Best Camp/Trail Coffee??

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yooper said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
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).
 
French Press is the way to go....

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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
photogod said:
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.
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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.
 
Milkwagon said:
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.
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I believe it is egg shells not an egg. It is suppose to settle the grounds and take away the bitterness.
 
donjuanmiguel said:
Aint nothing like a shot of wiskey in the evening and fresh coffee in the morning.
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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!
 
um. cowboy coffee? really?

fxxx 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.
 
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.
 
calico kid said:
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.
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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.
 
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