How To Brew Delicious Coffee in the Backcountry

Reprinted as seen in the January + February 2008 issue of Washington Trails Magazine.

Coffee in the wilderness always involves compromise.

We live in the Northwest. Therefore: we know and love coffee.

We’re home to Starbucks’ world headquarters. We added the word “latte” to the English language. Washington is home to a company that manufactures camping espresso makers. People in the Northwest are serious about their coffee. And they’re also serious about backpacking.

So, how to reconcile the two?

It's a camping caffeine conundrum:

Do you go choose quality coffee and pack in more weight and stuff to clean up? Or do you go lightweight and simple—but sacrifice taste?

It’s not easily resolved, but our members are up to the task. I  informally polled our Washington Trails writers and photographers about their ideas for a good cuppa-joe in the woods. Here’s the highly un-scientific, non-peer-reviewed results of our research. Try ’em out and see what works for you. Have other backcountry coffee suggestions? Please let us know!

Instant

For those of us who have come to know instant coffee in the form of Folger’s or Taster’s Choice, “taste” is generally not high on the list of attributes we’d assign to these brown crystallized substances. Succinctly put: instant kinda sucks. But it’s lightweight and requires only boiling water. Cleanup is a snap. For those who need a quick hit of caffeine in the morning or a cup of something warm and vaguely reminiscent of the coffee found in civilization, it’ll do.

For more discerning tastes, there are a few additional options. WT gear editor Allison Woods swears by Nescafe all-in-one instant packets. For some reason, these aren’t readily available at ordinary grocery stores or gear shops. Asian markets (including Uwajimaya in Seattle) tend to stock these packets, which include the triumvirate of coffee, milk, and sugar. They’re a snap to make and the taste more like the real thing than stand-alone instant. Since the packet coffee doesn’t pack much “punch” I usually upgrade it with a teaspoon of Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso (found in most grocery stores).

Another option is "Java Juice," a concentrated liquid you ass to boiling water. Reports, however, were less than favorable from our members.

Drip

WTA members must be a bunch of coffee snobs, because many report bringing drip coffee equipment along on backpacking trips. The drawbacks are of course extra weight and clean-up. If you’re truly practicing Leave No Trace ethics, you’ll need to pack all those used coffee grounds out. On the plus side, you’ll be drinking fresh coffee as you savor the early morning light over Lake Vivianne in the Enchantments. If that’s not heaven, I’m not sure what is.

There are several methods for achieving drip in the backcountry. Most popular and perhaps with the best taste results is to use a small French press. Several companies make non-breakable plastic press pots (glass would be too risky in a heavily-stuffed backpack).

One handy backpacking item for those who like fresh-brewed coffee in the wild is the Brewmug (www.brewmug.com). This little gadget combines an insulated mug and a French press. All the parts store neatly inside the mug.

For those who drink their café “au lait,” you’re faced with some choices. Milk is available in vacuum-packed boxes. Powered milk is serviceable, but often has an off flavor. I do not recommend stirring dehydrated milk powder directly into hot coffee. The result is in a yucky mess of glutinous, sour white blobs. Enough said. Many hikers pack in CoffeeMate or other similar “whiteners.” But “whitener” comes from a factory in New Jersey, not a jersey cow. Again: enough said.

Other drip delivery systems include small one-cup drip filters. These are actually a bit easier to clean than French presses, but the coffee isn’t generally as strong. They have built-in mesh filters so you don’t need to pack in (and pack out) paper filters.

Speaking of paper, another solution is “coffee in a bag.” These are similar to tea bags, only filled with ground coffee. The trouble with these is that the coffee is about as strong as the brown creek water at Cape Alava. Former WTA president Jan Klippert suggests improving its flavor by adding instant hot cocoa or, in the evening, a judicious shot of Bailey’s.

Backpacking Espresso Makers

I will confess I have never used one of those little stovetop gadgets that apparently can make a shot of espresso deep in the wilderness (and in theory also steam milk). Photographer and WTA member Geoffrey Sandine reports his wife is a coffee fanatic, and she brings one of these mini espresso makers on backpacking trips. Apparently the units are quite finicky—the espresso sometimes doesn’t shoot out the nozzle quite right. Says Geoffrey, “it’s bit of a crapshoot keeping the stream of coffee into the cup and off the burner—you’re in for major clogging if it hits the stove.”

Rather than try to steam with the device, this backpacking barista bring along a battery-powered whisk, which foams the milk quite nicely. I’m pretty sure Henry David Thoreau had one of those gizmos at his cabin at Walden pond for his morning cappuccinos.

Keepin' It Hot

Keeping coffee hot is critical in the backcountry. Most of us carry simple insulated mugs. The cheap ones from convenience store work nicely—especially the ones not designed to fit in a car’s cupholder. Those cupholder varieties tend to be too unstable when perched on a campsite rock. If you want to really look stylish in the wilderness, consider purchasing a WTA logo insulated mug, available at www.wta.org for 8 bucks each.

If you’re out on a winter day hike, cross-country ski outing or snowshoe trip, there’s nothing quite so pleasurable as bringing a hot thermos of coffee along for your lunch break. Be sure to pack a stainless steel variety—the glass-lined versions are notoriously fragile, particularly if you’re skiing.

Cowboy Coffee

No article on camping coffee would be complete without some mention of that mysterious, mythical and confusing substance known as cowboy coffee. The origins are obscure, but mostly likely traced back to the chuckwagons and lonely campfires of the open range. Cowboy coffee is essentially a philosophical quandary: how to make palatable coffee with just three things: ground coffee, water, and a pot. No filters, no demitasses, no Italian-made widgets.

The trouble with cowboy coffee is that unless you like chewing coffee grounds, you’re going to be disappointed. Cowboy coffee also known by its other name: “mud.”

There are some time-honored, traditional and generally ineffective methods for getting the grounds out of cowboy coffee. We’ve heard reports that an egg shell dropped in the pot is supposed to work, with the theory that the grounds will magically adhere themselves to the egg shell. I have not verified this in field testing and frankly it sounds too gross to try.

Others, including WTA’s former director of trail maintenance, Chris Bell, swear by the centrifuge method. This requires a pot with a hoop handle on the top and a good deal of courage. The idea is that after your coffee is brewed you simply swing the coffee pot above your head for few loop, and the grounds will settle to the bottom.

Hmmm. Simple? Just make sure you ahve a first aid kit and a cell phone handy.

Yet another suggestion was submitted by Jan Klippert:

“Just boil the water and put the coffee in the water. Jab in a flaming stick, which will settle the grounds. This works with varying success. Much of the flavor depends on the flavor of the flaming stick.”

Mmm…I can see a whole new trend developing at your neighborhood Starbucks: “Would you like flaming red alder or Douglas fir with your half-caf one percent caramel machiatto, sir?”

Tea might not be a bad choice.

Andrew Engelson is the former editor of Washington Trails Magazine.