Cup o' Joe

“Instant will work in a pinch, but what's your favorite method of brewing trail coffee? My SS camp percolator works great for (very) short trips, but I've also tried the little plastic & mesh thing that you fill with coffee and swirl in boiling water (melted the handle when I leaned it against the side of my cascade cup too long trying to get it to brew), and the plastic pour-thru filter (pour boiling water into the top and by the time it drips through it's too cool to drink).
My favorite so far is the South American method - put water and ground coffee into a pot or cup, boil for five minutes, let it settle, then drink carefully - absolutely great if you don't mind spitting out the occassional bit of grounds.
I know I'm not the only fiend out there - what's your favorite way to brew the good stuff?”

“basket style paper filter, add favorite ground coffee, 4 tablespoons, tie shut with a twist tie so that you have a kind of paper ball. Boil a pint of water, add ball of coffee, simmer for several minutes while pushing the ball with spoon occasionally to saturate ball. Then let sit for several minutes while pushing the ball getting all the flavor out. Then take ball out and drink coffee. Tastes great with rich flavor and no grounds.”

“I try to leave most of my snobbery at home when I backpack, so I just take the Folger's bags. After a couple of minutes of steeping in hot water, they're pretty strong and they deliver the necessary dose of caffeine.


Not that I think you're a snob, or anything, Lyndy.....lol....”

“Thats IT!!!! Report to the VITRIOL thread NOW!”

“Sorry, too much decaf coffee, lol!”

“I like to make a big pot of coffee at home the week before and distill it down to a thick black tar. Reconstitute in a 500 ml bag of sterile saline and run through an IV catheter! The saline bag fits nicely with my platypus and no more fuss with coffee grounds and spent filters!”

“When I car camp or want good coffee on a backpacking trip I take my cone and paper filters. Usually, however, I just take Folgers coffee bags any more.”

“I am admittedly a coffee snob and roast my own, usually a Colombian Bucaramanga / Kenya AA blend. For camping I'll grind enough for the trip beforehand, bring water to a boil, turn off heat, dump coffee in pot and steep for 5 minutes, heat again for a few seconds then pour into mug through one of those plastic w/gold mesh one cup filters.”

“Thanks for the tips! If I didn't have this vodka & tonic in hand, I'd be tempted to brew some up right now.
Lindy, the coffee bag idea is great - simple & obvious - No wonder I never thought of it!
bp & Phil - Folgers bags seem pretty low maintenance, but where's the snob appeal?
Bobo, I like the way you think, but where can I get an IV stand that will telescope and fit into my pack?
gearhound, I recently got my one cup filter, and thought about using it that way, but I haven't had a chance to do it yet. There is definitely a fuller flavor to the boiled cowboy coffee - I'll try it out next weekend.”

“Melitta one cup filter, wanna try the trick with the filter and no filter holder. Was that Nigal who does that?”