Don't Forget These Essentials For Barista-Tier Coffee On Your Camping Trip

Whether you are camping for a few nights while hitting the local trails or spending some time on your yearly fishing trip, one thing that always warms the soul after a night of sleeping outdoors is a nice hot cup of coffee. On top of this, used coffee grounds are quite useful outside. Instead of letting them go to waste, you can try scattering them around your campsite to repel skunks, burning them to help keep mosquitoes away, or using coffee grounds as fishing bait. However, if you aren't a big fan of instant coffee, then making coffee while camping can be a bit of a frustrating experience because it somehow never tastes like it does at home. So, to find out whether or not there is a fool-proof way to make a great-tasting cup of coffee over the campfire, we spoke to coffee expert and ex-barista Matt Woodburn-Simmonds from Home Coffee Expert.

According to Woodburn-Simmonds, to make a delicious cup of coffee outdoors, there's no need for fancy equipment. "As long as you're careful with your timing and measurements, then you can make great camping coffee with a kettle and a tea strainer." Further explaining this method, he shared, "We're essentially replicating the French press immersion brewing method with equipment you're likely to have anyway." While he stated that the method is not 100% foolproof, he also noted, "[It] gives you a fairly wide margin for error though, which is usually as good as you can do when making coffee manually." So, how do you do it?

To get great-tasting coffee using only a kettle and tea strainer, Woodburn-Simmonds emphasizes the importance of measurements and ratios. "You want to have a coffee to water ratio of around 1:14 for making the coffee. So, you need to measure out around 150 ml (5 oz) of water for each scoop of coffee (2 tbsp or 11 g)." Once you have that measured out, the rest of the process is pretty simple — as long as you watch your time. Specifically, Woodburn-Simmonds recommends this next step. "Boil the water in your kettle and once it's boiling, turn off the stove and wait two minutes, [or] if it's really cold outside, then slightly shorter." Afterward, he suggests, "add your French press grind coffee, start your timer, and stir for 30 seconds. Once your timer hits four minutes, pour your coffee through the tea strainer into your mugs."

This method should get you a great-tasting coffee. That said, if you still want to take your campfire cup of joe up a notch, one of the easiest ways is to invest in a manual grinder. "Fresh-ground coffee is always going to taste better than pre-ground as the flavor oils start to disappear around 40 minutes after grinding," explains Woodburn-Simmonds.

If your goal with campfire coffee is not just making it taste great but also making it quickly, then you might need to upgrade your coffee equipment. "To make coffee faster, you need to add pressure," Woodburn-Simmonds explains. "So either using an AeroPress or a Moka Pot will allow you to brew coffee faster than immersion brewing." As it turns out, the flavor that comes from an AeroPress is an added bonus, too. "[It] will easily surpass the method above with no real equipment," shares Woodburn-Simmonds, adding, "Moka Pot coffee is a different beast and will be strong and bitter due to the boiling water used for extraction." If you are someone worried about pack weight, Woodburn-Simmonds also highlights, "Both require you to carry an extra piece of equipment, though neither is particularly big, the AeroPress is lighter than a Moka Pot."

If you want to go the extra mile and really elevate your outdoor coffee brewing experience, Woodburn-Simmonds recommends buying a premium grinder and trying out a travel French press or, specifically, the Wacaco Picopresso. "[It's] unforgiving but capable of pulling really amazing espresso shots for those with the patience." You can learn more about these two options by checking out his Wacaco Picopresso review or notes on the best traveling French press coffee mug. As for Woodburn-Simmonds, his personal go-to is the AeroPress because it is "light, easy to use, [and] makes amazing coffee."