Saw these over on another forum. You just put coffee in them and put it in your boiling water in the pot. They are fairly cheap, light weight and are reuseable. Only disadvantage is dealing with the grounds after use as opposed to instant coffee.

coffee capsule

I use one of these for hops when brewing, but could be used for coffee I would guess.
Tea-Ball

I'm planning my first trip this year and spending TONS of time on this site - finally, here is something I know about, lol.

I used to always bring this metal percolator with me when I went camping. One time I forgot it. I am a coffee *addict* . .I would eat the grounds if I had to.

I just put the grounds in my cup and poured boiling water over them. Let it set for a few minutes and all the grounds go to the bottom of the cup. Delicious! SO much better than the coffee from my percolator. "Cowboy Coffee" is the only way I make it in the woods, now.

quote cgchase: "I am a coffee *addict* . .I would eat the grounds if I had to"

Nice to see you have your priorities straight. :)

Welcome to bwca.com! You will find folks voicing all sorts of "best" ways to almost everything here. Our groups have settled on Starbucks VIA as a perfectly acceptable method. Only downside is those impossible little packets. Even for this coffee lover, it's close enough to the real thing that we have at home for our few days to a week at a time out there.

quote cgchase: "I'm planning my first trip this year and spending TONS of time on this site - finally, here is something I know about, lol.

I used to always bring this metal percolator with me when I went camping. One time I forgot it. I am a coffee *addict* . .I would eat the grounds if I had to.

I just put the grounds in my cup and poured boiling water over them. Let it set for a few minutes and all the grounds go to the bottom of the cup. Delicious! SO much better than the coffee from my percolator. "Cowboy Coffee" is the only way I make it in the woods, now.

I have done this in a pinch also. Here is another trick I use if the grounds do not sink to the bottom.

I just dip my fingers in some cold water and shake/sprinkle them over the grounds floating on top, this usually gets them to sink to the bottom.

As described "Cowboy Coffee", is my favorite, probably why I take a French Press sometimes for those who do not like to chew! All the flavor and oils in the cup!
I have used spoons and capsules, basically tea containers, hard to get the brew strong enough.

butthead

I like to do it cowboy style but then I pour the coffee through a piece of paper towel held over the cup.

I would love to find something more compact, but my percolator just makes too good of a cup! I use at home over the stove on occasion because it tastes so much better than my drip maker.

I would leave the fry pan home, before venturing on a BWCA trip without my trusty percolator! I look forward to a superb coffee every morning on the trail, something's you just can't do without.

I drink good, black regular coffee with quality beans and judge coffee shops based on their coffee brewing method. Hand poured single cup production after the order is best. Everything else is second tier. And my favorite coffee shop method is also very easy in the backcountry.

I have also brought Starbucks Via, but I have not found a flavor that I like. Always seems to have a bad finish. Still use Via if we need to break camp quickly, so I carry it for backup.

My preferred method was developed backpacking prior to Via. Very lightweight and inexpensive setup, although somewhat bulky. Plastic over-the-cup drip system similar to the link below.

I grind whole beans the night before the trip. Use the larger cone filters to have extra filter area.

I use an aluminum tea kettle and a backpacking stove (I only cook with hot water when backpacking), and pour water over the coffee grounds multiple times. Usually fill the cone vigorously with water once to wet all the grounds, then wash down the grounds each additional pour. Typically get one large or two small cups out of each filter.

Burn the filters/beans if we have a fire that morning or let dry for the evening fire.

http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Ready-Single-Coffee-Brewer/dp/B0014CVEH6
http://www.rei.com/product/768513/gsi-outdoors-hae-tea-kettle

Hey everyone, completely new here...somehow I got put in charge of planning our first ever canoe trip. I don't function well without a good cup of coffee in the morning...Thoughts on the jetboil flash with the French press and some good freshly ground bean? thanks, mike

Mike-
The good news is that everything tastes better outside!
Our favorite is Africafe instant coffee. Costs a few bucks but we love it. We went to Tanzania several years ago and loved it. It is available via amazon.com (Via: pun intended.)

Instant coffee--while nobody's first choice--is our choice because of the clean-up factor: no waste.

Have fun!

Just a friendly reminder to use the "Add a Link to this Message" function when posting a link. If you need help, I'll gladly walk you through it. Pretty easy.

