the grounds or it will start to become bitter. After 15 minutes of sitting on the grounds your coffee will taste like gas station coffee.

I would strongly recommend having a thermos or insulated carafe and decanting the coffee out of the French press after 4 to 6 minutes of steeping. This coffee will still taste good 24 hours later.

I buy 90% of my coffee paraphernalia and all my green coffee beans from Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's

[photogod]

I don't drink much coffee but when I feel the need I grab a box of Folgers coffee singles classic roast. They come in a tea bag config and are easy, quick and clean.

[yooper]

Originally Posted by photogod

I don't drink much coffee but when I feel the need I grab a box of Folgers coffee singles classic roast. They come in a tea bag config and are easy, quick and clean.

I wouldn't drink any coffee if that was all that was available.

[inthewall]

I pour a cup of cold water in pot after it is done. If I have a filter I will poke a hole in it and use it like a home coffee maker. MJB is my coffee of choice. I would not use an egg if you paid me.

[2mbb]

I use a thermos nissan french press. It's a french press so it's fast and easy, it's a thermos so it keeps the coffee hot. If youi keep a pot of water boiling, you can reload the press quickly. It works great for groups of people

Amazon.com: Thermos Nissan 34-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Stainless-Steel Gourmet Coffee Press: Kitchen & Dining

[car-car]

Originally Posted by yooper

Use the most freshly roasted whole bean coffee. Roasted coffee is at its best two to three days after roasting. After a week it has lost half of the flavors. Vacuum packing and freezing helps stretch out the life a bit. Most store bought coffee is weeks old at best. If you can find a small roaster local to you go to them and ask them which of their beans are freshest. If they can't answer that then find another roaster. Personally I roast my own but this is not for everyone.

x2 on getting fresh roasted coffee. There is nothing better. Forget Starbucks, Peet's, Seattle's Best, etc., etc. All of those have long past their prime tastes and flavors by the time it gets to you. Once you factor in warehousing from the mass roaster, distribution, store stock rotation, you can easily be at weeks old. I would take freshly roasted coffee using a camp perc over a cup of Starbucks drip coffee every day of the week, without exception.

I also roast my own, but I would encourage everyone to at least try a cup of freshly roasted coffee from a coffee shop that roasts their own in store on the premises (you'll know, just by the fantastic smell of freshly roasted coffee in the shop), and not from a shop that just buys their coffee from a distributor or mass roaster. You will be amazed at the difference in freshness and flavor.

Enjoy.

[cvcruiser]

I'm really surprised no one mentioned a regular old malita plastic cone with paper filter. I've been using that for a really long time.
For groups I use the bigger style malita holder and filters. I heat up some water put it in my big thermos and get it hot, once it's hot I pour out the water and get to work. I then start making coffee directly in my thermos, once it's full there is enough for everyone. I have tried the French press and am very happy with it but it's glass and cleaning is a little more involved. I've never liked perculator coffee but love to hear and watch it make coffee. The espresso makers are good but harder for groups because of having to clean it out between every serving. As for coffee we hit up the local ma and pop roastery for their strong blend. I think for malita drip style the beans should be ground on #6.

[EOE_overland]

Thanks for all the tips! Put them to use last weekend. Had my FJ62 full of medical supplies, so I had NO room for my usual camping gear. So I ended up hotel camping with the Misses for the weekend. Slid a hot plate, medium enameled pot, and the well-advised french press in a little open spot. Boiled water and made coffee; then made breakfast in the pot while I enjoyed the coffee. Good times! And KennyFJ40 enjoyed it too (or was being nice ) Thanks!

[kennyfj40]

Matt,
It was a great cup of coffee, the first I have had made from a French press. Look forward to when we can get togather and have some when we are camping out.

[yooper]

There's always room for one more thing in a little spot in an FJ62.

[OswaldtheBold]

I was a backcountry land and river tour guide for eight years, out of Moab (drove FJ55's through Canyonlands). We made cowboy coffee every day, over an open fire. Here's my recommendations:
Preferred method: I used the large blue enamel coffee pots, sizes vary. Fill it 3/4 full of water and bring it to a rolling boil, then remove it from the fire (set it on the ground next to the fire pit). Add the coffee (about 5-6 tight handfuls for the large pot, 4 for the smaller one). Stir to mix the coffee in, set it aside and leave it alone, undisturbed, for 5-10 minutes. A nice froth should form on the top. After the allotted waiting time, gently tap around the outside of the pot with your foot to make the grounds and froth sink (it will make an impressive roll over and dive, making a nice show for the tourists). Believe me, this works great if you first let it sit undisturbed to steep. You can also take a cup of cold water and slowly pour it in a tightening spiral to help sink the grounds. Coffee is now ready. You can set the pot off to the side of the fire to keep it hot without burning it. Just remember not to shake or swirl the pot, and pour gently, to keep the grounds on the bottom. The last cup will be pretty chewey.
Never boil the coffee! It releases the acids in the ground coffee (which is also why percolated coffee is a bad concept).

[yooper]

That's a decent method if you drink it all in ten minutes.

