Camp Coffee: The Do’s and Don’ts

I love being surrounded by nature, subjecting myself to a simpler life (only for a few days though), breathing fresh air, and conversations that happen with limited cell reception. I  also enjoy attending music festivals that subject you to third world conditions in exchange to see 50+ artists in 3 days (Bonnaroo, anyone?). Whenever I decide to commune with nature, one of my first thoughts “how will I make coffee?” Because I’d much rather enjoy my morning cup of joe, than pop a motrin because the pounding in my head will not cease. After much trial and error, I decided to share how I prepare camp coffee. (This post does contain affiliate links to support this blog. See our disclosure page for more information.)

Camp Coffee Methods

My first two methods are ideal for car camping, but can be used if you are backpacking and have extra room in your pack.

French Press (preferred method)

Not only does a French Press make a wonderful cup of  coffee, it requires no electricity and no filters. Put the desired amount of grounds in the bottom, pour over hot water, let steep, push down filter, and enjoy! Rinse out the press and you’re ready for camp coffee the next day!

Pour Over

For those who prefer drip coffee, there is the pour over method. Put a coffee filter in the funnel, desired coffee, put a cup underneath, and pour hot water into funnel. With this method, you do have to be careful with how much water you put in, so your cup doesn’t overflow. Coffee and Coffee filters are biodegradable, but I just put with coffee filters with my other trash and carry out.

Tea Bag Method

This method take less space in your bag if you aren’t car camping. A coffee filter essentially works like a tea bag. It makes it easy to separate the grounds of your coffee. All you have to do is put the filter in your cup, add desire coffee, close filter, add water, let brew, and remove coffee filter. Some people use string or hemp to close off the filter, but I’ve had good luck with folding my filter (example picture below). The key to this method is letting the coffee brew long enough and squeezing the coffee filter for the extra coffee flavor…without breaking the coffee filter.  I have had really weak coffee from not waiting long enough and grounds in my coffee from squeezing the filter too hard.

Instant Coffee

By far, the easiest method. Heat water, add instant coffee,  stir, and enjoy. Instant coffee doesn’t have the best flavor, but convenience may win the day if you have a serious caffeine addiction. I enjoy Starbucks VIA, but I also like buying coffee concentrate in a liquid form. It can be added to a bottle of water for cold coffee if you don’t have access to hot water. To be quite frank, I have a couple of packets of coffee concentrate in my emergency kit at home if I were to lose power. Coffee is essential.

Cowboy Coffee

I didn’t want to even mention this method, but I figured I would be remiss if I didn’t. I have never had luck with cowboy camp coffee. The idea is that you put the grounds in the bottom of the pot and heat the water. When you pour your cup, the grounds will stay at the bottom. The result for me has always been gritty coffee.

Camp Coffee with Cream and Sugar

In the past, I enjoyed a little bit of coffee with my cream and sugar. I have actually weaned myself from adding any sugar to my coffee, but the cream stays. Having cream in your coffee is probably the hardest luxury to come by, but I have a few solutions.

Sugar

Totally easy. Get a few sugar packets while you grab your Iced Caramel Macchiato before hitting the road.

Cream

Sweetened Condensed Milk

If you are traveling with 4+ people, this is a great way to add cream and sugar to your coffee.  Put like 2 tbsp in the bottom of your cup, add coffee, and stir. Adding ice to this drink, and you have a Vietnamese Iced Coffee…one of my favorite drinks to make at home.

French Vanilla Cafe

This is a powdered creamer that’s easy to add to your pack. It has some sugar in it, so add it first and see if you need more sugar. Can also be put into a ziplock bag if the container is to big.

Put your creamer in a Nalgene

Most creamers are dairy free….which I find off-putting. I use straight half-and half, but this comes in a cardboard container. If you’re cooler camping, you don’t want your creamer container getting soggy, so I just put my creamer in a resealable container to use as needed.

 

Do you have any ideas for camp coffee? I would love to hear about them in the comments!