The Camp Coffee Guide: How to Brew Great Coffee Outdoors

I'll be honest with you -- I'm a coffee snob. Not in the annoying way (okay, maybe a little), but in the way that means I refuse to start a single morning with bad coffee. And when I first started RVing in my Winnebago Solis, I thought good coffee meant sacrifice. Heavy equipment. Fussy pour-over setups. Beans ground to exact specifications.

I was wrong. Camp coffee can be extraordinary -- and it doesn't have to be complicated.

The Methods I've Actually Tested

AeroPress -- my daily driver.

French press -- for company. When I have visitors at camp or I'm at a gathering, I pull out my GSI Outdoors JavaPress. It makes four cups at once and people always seem impressed, even though it's literally just grounds, hot water, and a plunger. I use a coarse grind -- like sea salt -- and steep for exactly four minutes. Any longer and it gets bitter and harsh.

Percolator -- for nostalgia. I have a battered Coleman percolator that belonged to my dad. The coffee it makes is objectively not as good as the AeroPress. It's a little harsh, a little over-extracted. But on mornings when I'm camped somewhere that reminds me of family trips -- the Boundary Waters, the Smokies, anywhere with that particular mix of pine and campfire smell -- I use it anyway. Some flavors are about more than taste.

Cowboy coffee -- in a pinch. Grounds directly in a pot of boiling water. Let it settle. Pour carefully. It's gritty and imperfect and kind of wonderful. I made this at a primitive site in Big Bend National Park during a sunrise that turned the Chisos Mountains pink and gold, and honestly it might have been the best cup I've ever had. Context matters.

The Beans Make the Difference

I buy whole beans whenever possible -- Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, or whatever local roaster I can find on the road. In Asheville I found a place called PennyCup Coffee that absolutely wrecked me for all other beans for about a month. In Bozeman, Montana, it was Treeline Coffee. I keep a hand grinder -- the JavaPresse manual burr grinder -- in my RV. Yes, it takes 2-3 minutes of actual arm work. Yes, it's worth it.

Pre-ground coffee goes stale fast, especially in an RV where temperature fluctuates. If you must buy pre-ground, get small bags and use them within a week.

Water Temperature Matters More Than You Think

Boiling water burns coffee. Period. I take my kettle off the heat and wait about 30 seconds -- that gets me to roughly 200-205 degrees, which is the sweet spot. I used to be lazy about this and my coffee tasted harsh every time. One small change, massive improvement.

My Favorite Camp Mug

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I'm emotionally attached to my YETI Rambler 14oz mug. It keeps coffee hot for hours -- which matters when I get distracted photographing morning light and forget I made coffee 45 minutes ago. The handle is wide enough that I can wrap both hands around it on cold mornings. It's been dented and scratched and it's perfect.

The best camp coffee I ever had was at a free BLM site outside Moab, Utah -- AeroPress, Counter Culture beans, creek water filtered through my Sawyer -- with red rock cliffs catching the first light of morning. I sat in my camp chair and drank it slowly and didn't take a single photo. Some mornings are just for living.