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From the historic to the classic and all the way over to the strangely fascinating. There are so many methods for making the perfect coffee when camping. And we’ve tried most of them on our adventures as we seek the perfect method of how to make coffee while camping.
Some of them were easy, others were frustrating and one of them stood out above the rest. Don’t worry, we’ve talked about this one first, so you don’t have to scroll too far 🙂
One quick tip we want to give before you head off and become your very own private wilderness barista; grind your own beans.
If you have enough room and can carry the extra, we suggest investing in a manual and portable coffee grinder.
This way, you can enjoy the freshest of the fresh coffee as you watch the sunrise over the horizon. Now, let’s get brewing!
Also see:
- The best fast boil camping kettles
- The best coffee grinders for camping
- The best camping coffee percolators
- The best really tough camping mugs
Hot Coffee On Your Camping Trip
Here’s the best ways we know to make coffee while you’re camping in the great outdoors:
Percolator Coffee
Percolator coffee is a very popular option for many campers out there. And you’ll probably know a couple of brands before you realise it’s the type of coffee we’re talking about. Does Bialetti ring a bell?
Well, when it comes down to how to make coffee while camping, there are a few aspects you want to consider. All of which are nailed by the percolator types of coffee.
For example, you want your coffee to be easy, quick, low-maintenance, waste-free and lightweight to carry around!
In order to make a percolator coffee, it’s a little different than your average camping pour over coffee. You’ll need a naked flame (a fire pit will do), the percolator, a container to drink it from, some water and your favourite coffee grounds.
Place the water in the bottom compartment of the percolator, place the coffee ground into the mid-section covered by the metal filter and then place the percolator on the fire. As the water boils, it’ll travel up the stem, brew in the coffee ground and rise to the top compartment as coffee.
Then, simply serve just the way you like it. There couldn’t be a simpler way for how to make coffee while camping.
Camping Pour Over Coffee
So, we said there couldn’t be a simpler way. Which is true. The percolator is pretty easy and low maintenance. That said, there is a much quicker way. A few in fact.
One of which is the classic camping pour over coffee. Essentially, you’ll have the same core tools and ingredients as the percolator. Namely the heat source, the drinking container, the coffee and some water. But the way you make it will vary.
Plus, there are a couple of types of camping pour over coffee to be had. The first type is known as the single-serve pour over coffee. It involves opening a coffee bag over the top of a mug and then pouring freshly boiled water through the bag and into the mug.
Sometimes, they can be a little weak as they can’t really be left inside the mug to brew for longer like a teabag would be. However, they’re small, they’re lightweight and they’re generally made using biodegradable materials.
On the other side of the camping pour over coffee lover is the traditional sense. It does involve taking a couple of extra pieces such as a large filter, the bag of coffee, a spoon and the ceramic dripper which is a bit heavy for a camping trip.
That said, it works in the exact same way but can hold more coffee and more water for longer, meaning the overall brew is just that little bit better!
Cowboy Coffee
Cowboy coffee shouldn’t really be allowed. Especially if you’re a true lover of coffee and its blends. But if you’re in it to wake you up in the morning after being in a tent, it’ll probably make no difference.
The reason it’s made it onto the list of ways how to make coffee while camping is just because of how unique, novel and traditional it is (at least for our American cousins across the pond).
You need fire, water, coffee, a pot, a mug, a piece of cheesecloth and maybe some eggshells.
Boil your water over the fire and add your coffee grounds. Then, let them sit to cool and brew for around 4-5 minutes while stirring a couple of times in between. After this, the coffee grounds should have risen to the top. At which point, you need to put your eggshells into the coffee pot; these will help the grounds settle.
Finally, pour the coffee into your mug and through the cheesecloth. This just helps to make sure none of those coffee grounds or egg shells manage to escape and find their way into your morning brew.
French Press Coffee
Also known as a cafetiere, a French press coffee is much like a percolator in terms of ease, what it does, reusability, item carry weight and so on.
However, it’s more like the camping pour over coffee in that it involves adding pre-boiled water to the ground coffee rather than boiling the water alongside the coffee ground. With this, it’s worth noting the taste can carry that little bit of extra ‘burn’ to it.
Before we continue, we should also tell you that the golden ratio of coffee and water is about two tablespoons of ground coffee to 6 ounces of water! Add too much water and you’ll end up drinking a diluted mess. Add too little water and your eyes might just turn on their own taps as it’ll be a bitter and strong sip.
So, to begin, you’ll want your French press device (a plastic one, not a glass one), a fire, a pot, some water, a mug and the coffee.
Bring your water to the boil, then add the coffee grounds to the bottom of the cafetiere and the water. Add the plunger, cross plate, mesh filter, spiral plate and lid to the top (they’re all connected as one piece, so there’s no need to worry about losing one).
The next part of how to make coffee while camping with a cafetiere involves leaving the coffee to brew for a few minutes. All before pressing down slowly on the plunger to bring up the perfect hearty drink.
Bripe Coffee
Finally, we have one of the less common ways for how to make coffee while camping. It’s the bripe; in other words, the brew pipe.
It’s one of those classically millennial inventions where it’s very cool. But it can also be quite impractical; especially if you’re out camping with others and wanting to make a big brew of coffee for the group. Unless you’ve got one of the other methods like the camping pour over coffee, it’s not going to happen.
Moving on, you’ll need your bripe, a butane lighter, water, coffee and a thermometer. It’s worth mentioning that your bripe should come with a filter on the end of the pipe and a cork to hold it with.
Step one is putting the coffee grounds into the bripe. Then, you’ll need to add water to the top line, flick the lighter on, add the thermometer and watch until the coffee reaches 90 degrees (just before boiling point). Be sure to stir the brew with your thermometer!
Finally, you’ll need to leave the bripe to cool for a minute or so before drinking your millennial brew from the pipe!
Easy Camping Coffee
You may notice that we haven’t just talked about instant coffee sachets in the midst of how to make coffee while camping. And that’s because we’re talking about making the perfect coffee brew. So, it wouldn’t feel right to add it to the list.
That said, as avid campers of the British wild west, we understand that simply having the ease of access can be nice. In fact, it can even be a lifesaver when you have the youngens running around you at silly O’clock.
So, if you’re happy with instant coffee, just go for it. But do remember to take your waste with you and dispose of it responsibly!
