Real Coffee Makers.
You can’t beat real coffee in the morning. Nothing surprises wild camping companions than the smell of a real cup of coffee wafting from your tent. You can choose to share, but it depends how generous they were with the single malt last night. If you’re in a bothy, you may well be lynched. Start making a bacon bap as well and, well, it was nice knowing you.
If you don’t take the all in one coffees then milk is a problem, and I absolutely loathe coffee whitener or those pots of white emulsion paint that are handed out in second rate cafes (you know who you are!) The only option is powdered milk, mixed with water in a small bottle and used as real milk. Not as good as the real thing, but better than whitener. Or just take your coffee black.
Instant Sachets.
These are convenient, but that’s about it. If you’re quite happy supping your Mellow Birds and Nescafe on a day to day basis, then these do the job. Kenco and Nescafe do an all in one sachet with milk and, if you must, sugar. They are ok, but not great. If you’re used to proper coffee then these just won’t cut it. Similar sachets of cappuccino and mocha are much better, probably as they’re sweeter and are a better bet. Or, go for just your fave instant in a tube. The Nescafe and Kenco speciality coffees (Kenyan, Colombian etc) are sometimes available in single serving sachets and do make a decent coffee.
Envy factor: 0/5
Coffee Bags.
Plenty of options here if you search your shop shelves, but the ones I’ve tried are just not strong enough! I’ll admit that I’m probably not patient enough with them, but that I’m also a hardcore coffee addict, so this stuff is just too mild for me! If you find stronger ones, feel free to comment below! Unless you brew this under other’s noses, they probably won’t even notice!
Envy factor: 1/5
In Cup Cafetiere/Filter
This is ideal if you’ve already got one of the cups that take one. If not, then it works out as an expensive option. MSR do one of these and definitely an option if you’ve got an MSR mug. Can be a messy option if you’re not careful, and you’ll probably need something to pour the coffee into.
Envy factor: 3/5
Cowboy coffee. -
Not tried this one myself, and neither do i fancy on the hill unless I’ve a serious need for a laxative. That said, the sheer hard nut factor of whacking the coffee and the water into the pot and just boiling it up is still a win as far as I’m concerned! All you need is your pot and the coffee, absolutely beautiful in its simplicity. Apparently, the grounds sink and the coffee should be fine if you don’t drink all the way to the bottom. Make a great big pot of this between friends, and experience your very own version of Russian roulette… Click here for an article all about making cowboy coffee.
Envy factor: 3/5
Coffee Filter (Bodum Belgique):
This filter simply sits on top of a tin/titanium mug and is just a standard cup top filter with the handle cut off. You can fit enough coffee into the device to last a couple of days, so it takes up little extra space. The quality of coffee produced is outstanding, but it does take a few minutes to filter through. Mine is so good that it’s been commandeered for work. You can get this for around £10, including the glass mug!
There’s an even lighter filter available, GSI Java Drip, which weighs in at a not even there 14g and around ten quid on EBay, has to be a no brainer. The main concern would be that it’s fabric and could be difficult to clean, but the weight and price make it an ideal option.
You can also buy disposable filters that do a single coffee, but I find there’s not enough coffee in them for my liking as they’re literally designed to do one ‘cup’ as opposed to mug. Neither am I a fan of something being disposable when there’s a perfectly good alternative.
Envy factor: 3/5
Espresso Maker:
You can take your normal, stove top espresso maker if you wanted, and it still wouldn’t be much more than 500g. Heavy, but worth it! Alternatively, you can get hold of a camping version by Esbit (around £40) which weighs in at 300g, including a solid fuel stove. GSI do an Espresso set for about £30. There’s a review to follow!
Envy factor: 4/5
The Aeropress – Pretty cheaper at around £20 upwards (if you shop around!), but needs mini filters to operate and appears to be lightweight, but there’s absolutely no information available on the weight!! It is raved about online, but some say it uses a lot more coffee than usual.
Envy factor: 5/5 Who Loves ya Baby!
And finally! The Handpresso –This is an impressive gadget, but expensive at over £80 and heavy at nearly 500g. You also need to buy specially made pods (which do have the up side of making the clean up a lot easier) or buy the Domepod version that takes any coffee but provide no weight. That said, this produces a superb cup of coffee and you’ll certainly turn heads. Check the video below to see how it works.
Envy factor: 5/5
[...] drooling over this on the Real Coffee Makers article a few months back, we’ve been waiting to get our greedy little mitts on this piece of [...]