Coffee & Camping
Two real joys in my life are camping and of course coffee, and for me the two, along with a roaring fire, go hand in hand. I love the simplicity of camping, ideally wild camping, which I do a lot in Scotland and usually make my way there by bike. It can be a slow process when the bike is fully laden with tent, sleeping bag, fold-up fire pit and, of course, the essential coffee gear - but it's always worth it.
For me one of the joys of camping is getting there under your own steam, finding a place to pitch your tent, getting it sorted and getting that all important fire up and running. Then it's time to have a couple of beers whilst staring into the flames and enjoying the surroundings.
After a (hopefully) relaxing sleep the first, and most enjoyable, task of the day is getting the coffee on the go. I think that's what I like most about camping - there really isn't too much to do, getting wood for the fire, making a coffee and getting the food on are the main events. It's simplicity itself and, to be honest, that's what I strive for - a much simpler way of life.
And so to the coffee - this is definitely a bit of a ritual when camping. I'll make sure that I've got some freshly roasted beans with me in an air tight container - you have no idea the disappointment you'll feel when the highlight of your morning is ruined when you discover your bag of Kenyan AA Blue Mountain is a soggy mess in your panniers - first world problem, I know, but yep it made me grumpy. So airtight container it is.
So here is my camping coffee ritual. I recommend it.
Get up and get the fire on. Luckily in Scotland regardless of the time of year a fire is usually required, especially first thing in the morning. Then I'll fill a pot with water and set it on my little camping stove - I've got a great one that only cost about £15 and folds up to about the size of two packs of cards. Whilst that's doing its thing I'll grind the beans, as you've got plenty time on your hands spending a couple of minutes grinding the beans is quite therapeutic, especially if you're bleary eyed and warming up by the fire. My go to for camping is usually my Clever Dripper, it's a bit bulky but I put my coffee and filters in it so in total it doesn't take up too much room. I like this as there's usually two of us and the Clever makes enough for two, also you don't need to slowly pour like you would a V60 so it just seems to make life easier and the coffee is always really good. So when the water is done pour into the Clever, wait about 3 minutes and then we have a perfect coffee no matter where we are or what the weather is like. Then I'll get the breakfast on the go, usually a sort of baked eggs thing. I'll make a sugo the night before we go, then heat that in the pan, crack in a few eggs over and let it cook away. Whilst that's happening more often than not the we will start making another coffee to have with breakfast - well why not?
So yep that's it. The reason I wrote this is that I get so much enjoyment from this part of my camping experience it just wouldn't be the same to wake up to a Nescafé or the like. So if you've not done the fresh coffee thing when you're on your travels, I'd urge you to give it a go - it really is simple and inexpensive to get all you need. Trust me you'll love that morning ritual.
To have a look at our range of equipment to get your coffee camping ritual started. Click here.