The Best Coffee You Can Make While Camping
I love to unplug and go camping. It’s nice to get away from the hectic pace of life and take in nature by camping, fishing, and hiking. I also love great specialty coffee. It’s a new thing for me. So this year I decided to bring the essentials so that I could have my delicious coffee in the amazing outdoors. I thought it out for some time before packing. I needed to figure out what hardware was the most necessary and after some thinking and improvising, I came up with the essentials for making a great cup of coffee in the great outdoors. I love a v60 pourover whenever I can make it, but I didn’t think that bringing the ceramic and glass setup was a wise choice, especially if it arrived at camp in pieces. A pourover, if it’s done right, requires lots of precision as well. That means I would need to pack a scale. When camping, the less I can pack, the better. So this was all the more reason to look elsewhere.
My other favorite method of fixing a cup of specialty coffee is the Aeropress. The Aeropress is little more than a large syringe that can be used to make a great manual cup of coffee. It consists of 3 pieces: a cylinder, a plunger, and a cap. The cap holds the paper disc filter. That’s it! The best part is that it is made of plastic. That almost ensured safe stowing for the trip. I prefer the inverted method when using my Aeropress. I’ve also developed a near fool-proof method for making a solid cup without the use of a scale. So plastic design and no need for a scale give the Aeropress the victory for my camping trips. Now all I need is a grinder and a kettle. Being new to specialty coffee, I haven’t invested in a fancy grinder yet so my Hario Skerton Mill Grinder will do. It works great, it’s made of sturdy glass (think mason jar thickness) and plastic. Since we’ll be without electricity, this grinder will fit the bill just fine. The last thing I need is a kettle. I use a Hario Buono gooseneck kettle at home, but I’m not comfortable packing it for the trip. I’m worried the thin neck might be too fragile. So I decided to pack a speckled percolator kettle and leave the inner parts at home. Unlike the v60, the Aeropress doesn’t need the same slow, controlled pour. It just calls for hot water. I was able to pack a few of my Angel’s Cup blind sample packets and taste great coffee away from home. I really was impressed with the quality of coffee I was able to achieve while out in the wilderness. In many ways I think manual brewing my coffee at home prepared me for being out in the wild and preparing the same thing. There was something special about making a great cup of coffee in the outdoors and sitting around a fire while enjoying it. I can’t wait until the next time I get to pack up and get out. I’m excited to bring my coffee supplies to make great coffee while I’m there too.
Fresh air, fresh coffee
My other favorite method of fixing a cup of specialty coffee is the Aeropress. The Aeropress is little more than a large syringe that can be used to make a great manual cup of coffee. It consists of 3 pieces: a cylinder, a plunger, and a cap. The cap holds the paper disc filter. That’s it! The best part is that it is made of plastic. That almost ensured safe stowing for the trip. I prefer the inverted method when using my Aeropress. I’ve also developed a near fool-proof method for making a solid cup without the use of a scale. So plastic design and no need for a scale give the Aeropress the victory for my camping trips. Now all I need is a grinder and a kettle. Being new to specialty coffee, I haven’t invested in a fancy grinder yet so my Hario Skerton Mill Grinder will do. It works great, it’s made of sturdy glass (think mason jar thickness) and plastic. Since we’ll be without electricity, this grinder will fit the bill just fine. The last thing I need is a kettle. I use a Hario Buono gooseneck kettle at home, but I’m not comfortable packing it for the trip. I’m worried the thin neck might be too fragile. So I decided to pack a speckled percolator kettle and leave the inner parts at home. Unlike the v60, the Aeropress doesn’t need the same slow, controlled pour. It just calls for hot water. I was able to pack a few of my Angel’s Cup blind sample packets and taste great coffee away from home. I really was impressed with the quality of coffee I was able to achieve while out in the wilderness. In many ways I think manual brewing my coffee at home prepared me for being out in the wild and preparing the same thing. There was something special about making a great cup of coffee in the outdoors and sitting around a fire while enjoying it. I can’t wait until the next time I get to pack up and get out. I’m excited to bring my coffee supplies to make great coffee while I’m there too.