Camping Coffee: The Kit That Actually Works

Some of the best coffee you'll drink all year won't come from a cafe. It'll be camping coffee, made on a gas burner with the sun barely up and everyone else still in their swags.

Or it would, if most camping coffee wasn't so bad. Instant in a tin mug. Pre-ground coffee that's been open in the glovebox since Easter. Water boiled hard and poured straight on.

None of that is the outdoors' fault. Good camping coffee comes down to three things you sort out before you leave home. One brewer that suits the trip. Coffee weighed and sealed at home. Water just off the boil. Get those right and the campsite cup beats the one at home, because of where you're drinking it.

Camping Coffee Gear: Pick One Brewer

You don't need a kit bag full of gear. You need one brewer that matches how many people you're feeding. Every recipe below comes straight from our brew guide, so it's the same coffee you make at home.

Brewer	Best for	Recipe	Watch out for
AeroPress	One or two people, hikes, light packs	15 g, 200 mL at 93°C, medium grind, 1:30 steep then press	One cup at a time, and you need paper filters. Pack more than you think.
Plunger	A group around the fire	60 g to 1 L at 94°C, coarse grind, 4 min steep, 2 to 3 min settle	Glass breaks in a car. Take a steel one.
Moka pot	Strong coffee, or milk coffee with the UHT	Hot water to just below the valve, basket filled level, fine grind, medium-low heat	Camp burners run hot. Keep the flame low and pull it at the hiss.

For most trips, the AeroPress wins. It's plastic, it weighs next to nothing, and cleanup is a puck pushed into the rubbish bag. We've covered why we rate it in The AeroPress Is the Best $50 You'll Spend.

Feeding six people at breakfast? Take the plunger. One litre covers about four cups, and nobody stands around waiting their turn. The full method, including the settle that most people skip, is in The Plunger Is Underrated.

The moka pot is the one for people who can't face the day without something strong. Just remember it's built for low and slow, and a camp burner on full is anything but. The Moka Pot, Done Properly has the rest.

We'd leave the V60 at home. It needs a gooseneck kettle, a steady pour and no wind. A campsite gives you none of those.

Ground or Whole Bean for Camping?

Whole beans stay fresh longer. That's still true at a campsite. But a weekend away doesn't need a grinder in the car.

Here's the bit only a roaster will tell you. When you order ground from us, it's ground to order for the brewer you pick: espresso, plunger or AeroPress. It was whole beans until just before it went in the bag. Order it in the week before you leave and it'll be in great shape for a weekend, as long as it stays sealed.

For a week or longer, take whole beans and a hand grinder. A good hand grinder is small, needs no power, and turns 15 g into fresh grounds in under a minute of cranking. We compared a few in We Tested Grinders Under $500.

Either way, do the weighing at home. Measure out one dose per brew, 15 g for an AeroPress or 60 g for a full plunger, and seal each one in its own small jar or bag. Now there's no scale at camp, no scoop guessing in the dark, and every cup comes out the same. If you want to vacuum seal your doses for a longer trip, we explained how in How to Store Coffee So It Actually Stays Fresh.

Water and Heat Without a Thermometer

You don't need a thermometer out here. Our brew guide gives the same kettle wait for every method: about 30 seconds off the boil.

So bring the water to a boil on the burner, turn the flame off, and count to 30. That lands you close enough to the 93 to 94°C these recipes want. Pour straight off a rolling boil and your coffee comes out harsh and bitter.

Watch what water you use, too. If the campsite tap is tank or bore water and it tastes off on its own, it'll taste off in your coffee. Bring a bottle of drinking water from home just for the brew. We go deeper on water in Perth Tap Water Is Wrecking Your Coffee.

And when you're done, the grounds go in your rubbish bag. Not the creek, not the bush, not the fire pit. Pack them out with everything else.

The BOM Take

Camping coffee doesn't need fancy gear. It needs the same three things good coffee needs anywhere. Fresh beans, the right grind and hot water that isn't boiling. Sort them out at home and the campsite does the rest.

Keep reading: The AeroPress Is the Best $50 You'll Spend · The Plunger Is Underrated · How to Store Coffee · The Brew Guide

Want to taste what we're talking about? Check out our blends and we'll keep you sorted.

Written by Jos at Brother of Mine, specialty coffee roasters in Perth.