[car-car]

I just got an insulated french press for camping about six weeks ago. I had tried the perc route, and it was terrible. Maybe it was the cheap, worthless perc I was using, but boiled coffee is awful regardless. So, I wanted to go the route of a travel/camping french press. Most reviews I read on travel/camping presses (REI, Bodum, Nissan, etc.) left something to be desired in losing heat during the steeping process, or the press would allow an unsatisfactory amount of grounds through. The double-walled insulated body is critical to maintaining water temp during the steeping process so that maximum flavor is extracted from the coffee grounds, especially if outside temps are a little more on the colder side. As for grounds leaking through the press, this is virtually unavoidable, but I found some presses do a better job of minimizing grounds in your cup.

I ended up choosing a press by Planetary Design off of amazon.com. Amazon.com: French Press Mug - Boot Cut - By Planetary Design Black: Kitchen & Dining

Coffee Press By Planetary Design - DoubleShot, Boot Cut, Desk Press, Table Top and Airscape

Less than $30, which seemed to be the going rate for most middle of the road travel/camping presses. What sold me was the almost flawless customer review feedback on not only the model I ended up getting, but on all the models offered by their company. So far, I have been very pleased. Good design, works great, holds temp well, and they use a filter screen not only at the press plunger (yeah, that's an unfortunate word choice when describing what's in your coffee mug), but it also has a second filter screen at the pour spout to catch any stray grounds. This dual filter method seems to eliminate most all of the coffee grounds from getting into your cup, although there is usually a very fine, dust-like, coffee ground sediment at the bottom of the cup, but I ground my own, so I am probably just grounding too fine. They also say you can drink from the press as a mug with the grounds depressed all the way down, but I would pour into a mug or cup when the coffee is at its peak flavor.



Really simple to use:

1. Heat water to just below boiling
2. Pour hot water into press that contains your ground coffee
3. Let steep for 4-6 minutes with press lid on
4. Press down
5. Ready to pour and enjoy

I even use the press at home more often than the coffee maker because the pressed coffee tastes much better than drip coffee from the machine. A freshly roasted quality coffee brewed in a press tastes really good.

Just wanted to pass this along. I have no affiliation with this company or product other than I have been enjoying good tasting coffee while camping and even while at home with this press. There is coffee, and then there is good quality, freshly roasted, well-prepared coffee. There is a difference.

Enjoy.

[cranky steve]

I have a 2000 watt Inverter, I use it to grind my choice of whole beans. Then I either use a #4 cone filter and manually pour hot water in, and let it drip into a stainless steel thermos, or, for a large group, use my old Krups 12 cup coffee maker run off the inverter.

Both methods yield excellent results.

[DHarris]

the portable press works best for me, even though it gets annoying making individual servings throughout the day. I need a bathtub full... do I have a problem?

[spressomon]

'Spresso...of course

[Thornton]

[QUOTE=photogod;4202050]I don't drink much coffee but when I feel the need I grab a box of Folgers coffee singles classic roast. They come in a tea bag config and are easy, quick and clean.[/QUOTE


Folgers or Maxwell House. Just like dehydrated food for backpacking. One of the best things they came up with for camping.

[calico kid]

just add water coffee let it boil and boil. at one point it will boil over and put out your camping stove. It is a bite messy. As said above
the secret is to let it sit for a 5 or 6 min's. I use the blue enamel pot and have made hundreds of pots like this. The fist cup will have some grounds as they stick in the spout. then set it by the fire or put it in a thrums.

[calico kid]

Originally Posted by Milkwagon

Have you ever heard of "cowboy coffee?" Well, use the same coffee you use or like. Percolate it. When done, crack an egg and drop it in the percolator after taking out your coffee "filter/percolator unit." The egg will cook and while doing so, will take all the remaining grinds to the bottom.

No egg taste and no grinds.

I believe it is egg shells not an egg. It is suppose to settle the grounds and take away the bitterness.

[LCHardriver_02]

Originally Posted by donjuanmiguel

Aint nothing like a shot of wiskey in the evening and fresh coffee in the morning.

A man after my own tastes! Nothing like a fresh cup of pressed coffee in the mountain morning air and nothing like good sippin whiskey in the evening, sitting next to the fire. God, I need to go camping!

[sandcruiser]

um. cowboy coffee? really?

fuck that noise.

treat yourself to some manner of filtration! I'll drink cowboy coffee as a last resort, but there's no good excuse for *planning* to drink it.

[alpinecowboy]

You CAN bring an espresso maker....!!

Do a web search or an amazon search for "handpresso wild"...

it is a backcountry espresso shot maker and it rocks... I have one and use it all the time... pours a killer shot and will definitely kick you in gear. I use it with my jetboil stove so that I can get hot water in a hurry.

[Bogo]

Originally Posted by calico kid

just add water coffee let it boil and boil. at one point it will boil over and put out your camping stove. It is a bite messy. As said above
the secret is to let it sit for a 5 or 6 min's. I use the blue enamel pot and have made hundreds of pots like this. The fist cup will have some grounds as they stick in the spout. then set it by the fire or put it in a thrums.

Dad makes coffee similar to that, but he doesn't let it boil over. He just brings it up to a boil then removes from the heat. He lets it set for a bit. Then he filters it through a tea sock to get the grounds out.

[hoser]

Originally Posted by alpinecowboy

You CAN bring an espresso maker....!!
I use it with my jetboil stove so that I can get hot water in a hurry.

For coffee, Jetboil also makes a Coffee Press for their system. Minimal extra weight and stuff to carry.

Coffee Press | Jetboil