How are you making coffee?

another vote for via.
they weigh nothing, take up very little room and generate easily packed waste.
I personally think they taste pretty good for instant coffee.
Though I make mine based on 1 pack per 8oz of water, for a little bolder taste.
 
Like others have said, try the Starbucks Via. Available in different strengths and couldn't be simpler to prepare. I defy you to pick it out from regular ground coffee in a taste test.
 
For day hiking or off-pavement motorcycling, I use the Via packets and a homemade alcohol stove. For regular camping when I have a real stove and messware, I have a GSI Lexan French press.
 
Used to use Nescafe instant coffee, but recently picked up a box of Folgers coffee singles to try out. It's pretty much just coffee grounds in a teabag, but they work great. No need for any fancy equipment, just heat some water and toss it in.
coffee-folgers-classicroast-singles-regular-box.jpg
 
For backpacking...anytime I'm at a Hampton or Holiday Inn I snag their coffee pouches for the in-room coffee maker, along with the free packets of sugar and creamer and then seal them up together as a mini-MRE accessory pack when I get home. Then when I go backpacking I throw those into my pack. Free, free, free and they have all three- coffee, cream, and sugar. And as long as their sealed up the retain some residual freshness...can't be any worse than the instant or tea bag Folgers.

For car, truck or elk camp...that is a totally different ball game...I'm a coffee snob...and not like you think. No Starbucks for me. I have an antique coffee percolator and small antique box coffee grinder probably similar to what was used on a cattle drive. I get up extra early, unbank the fire, returning it back to life and then grind the beans of my choice, and put on a pot of real coffee the way God and Cowboy's meant for it to be drunk and wait for the aroma to wake up the rest of the tribe. Real coffee fresh on a campfire in a percolator is heaven! I'm the hero at family and elk camp!
 
owlogo that is what I love about it, it makes great coffee and adds almost no bulk and can nest/fit into anything. I sore mine in my cookware. I hope it works out for you.

Skrapmetal said:
I have one of those that just arrived. Unfortunately my GSI nesting cup is just slightly too wide so it doesn't work with it. I am replacing my steel cookware with titanium though, so I'm hoping to give it a shot with a Snow Peak 450.
Click to expand...

Skrapmetal, my cup is to big for it as well but it still works out great for me. Instead of centering the MugMate in the cup I offset it so that the wings hang up on the edge. I have also laid a spoon across the cup and supported it that way.
 
My wife and I pack the Folders Coffee Singles for our backpacking trips; they’re actually not too bad. We just received a massive care-box with a butt-load of Starbucks Via instant coffee packets…the Holiday Blend. So far, I’m quite impressed. I did get one of their flavored packets and about hurled; I don’t use sweetener or creamer and it was pretty heavy…I’ll stick with regular coffee. The Via packets would be more compact and easier than the Coffee Singles, but both get my thumbs up for back-country coffee in a very simple form.

ROCK6
 
another option is to mix a clif shot gel (the package says it has 100 mg of caffeine - equivalent to 2 cups of espresso) to whatever hot drink you like. i'm not a regular coffee drinker but enjoy the caffeine buzz from time to time so i mix it with my hot chocolate. i've also mixed it in plain hot water too and it tastes like coffee. you can take it as is too straight from the packet (it's popular with mountain bikers) for an instant boost.

clif_shot_gel.jpg
 
Folgers Singles for me. Anything's better than instant, and I don't want to carry any more weight or gear than necessary.
 
If I can find Folgers Black Silk in singles I'll be set... I really like that stuff.
 
I don't camp out much, but if I were going to, I'd take along a GSI Outdoors Mini-Espresso Maker. It's a steel, one-shot maker (thus, very compact) that you set on a relatively low fire. It's got the water reservoir, a small curved tube leading out of the top, and a small attached shelf to set your cup. One shot is all you get, but if you use good coffee and some of your bottled water, it'll be a good one.
1_cup_aluminum_mini_expresso
 
Boil water, add grounds, let steep for a few minutes. Pour through a coffee filter into your mug.
 
I've tried the GSI French Press and MSR Mugmate and finally went with the Maxwell House Individual coffee bags(Tea Bag style).
I still have a GSI Collapsible cone but I have not tried it yet, Instant coffee is not even a consideration for me.
 
A simple low tech and lightweight is the coffee sock, used in Spanish speaking places
I first got mine in NYC in a Puerto Ricoen grocery
It is muslin in a wire frame and a handle that you put in the coffee then put the sock into the pot of boiling water or milk

For backpacking I used a white 100% cotton sock (new and unworn for those with vivid imaginations)
It worked great as a simple filter bag to cook coffee


now a days...
Most of the coffee here is very fine ground for arabic/turkish/greek coffee
So you put the power in the cold water
Once it comes to a froth boil, it is ready
A couple of drops of water settle the grounds

the pot is a finjan, a conical open-top pot specially for coffee
Available everywhere in all sizes for a couple of dollars
they are seen everywhere, on picnics, building sites and Army maneuvers
Do not leave home without one!
 
Lots of great options here. I'm a total coffee snob and really appreciate a good cup of coffee - I guess living in the Pacific NW does that to you. Most of the time, I'm all about going as light as possible so I've been using Starbucks VIA instant, which is totally acceptable given it's weight. Normally, I would have to be pretty desperate to use instant, but VIA isn't bad.

On the trail, I'd also consider two options - one cheap and one expensive: MSR and others make a collapsible, reusable drip filter which sits on top of your mug. The more expensive option is a small, titanium French press made by Snowpeak. Both of those would be excellent I'm sure. I have a small, stove-top espresso maker ... it's OK, but not worth the weight. For car camping, kayaking etc. a Mocha pot is a great little coffee making device.
 
I like to take turkish coffee with me into the woods just boil some water and throw it in, if you like strong coffee this is the way to go. no muss no fuss tastes great and no need to let it settle down and repour it into another mug. turkish coffee is ground up super fine it doesn't dissolve the way instant coffee does but it is not gritty like cowboy coffee can be and it's cheap.
 
I second the mention of Folgers Singles. Just coffee in a teabag. Bought some today, tried it out, works great, tastes good, no equipment beyond a metal cup.


Thanks JHUSS for the info, I never knew they existed 'til u posted.
 
Coffee is important to me, but not an all consuming passion. I am quite comfortable with using a packet of instant, a packet of sugar, and a packet of powdered creamer.
I like a single cup when I roll out of the tent or sleeping bag.
 
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