Coffee on the "Trail" (or in camp!)
2018-08-22 Well, This morning I returned to our drip coffee maker which has been the norm for several years. Toward the end of my first cup it struck me, this stuff is weak! I used the same amount of grounds as usual and as I used for making the coffee below. I mentioned it to my wife and she agreed. Now what? Making cowboy coffee on a camping trip is one thing. Turning it into a routine at home is another. However, there is no question in my mind that this boiled cowboy coffee tastes better than my typical drip-made coffee. This technique seems similar to what a percolator does by recirculating the boiling water through the grounds multiple times. Some say too they make better coffee?
2018-08-20 Coffee is an essential ingredient for hiking and camping for most of us. And like you, I've tried various approaches. Honestly, the one I use most is instant coffee! I've tried French Press, percolating and pouring it through various things to simulate a drip coffee maker. But in most cases we end up just using instant as it is simple, not terrible and takes little time and fuel.
I've read about and watched a number of YouTube videos on how to make cowboy coffee. And most of the articles and videos spend most of their time dealing with how to keep the grounds out of your mouth! There are few things more disgusting than a mouth full of coffee grounds! Then the other day YouTube kept pestering me to watch a video titles,"Cowboy Coffee: How to Make the Best Cup of Coffee". The title alone was enough to keep me away for a few days but finally last night I watched it.
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I was so intrigued that I decided to make a cup using Mr. Robbins' technique. I only wanted to make one cup of coffee so I poured a coffee cup of water into my Walmart Stainless Steel cup, set it atop my little gas burner and gave it a try.
As Mr. Robbins says, I heated the water, not quite to boiling and poured in the grounds. Then I brought it to a rolling boil and let it boil for about three minutes which removes the acid according to Mr. Robbins.
Next I removed it from the burner and let it set for about half a minute before pouring in about an eighth cup of tap water and waiting another half minute or so.
Then the test, I carefully poured a cup of coffee. Guess what? No grounds! I didn't quite drain the "pot" as I could see there were grounds and sludge in the bottom but I had no problem getting my grounds free cup.
Mr. Robbins claims it will be the best cup of coffee you've ever had. Well, I'm not particularly a connoisseur of coffee but it seemed perfectly fine to me.
One thing I wondered is how fine grind coffee would work as what I used above was Folgers Classic Roast and is pretty course. So I tried a cup of Folgers Black Silk Decaf which is very finely ground. Both worked equally well.
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My Cowboy Coffee making setup!
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Conclusion? No special gear needed. Easier than messing with a percolator. Simpler than using a French Press. Less fiddly than pouring it through a screen or filter. The resulting coffee is at least as good as with the other techniques, in my humble opinion. And it tastes way better than the most expensive instant coffee I've tried. I may be a convert. Click below to watch the video for yourself.