I just became a camper. We made our first camping trip about a month ago and instead of trying to get everything just right the first time, I decided to focus on two things and spend my time and money on these two things primarily: sleeping well and having a good cup of coffee. If I could accomplish those two things, that is how I would judge if this trip was a success or failure. Here is what I found as I researched and how I finally decided to make my coffee. I have included tons of affiliate links to Amazon with lots of options and a range in prices. I hope this list is helpful as you plan to make campfire coffee on your next camping trip.
Read about what I love about camping here. And follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more ideas and pictures from our camping trips to come. Because there will definitely be more camping in the future.
Basic Essential to make campfire coffee
1-hot water
You have to have hot water and there are many many options. You can bring your kettle from the kitchen, buy a kettle for camping or get a percolator as I did. If you are doing a pour-over a gooseneck kettle is best. A Japanese kettle is nice for heating water for coffee but it also has a strainer that makes a nice pot of tea with loose tea leaves. Or just get a beautiful one like this yellow kettle to use at home or camping.
This set of camp dishes that nest and take up so little room is on my wishlist. They are a dedicated set that would live with your camp kitchen and be ready to go without a lot of thought. I love that a kettle is included in these kits.
I bought a percolator for a few reasons. It provided a way to heat water for coffee and for meals. The percolator was big enough for the omelets in a bag I planned for our breakfast one morning. I also thought that it might be nice to have a percolator if I need to make a pot of coffee for more people and not just my single pour-over.
There are a few ways to heat your pot of water. You can build a campfire every morning but I got a camp stove to heat my water each morning with a little less hassle. It was a lot more convenient and I also used it for other cooking too. Another bonus is that if we have a power outage, I can cook anything we need as long as I have propane. I have listed them in order of size and cost. The two-burner stove is what I bought, to have more options. I am just realizing that I titled this How To Make Campfire Coffee, but it is really camp stove coffee. We did have a campfire every day, just at the end of the day instead of the beginning.
2-coffee beans
If you know good coffee, you know that it starts with good beans. I grind my beans every morning before I make my pour-over and it makes all the difference! I have taken ground coffee with me on trips, but I really wanted good coffee, not passable coffee. So I found this manual coffee grinder and I am so happy with it. I keep this in my kitchen now so that I can travel with it and I can have it handy if the power goes out.
3- the right cup
You need the right cup at home, but when coffee is one of your only luxuries at a campsite, it is crucial! We all love the cute enamel cups. They are great for Instagram, but if you like to sip your coffee slowly, your coffee will be cold before you are done. The enamel ones are great for cocoa for the kids and these are some cute ones.
I want to keep my coffee hot, so I have this cup that I use when I am running my errands after I drop the kids off at school. It keeps my coffee super hot for hours. I also love this lid because it does not leak! You will also notice there is no handle on these so they fit in your cup holder, no problem!
I just bought two of these to put in my camp kitchen, because I could not resist. I have plans to cut some vinyl stickers and label one Mamma Bear and one Pappa Bear. There are lots of options and a wide price range.
Different ways to make campfire coffee
I love this series on Youtube. It is so informative and a great place to start! He talks about most of these options that I considered with lots of gear recommendations and specific measurements and times. You are going to love it if you are serious about your coffee.
Cowboy Coffee
This is where you put your grounds right in the water and strain them out as you pour each cup. If you are really hardcore, you can just let the grounds settle down to the bottom of the cup and sip from the top. I want to try this method but I will use a strainer for the grounds. I think it might taste great, but it seems a little messy.
Percolator coffee
This is how my grandmother made coffee every morning. She had a percolator just like this one that she used every day. When I need a pot of coffee for a bunch of people at our campsite this is how I will make it. I felt like this was a good purchase because it can be used in lots of ways.
French Press Coffee
I love the french press. This is the one I have an insulated one at home and I travel with it sometimes. Sure, I could have just taken it with me, but it is a little messy to clean and I did not have a sink to rinse all the grounds.
Pour-over coffee
I make a pour-over every morning. It is part of my morning ritual that you can read about here. I chose this method for camping because this silicone pour over thing takes no space at all! The clean up was quick and easy and I can travel with it a little easier than the french press. I also use these coffee filters every day so I already had them and they just got packed up, no fuss, no muss, no additional cost. These are the supplies I used to make campfire coffee.
I would love to hear from you about your great camping tips. I am so new to this and have tons to learn. So please leave them in the comments! You can also follow my Pinterest page where I am always adding new ideas for camping.