I have tried the via from starbucks, while its pretty decent, it just doesnt quite have the same amazing taste...If i do a french press, what is preferred that i do with the grounds? fire pit? I know at home here they go out in the garden...

quote rfd671: "I have tried the via from starbucks, while its pretty decent, it just doesnt quite have the same amazing taste...If i do a french press, what is preferred that i do with the grounds? fire pit? I know at home here they go out in the garden..."

I'd be interested to see if anyone packs out used grounds

I was at REI this morning. I noticed they had an REI brand insulated mug with a screen in the top so you put your coffee in the base with hot water, let it sit a few minutes and just start to drink.

quote deepdish71: "

quote rfd671: "I have tried the via from starbucks, while its pretty decent, it just doesnt quite have the same amazing taste...If i do a french press, what is preferred that i do with the grounds? fire pit? I know at home here they go out in the garden..."

I'd be interested to see if anyone packs out used grounds"

Do used coffee grounds have a bad effect on the environment ?

I always thought they were good fertilizer...seeing as they're just water saturated ground natural beans...?

I need my coffee in the morning. I cannot stand instant coffee, The Starbucks Via are better but still not a real cup o' joe. Being that I bring my jetboil with me on every trip I picked up the french press attachment for it, Previously I used a GSI Java Press. I shaved a couple onces and a little space in the pack with the attachment but I refuse to go into the BWCA without at least on of these.

With such minimal weight of the french press attachment and that coffee grounds weigh next to nothing I just cant justify shaving the 2oz by using instant coffee.

Just my opinion coming from someone who isn't a real person until I get that first cup of coffee.

Kcid

quote rfd671: " what is preferred that i do with the grounds? fire pit? I know at home here they go out in the garden..."

Leave No Trace

Would you like to walk in the woods and find somebody else's coffee grounds?

Has anyone tried the "teabag" looking coffee? I think from Foldgers.... or is the Starbucks VIA worth it?

If you have a sewer in your family, I made a teabag style draw string close pouch out of triple layer cheese cloth that works well for coffee. And you can just drop in in whatever water heater you have used, works well. Grounds go in a cat hole away from the campsite for me.

i have used my REI plastic french press for about 6 years and love it i pre package my grounds with sweetener in small zip lock snack bags i then pack the baggies in the cup take up no extra space and grounds get dumped in cat hole before i break camp.

quote deepdish71: "

quote rfd671: "I have tried the via from starbucks, while its pretty decent, it just doesnt quite have the same amazing taste...If i do a french press, what is preferred that i do with the grounds? fire pit? I know at home here they go out in the garden..."

I'd be interested to see if anyone packs out used grounds"

I pack my grounds out.

quote MNLindsey80: "Has anyone tried the "teabag" looking coffee? I think from Foldgers.... or is the Starbucks VIA worth it?"

Via is theee very best "instant" coffee out there, without question. If you want simple it is the way to go.

The teabags from Folgers are a close second but have more of that "instant" coffee flavor and there's more garbage to take care of.

Either one works well.

I still prefer to take the percolator, guts removed, and use Folgers filter packs and just float them in the pot.

For camping, I use VIA. No mess, no clean-up, no bags or grounds to pack out.

I've used both and then some. Via is a better cup of coffee, and yes, it's pricey....but I only buy it for trips. So I splurge because it has zero clean up and they have different flavors which I like. Folgers is a close second in taste and a bit cheaper, but it is one note and you have the bag to dispose of. I also have the jet boil coffee press, makes a nice cup of whatever you are carrying, some assembly, steep time, clean up etc. Sometimes I just want to get my cuppa and bug out. Sometimes I like the "ritual". It all depends on the trip.

quote MNLindsey80: "Has anyone tried the "teabag" looking coffee? I think from Foldgers.... or is the Starbucks VIA worth it?"

Folgers bags are a great choice for good coffee and very light. Just heat water for all the breakfast (coffee, tea, oatmeal...whatever). We burn the bags along with easy-burn paper every few days.

quote : "

quote MNLindsey80: "Has anyone tried the "teabag" looking coffee? I think from Foldgers.... or is the Starbucks VIA worth it?"

