Coffee in the backcountry VIDEO

[theonecanoe]

Coffee in the backcoutry, what a great way to start your day! Most of the time I just make instant coffee...it's quick and easy and does not take up much room in the food pack, espescially if you buy those little single serving pouches. But nothing beats the taste of fresh brewed coffee made from ground coffee beans! I've put together a little video to highlight some of the methods (I'm sure there are many more out there) that I have found useful. Here's a link to the video if you want to have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmmW5nfeaw&list=UUpsDOHysPzrBhn8S7zJ8f4w&index=11
Cheers -Wayne-

 

[Shearwater]

A great idea Wayne. Instant isn't coffee. I have my favorite home-ground coffee and would like to use it camping without the mess. I use tea balls for tea but never thought of using them for coffee. Got to try it.
How rough is your coffee grind?
Ted

 

[oldie moldy]

I enjoyed the video but my coffee making has taken another direction. I buy my coffee here, locally roasted, and ask for the finest of grinds; just about dust. I boil the measured amount of water in a cooking pot, remove from the heat and spoon in the coffee. I just stir it until it sinks below the surface. Being so fine it doesn't take long to become water logged and gives up it's coffee taste. I stir it two or three more times just to be sure that all the coffee had a chance to get in contact with the hot water and then it's done.

To my taste buds at least, the coffee has a more vibrant coffee taste than any other way I've ever tried. The coffee "grounds" being so fine sink to make a thick sludge on the bottom of the pot and cup. That sludge is dead easy to avoid but if you get some in your mouth it just tastes like coffee; no big deal.

The grounds are easy to rinse out leaving only that oily film that I think is common to all ways of making coffee.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[theonecanoe]

Hey Ted, I always grind my coffee fine.

Wayne

 

[Guest]

Thanks for another great video Wayne, I love all your stuff. I've been using that little french press for a few years now, especially since my wife and I became "coffee snobs" - now there's no going back. Last summer I decided to try a trip "tea bags only". By morning number 7 I thought I'd done okay, until I stopped by a "neighbours" campsite to share some bannock I'd made...they had ham & eggs frying up, with a big pot of fresh percolated coffee!! So now my latest addition to my gear list is a brand new/old coffee perc pot. I learned a lot on that trip, such as sometimes "old school" works just fine. Brad

 

[yellowcanoe]

Its National Coffee Day.. Jerry posted on FB that he thought it ought to be National Camp Coffee Day.. I agree. Its only been 36 hours since I watched the mist rise over Little Tupper. Home kitchen coffee or Dunkin or Timmies is just not the same
Here is Jerry Vandivers song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no5Cuy1weLc&feature=youtu.be

 

[Guest]

Since I consider coffee grounds garbage and won't leave them in the wild and they are too heavy to pack out, I won't be doing this. I have discovered liquid coffee concentrate which is way better tasting than instant.
Turtle

 

[yellowcanoe]

I thought the song was less about the methodology and more about the anticipation and the enjoyment of the moment. I use VIA. I still look forward to the heating of water and the resultant enjoyment of mist rising as I drink my coffee.

 

[tear_knee]

We tried using instant or Starbucks VIAs for a few years, but by the third day of a trip we were always craving the real deal. Just bought a GSI French press this year and it's fantastic! It comes with a cosy so it stays warm while brewing. I like a really strong brew though, so I'll use about seven teaspoons per 500ml water and let it steep about five minutes. 1lb of coarse ground coffee lasted us two weeks.. One cup each for the two of us every morning. And instead of regular coffee cream or coffee whitener, we use Bailey's. Mmmmmmmm

 

[memaquay]

Same system as me, French press and baileys. Puts a smile on the face no matter what the weather.

 

[Robin]

I just boil the water and dump some Folgers in, wait a few minutes and it's good, not something to write home about, but affordable, quick and the atmosphere takes care of the rest. I have no problem with flipin' the grounds out there in the bush and rinsin' the pot in the lake.
I consider coffee grounds organic and a great addition to my compost heap, out on the trail I just fling them out so they a spread evenly on the forest floor.

 

[sweeper]

Coffee in the morning makes the day. We don't cut corners, or weight. I bring a coffee pot to make Cowboy coffee. We get 3 strong cups of coffee apiece. The grounds go into the woods back away from the campsite or in the fire if it's still burning.

 

[tear_knee]

Same system as me, French press and baileys. Puts a smile on the face no matter what the weather.

You gotta try Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream. It's Bailey's but with more flavour (instead of thin Irish whiskey, it's sweeeeet corn bourbon). New fave.

Glad I'm not the only one to burn my grounds or bury them in the backwoods like a turd. This is why Frank Body Scrub is so good, guys, and you all made fun of me for it before!

 

[memaquay]

I put my grounds in a plastic bag and then burn it all in the fire, along with my used toilet paper! Lol, just kidding, I leave the toilet paper where it drops, and the grounds go in the bush. As Robin knows, the places I trip don't see very much action, so there are no poop piles or coffee ground mounds.

 

[tear_knee]

Really, we should all be more concerned about the turds and TP than coffee grounds. I can't imagine that scrubbing myself with coffee and rinsing in the forest, or rinsing out the last bit of grounds in my pot and throwing it in the bush is all that detrimental. No worse than biodegradable grey water, and certainly less toxic than faeces.

 

[Odyssey]

We love our 4 cup percolator. As tandem trippers we can afford a bulky item or two, and this pot has been well worth packing amongst our kitchen kit. I'll take my morning coffee black, but this summer my wife was introduced to Bailey's in her coffee. I'll need to make room in the food barrel from now on for her "liquid luxury".

 

[Canotrouge]

I Use coarse ground locally roasted coffee every day, in or out. I use it in a SnowPeak French press. usually a pound of coffee last me 10 days(I'm the only one drinking it in the family!!) I've also use, and like it a lot, the Aero Press coffee press, it make on of the best coffee out there it need super fine grind, and it is super light and compact!

I need to try OM technique, I think I like the simplicity of it!!

When using french press, the grind should be coarse, and after pouring in the water, you should stir it and then let it sit like Teer-Knee said!!

As for the Aero press, I use it up side down... It work better and it is less messy!!

Froth the milk and you have an happy camper!!

 

[Guest]

I knew this would stir people up. Poop toxic? I once passed a bear digging and eating from a firepit. After he ran away, I had to go to shore and find out what he was after. The firepit was filled coffee grounds. A wilderness volunteer once told me they have trouble with people dumping coffee grounds in outhouses and animals causing damage going after them. I have never seen them dig up poop from cat holes. However inconvenient it is, I still say they are garbage. pack it in, pack it out.
Turtle

 

[tear_knee]

I'm not dumping the grounds in a thunderbox or in a cold fire pit.. In high-use areas I use a piece of paper towel to wipe the grounds into a ziploc bag, and then burn that in the nightly fire. What I'm saying is that the few residual grounds that I bury in the grey/dishwater hole can't be as bad as some jerk taking a dump on a portage trail.
I agree with your ethics, I just don't take them to the extreme of denying myself a cup of good coffee in the morning.

 

[BWCA66]

I have a variety of old (50's ish) aluminum percolators. Can't seem to pass one up at an estate sale or antique place. Usually get them in like new condition for under $10. Have a 1 cup now and the largest is a 12 cup. I take whichever one meets the needs of the group size I am with. They weigh less than anything on the market today and really take a beating. I usually switch out the glass perk bulb for a plastic one. I prefer to use course ground coffee and usually just grind it up right before I head out. Did take a boat trip this summer to Voyageurs National Park by International Falls, MN and also took the antique grinder with on that trip.