I am trying to find a coffee cup that will hold a bit of heat, and not make the coffee taste like metal. I am not thrilled about putting really hot stuff in plastic, but it is not microwaving it, so that is something. I tend to brew with either a funnel or an aeropress, and will make it one cup at a time. Whats in your drybox/kitchen box or drybag? and hopefully it will fit in a cup holder for shuttle runs tooI use an old insulated Bodum stainless steel coffee mug, mostly because that is what I had around that fit my coffee cup criteria, and because it has proven Grumman-like unkillable.
The Bodum cup works, but it is heavy, metastable tapered \_/, and, being all metal, it cools off rather quickly.
The criteria:
Well insulated. Really well insulated; if I pre-chilled the inside maybe I could use it for (discrete) beers. Mostly I want a lingering 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] cuppa to last an hour while I pack up and load the boat. I like hot coffee, I like cold coffee. Tepid coffee, not so much.
Holds 2 cups, cylindrically shaped, with no packing space awkward handle. A little flare or flange at the base would be nice for stability, but weirdo /__\ shapes do not pack efficiently.
With a lid to keep the bugs out. Something gasket sealed, easy to orient and screw in place without bleary eyed where’s my coffee cross threading. Don’t expect too much out of me without morning caffeine and Latin flavors and recipes.
And, perhaps most importantly, a lid that sips, and first scalding nectar slurps, without leaks, drips or misaligned dribbles. Who the heck designed this lid that dribbles coffee down my beard and onto my shirt? Seriously, no one in the design team tried to actually drink from this thing?
We have a storage box full of sundry insulated travel mugs accumulated over the years, and most of them are crap for one reason or another. Too heavy, poorly insulated, hard to grasp/hold, awkward to orient the sip lid in the correct handle direction, drippy.
I’m ready for an improved camp coffee cup. What do you use?
Maybe two new coffee mugs. My Toyota Tacoma has cup holders that do not work well with most travel mugs. I have an (awful in every way) REI insulated coffee cup that does fit in the cup holders. Sometimes it fits too well and gets stuck. And it is a sip lid dribbler. If I could find a proper Tacoma travel mug I’d go to the dump just to throw that thing as far as I could.
A driving mug needs a handle, so I can orient the sip-spot facing my lips unseen at O-dark-thirty without pouring coffee on my shoulder. Maybe a 3 or 4 cupper for the truck; all the better to take into a convenience store and ask “How much to fill this up?”
I’ve been using my thermos since I received it as a gift 33 years ago. It has some dings and dents now, but it still doesn’t leak and keeps water reasonably hot from bedtime until the morning. It’s been incredibly useful for quick getaways when I don’t have time to boil water. I estimate I’ve made over 50,000 mugs of tea with it!I have very strong opinions on this. I'm picky enough about coffee that I'll bring my cook kit into hotel rooms instead of drinking hotel coffee.(Incidentally I also found out I was autistic this year.) I have one coffee cup at home that doesn't leave the house and gets used every day. Locally-made ceramic mug, very nice. I had one camping cup, but got REI rewards somehow and got a free second camping cup.
Titanium is the way to go. It's expensive, yes, but buy once, cry once. I'd pay 20 bucks NOT to go to Wally-World three times.
My first cup (still in use) is a Snow Peak that I've used for ten years and has been run over by my truck and driven down into a sand/clay road. It's got a lot of character now but it's still perfectly useable. It is a single-wall cup, though, and Ti holds a LOT of heat so if you get single-wall anything make sure it's got handles; they also make a "sip-pad" of silicone that rests over the lip and protects your lips as you drink, but that strikes me as a bit silly. I think all snow peak handles fold down onto the cup, that's convenient for packing.
The current cup is a with no handles, but it's well worth the price tag. Easy to hold full of piping-hot anything, low-maintenance and reportedly anti-bacterial. My only gripe is that, unlike Cup #1, it won't nest in my cooking pot and so takes up space in the food bag. It's lightweight, convenient, and bullet-proof.
Ti will take soap-taste and hold it, so I don't do anything to clean Ti stuff other than hot water and a paper towel.
@stephaniefisher mo bistro garden 8 I've found. Folds up, weighs maybe an ounce? Use #2 filters with it because the water runs through too fast otherwise and gives you a cup of rust-colored crap, no matter what coffee you use. I have not done any research on what it's made out of, though. I use above-mentioned Snow Peak and this thing whenever I'm not in the house.
disclaimer - not in any way affiliated with these products but they work well enough to have satisfied a very OCD user.
Update.While camping and tripping, an inexpensive insulated cup with lid and handle has been my companion for many years. I've always had a love/hate thing with the handle; sure is convenient, but troublesome when packing.
Stumbled on this today in Bass Pro Shop while in search for something else. The webbing handle seemed to resolve my packing issue. Field trials to follow. The nylon fabric exterior has some insulation to it. $10.
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