Outdoor Brew: Ways to Make Coffee While Camping or Backpacking

Did you know that about 50% of all adults drink coffee? An excellent cup of coffee not only energizes you, but it also has potential health benefits.  Know what else has some serious health benefits?  Getting out of the office and onto the trail.  Why not combine the two?

So when it’s time to hit the trail and get a little hiking or camping in, don’t leave your favorite beverage behind! Coffee while camping is the best, and if you like cold brew, making your brain-waking concoction couldn’t be easier.

Read on for some common ways of brewing coffee while camping.

Your Morning Ritual

Some people drink coffee in the morning simply to wake up. Others love the ritual. A good cuppa Joe should give you taste, aroma, and enjoyable experience.

Don’t settle for old-time freeze-dried grounds when you’re camping.

Cold Brew the Easy Way

There’s nothing simpler than making cold-brew coffee when on a camping trip. These Dog Daze Cold Brew Packs do all the work for you. The packs are made from bamboo and are biodegradable and divided out into brewing portions.

Time to hit the trail for the day? Grab 1-2 quarts of cold water from the cooler or filtered water from a stream, put it in a container or hydration pack. Add one cold-brew “tea” bag per quart of water.

Put the container back in the cooler or leave it outside in the shade. Let the bags steep in the water for 12 hours. Sit back and enjoy every sip!

A bonus? With every online purchase, we are able to support small animal rescues throughout the nation.

The Famous Cowboy Coffee

Looking for a hot cup of your favorite drip in the morning? Here’s a time-tested way of making coffee over the campfire.

Take your regular camp kettle and fill it with water. Place it on the fire and, whatever you do, don’t watch it! Bring the water to a boil.

As soon as the water boils, remove the kettle from the fire and let it cool about 30 seconds. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of coffee grounds. You’ll hear a satisfying sizzle as the grounds hit the water.

Let the grounds rest in the water for about two minutes and then give it a good stir. Then let them rest again for another two minutes.

Now pour the coffee slowly into your mug. Patience pays off here. The slower your pour, the fewer grounds end up in your mug.

The Real Thing

Some people can’t leave home without the real thing. For them, there’s the camping coffee maker.  Our head roaster, John prefers the backpacking Aeropress, which is a French Press for camping. There are also good mesh pour-over systems that are lightweight and sturdy. These are great because all you have to do is boil water. He recommends taking something that is made of plastic or metal and skipping the glass when out in the wild.  There is too big a risk of the glass breaking or chipping, which means no coffee for you.

Lydia, on our marketing team, prefers her beat-up Moka pot (a type of mini espresso maker) that she can use over a propane burner or even on a hot campfire. It works like your home drip coffee maker, except it goes over your camp stove burner. Once over the burner (or on the fire), you’ll adjust the flame for the perfect boil. Lydia says that you’ll want to pre-grind your coffee to the right size before you get out there.

Watch as the coffee drips into the carafe. You can make about 10 cups, just like home!  Just keep in mind it is too hefty for backpacking and really only works if you are car camping.

Make Great Coffee While Camping

It’s not hard making great coffee while camping! The easiest method is the cold brew. Toss in the Hugo Coffee cold brew bags and let it sit for 12 hours.

If you’re hardcore, go for the cowboy coffee. A few grounds in your cup adds to the experience.

If you insist on home-style drip coffee without electricity, go for the camp-stove coffee maker. Any way you make your coffee while camping, it’s going to taste great!

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