I've been teaching outdoor cooking for the past several years to Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leaders in the Atlanta area - finally decided to share some of my thoughts and lessons. Hope you enjoy!

Camp Coffee lessons from a Scoutmaster



I have been waiting for this product for 10 years. Coleman looks like it has finally done the propane coffee pot right - you can even buy extra steel carafes so as you brew 10 cups at a time, you can start on the next pot while people are serving the first. It looks durable and well made, I will definitely give it a try.

Coleman Portable Propane Coffeemaker with Stainless Steel Carafe

Of course, if you have a propane stove in your camp kitchen, do you really need a new propane device just for coffee? Perhaps. If your stove has breakfast cooking....it might be worth the investment. Either way - I was brewing camp coffee on a recent trip and one of the leaders came up to me and said that this was the first cup of coffee he has had while camping that didn't have coffee grounds in it. How did I do it? What was my magic secret?

I have heard some great secrets over the years how to keep coffee grinds out of your camp coffee. One I never tried is to crack an egg over the grounds, but given health and safety I would recommend it. My favorite story was the Scoutmaster who kept a pair of his wife's nylons in his camping gear to use as an impromptu coffee filter. Lightweight, reusable, and washable. Yes, sounds like a perfectly reasonable excuse why one might carry around a pair of nylons in their camping year. Yeah....I won't comment, I won't speculate. Nope, not me.


Anyway - how did I keep coffee grinds out of the coffee? Exceedingly simple: filter packs. 2-3 of these in a standard steel camping coffee pot and you have perfectly brewed coffee with no grounds.

But suppose plain old coffee just isn't good enough for you. That's right, you are a coffee snob. You don't want coffee, you want expresso (or espresso) or cappuccino or your favorite press. Well, OK, Mr. Coffee Snob - Adventure Journal has put together what they consider the Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Coffee

Yes, I will be sure to bring a set of those little tiny espresso cups on my next camping trip, as you can see in the picture, they match the bed of the pick up truck perfectly.