Coffee On The Trail

Coffee in my tent, in the morning.

When camping in the wilderness I don’t do complicated. Or I at least try to avoid it. That’s why I kicked coffee for my 2015 and 2017 AT section hikes. I decided to endure the caffeine headaches rather than make my coffee every morning on the trail.

In 2016 I opened a coffee shop and started offering pour-over coffee to my patrons. This was when I also began using the pour-over method at home. Unfortunately the idea of doing this at a campsite did not occur to me until halfway through the summer of 2019. Sigh.

Sometimes us old dogs take a while to learn new tricks.

I found a collapsible cone on Amazon (where else?).

The weight penalty for this is minor. I carry the collapsible cone, some small filters, and a small container of coffee.

Here’s my favorite part! Early in the morning I drag my arse out of my tent to retrieve my bear bag. Wait. That’s not my favorite part.

I return to my tent to brew my coffee while everyone is still asleep. That's my favorite part!
Note: I do not boil the water inside my tent. Never light a camp stove inside a tent. I realize most of the readers know this - just throwing it out there.

The process is simple:
-Heat water to boiling. Only 12 ounces. My drinking cup is small.
-Place my pour-over cone over my cup, and place the filter inside the cone. Carefully pour one scoop of grounds into filter.
-Once the water is done boiling slowly pour over grounds, soaking them, but not overfilling the cone. Continue doing this until the cup is full of coffee.
-Enjoy the coffee

Note: I can't seem to insert an image here of an example of pour-over coffee. If you want to see a visual, then just google "pour over coffee."

I then crawl back into my bag to sip my coffee. Morning quiet time with the sound of a running stream. It’s hard to imagine a better feeling.

If the sun is up maybe I’ll sit next to the stream with my coffee. There’s options available as long as I have my warm cup of Jo.

#coffee #hiking #campsitecoffee #camp #backcountry #campsites #backpacking

Are bears as attracted to the smell of fresh brewed coffee as humans?

Ha, ha! I certainly hope not! And even if they are, I am not giving up my morning coffee!

Im not questioning the coffee, but I do question the wisdom of having anything odoriferous in the tent!

I'm also very leery of letting food smells get into my tent. Black bears have a sense of smell ten times more acute than a bloodhound. Because bears are curious, will eat anything edible, and their whole lives center around finding food, this seems to me more like a justified precaution than paranoia.

I've never had a problem with drinking coffee in my tent. If you think about it there are many other oders, including human smells along with oders acquired on our clothing during meal preparation and eating. Not to mention the smells that our gear acquires over the years. We can take reasonable precautions such as not bringing tasty foods into the tent but otherwise, enjoy your cup of coffee.

Yep, same here. Of course, that doesn't mean this won't become a problem in the future.

Obviously I drink my coffee in the morning, just before I pack up. Not to say the other commenters don't have a point. If I spill some, then the next evening that smell will be there.

I suppose if I'm completely honest here, I do not know if drinking coffee in my tent is a potential future problem or not. I'm doing my best to read and learn about black bears. From what I've learned so far, I really don't believe I'm taking that much of a risk. At least, I hope that I'm not. I sure do enjoy sipping coffee wrapped up in my sleeping bag.

I know your palette is much more sophisticated than mine; most people's are. But what about 1) instant coffee or 2) just boiling the grounds in a pot of water and pouring them through a sieve of some sort like cheese cloth? I think some old fisherman I knew just boiled the grounds in a pot and poured the coffee off the top into their cup.

The only problem with using grounds is packing it out and cleaning the cheese cloth. I use a high quality instant coffee which tastes pretty good and requires less equipment and weighty coffee than other methods. Bringing in less and taking out less is always the ideal situation.

Thats because the grounds sink, you can just put a spoonful in a cup, but you have to keep it warm. Instant coffee is terrible if spilt, my bag and all its contents have been glued together by coffee, not nice, nor spilt milk either, it stinks.

Jerry,

You're way awesome. I'd like to share a pre-made alternative to a coffee filter holder, a couple filters, and some coffee, and make what you're talking about with the filter holder a little plainer for those who haven't encountered pour over coffee before.

The Japanese, who are REALLY into pour over coffee, make single use packets to solve this problem. They are routinely sold in grocery and convenience stores there.

I googled "japanese pour over coffee packets" and got the following as some of my results. I'm sharing because they are good pictures of what I'm talking about.

https://japanesegreenteashops.com/collec...0-pack-80-grams

https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/pour-over-coffee-brewer/

If you're in Japan, coffee is routinely sold in premade packages like this. It's one of the better ways to get a cup of coffee in the morning before you go out, as hotels will probably provide tea, but not coffee. My wife and I were much happier once we figured this out and knew what to look for. For this application, a bunch of these packets could greatly simplify your logistics, depending on your point of view on carrying the waste.

However, some coffee, a couple of #2 cone filters, and a plastic filter holder like this:

https://www.amazon.com/HIC-Coffee-Filter...54280&psc=1

is all you really need, as Jerry pointed out, to do simple coffee in the field without grounds. Over the long haul, it's probably lighter than the premade packets, but the premade packets are probably simpler for a short trip. Which way you'd go is an individual preference question.


Jerry, I wish someone had explained cone filters to me about a decade ago. Cone filters, which aren't a new concept, would have greatly simplified some of the things I was trying to do with coffee in the field.

I use Folgers Coffee Singles for backpacking. They are basically tea bags filled with ground coffee instead of tea leaves. The resulting coffee tastes much better than instant, though not as good as my normal coffee. Here's an Amazon link, but they are also available at many grocery stores:

https://www.amazon.com/Folgers-Coffee-Singles-Classic-Roast-19/dp/B07BFHNPGK

I usually just take some of the Starbucks instant packets. They make decent coffee, but I will look for the Folgers bags in my local stores. It would sort of force me to wait for the coffee to steep and the water to cool down a bit while my breakfast is rehydrating.

This is my single cup method that doesn't involve any pouring. It's basically a tea sock concept improvised from a leftover scrap of mosquito netting:

1. Heat water in a metal cup directly on the stove or fire to a little bit above drinking temperature.
2. Remove from heat, stuff 8-inch x 8-inch (about) square of mosquito netting into cup as a liner.
3. Dump grounds in, wait a few minutes, remove.

The netting leaves some grounds in the cup but it drains instantly and what's left isn't enough to affect the flavor even if you take your time drinking it. It dries very quickly. It also works well for loose tea.

Juan Valdez 100% Colombian Classic Freeze-Dried Instant Coffee

After years of trying things, for me this is the best.
teaspoon in a little baggy, with sugar, creamer.