Folgers bags are a great choice for good coffee and very light. Just heat water for all the breakfast (coffee, tea, oatmeal...whatever). We burn the bags along with easy-burn paper every few days. "

folgers singles. Have to have coffee I take about 100 packs for 5 day trip. They work great

I have a percolator and a GSI french press. I haven't used the percolator in a few years. I consider myself a total coffee snob. The press is easy to use and works great. The only downside is the clean-up but I think it's worth it. I usually grind my beans the night before the trip. I put the grounds into a snack size zip loc to make 30oz each bag. Then it's simple. Boil the water, let it sit for 30 seconds after boiling, pour in the grounds, pour in the water, let it bloom for about a minute, give it a quick but gentle stir, then let it sit for another three minutes or so, plunge, drink.

Just because it is a wilderness trip with space and weight concerns, does not mean that I will leave my percolator at home! Nothing beats good coffee made in the percolator over a morning campfire....nothing!

This calls for a song...........

Camp Coffee

:-)

dr bob

Ok I'm a coffee snob, I admit it. I linger over picking coffee beans and roasts and grinds like a wine snob. Having said all of that I've tried just about every type style of making coffee in the wild that has ever been thought of. The best(ok if you don't pack your beans and roast at camp before grinding, told ya I had a problem) is this set up


this handles larger groups and heavy coffee drinkers like me.

For "light" packing and single service I discovered the best thing was a simple funnel. For years I carried a simple metal funnel, traded that in for a cheap plastic one and then upgraded to a sort of rubber one I found in cheap kitchen supply store.
To use just boil water(you got to that anyway right?) add a cloth filter or a paper cone style and gently pour the water over the ground while the funnel rests in your favorite coffee cup.
In the big debate over packing out grounds I scatter them away from the camp site, at home I save them and use them in the garden.

I'm addicted to my French press. I can't stand Via or Foldgers. I picked up this gem at WalMart on clearance. I use it every morning now. Not just when I'm camping. The lid is silicone so no nasty plastic flavor to your coffee.

I just received mine from Amazon. I was surprised that the cap just sort of sits on it. I assumed the cap is secured and you just dropped it in the tea kettle or cup. I was mistaken. The tabs suspend it in the cup and you pour boiling water through it and then let it steep for a few minutes. I guess the cap is only there to keep debris out between uses.

Here is a video I found on how to use it.


What I learned is the coffee cup can't have too big of a mouth on it.


Coffee Video

Don't mean to highjack this thread but the comment about packing out coffee grounds has come up. To be honest, if you disperse the grounds around the woods, no one will ever know they're there. Now, I wouldn't dump them in a pile but a careful well spread out distribution of the grounds isn't going to hurt anyone or thing. Just my thoughts; YMMV.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

quote paddler1953: "Don't mean to highjack this thread but the comment about packing out coffee grounds has come up. To be honest, if you disperse the grounds around the woods, no one will ever know they're there. Now, I wouldn't dump them in a pile but a careful well spread out distribution of the grounds isn't going to hurt anyone or thing. Just my thoughts; YMMV.


That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.


snapper"

I throw mine in the woods when we're done... I compost them at home and they're completely biodegradeable so I don't see any issues with it, though I'm all ears if anyone feels otherwise.

And we used a french press in the past because we don't believe in traveling light (ah the follies of youth) but this year I'm brining a pourover cup like HammerII showed above to save some weight and eliminate the possibilities of breaking my last french press. I will add that he is obviously a smart man because I also had the idea of using a simple funnel and found that it works just fine when I tested it at home. Coffee brewing (steeping, really) is a pretty simple process when you break it down.

If you have not tried these yet you should!!! I also am a Snob of sorts when it comes to my morning/evening cup and this little honey makes the best darn cup of any of the presses I have tried!!

The best cup of coffee

When we car camp, I take along a percolator and the grounds get scattered. If it's me and my wife backpacking, it's a GSI french press and we scatter the grounds. If it's just me, Starbucks Via.

Another coffee snob here. Tried the Snow Peak titanium press, but the thing leaked like my 73 Vega back in high school. Tried the Via, too expensive and no real flavor. So, back to the cowboy coffee which I filter through one of these

GSI Outdoors Java Press

I bought a Press-bot last year and loved it, it turns a standard Nalgene into a french press, its light, easy to pack, and makes great coffee.



You need to bring a separate Nalgene for it, or your water will taste like coffee the whole trip.

so what's wrong with water tasting like coffee the whole trip?
Unless the war dept. (non coffee) tastes it.
:-)
dr bob

I was at REI this morning and I noticed that they have an insulated mug called an infuser. You pour your hot water over the ground and the top has a filter built in so you just drink out of the cup.

http://www.rei.com/product/794391/rei-vacuum-infuser-mug-15-fl-oz