# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving >  Camp Coffee - What is your secret

## OhioGrizzLapp

*While I was hanging around outside today doing various tasks, I decided to make some coffee on the camp fire in the yard. Here is my steadfast time honored formula.....* 

*1 - Well seasoned enamal ware coffee pot (being well seasoned is very important)
12 - Cups cold water
1/3 - Cup course ground coffee - I use Maxwell House Columbian
1 hardboiled egg OR the empty shell from an egg (do not use raw egg)
1/3 cup of cold water*

* Place the 12 cups cold water in pot

Place pot on active fire on a grill allowing the flames to lick the bottom and sides of the pot.

Pour 1/3 cup of coffee directly into water in the pot

Allow to actual fast rolling boil - 18 minutes or so to get it there, depends on your fire... allow to boil for 5 minutes 

Take coffee pot off the direct flame and allow to simmer over light coals

Place hard boiled egg or egg shells directly into the coffee water, you will see the coffee grounds start to settle. 

Now pour the 1/3 cup of cold water into the pot....the grounds will now fully settle. 

Pour your coffee and enjoy........ keep the pot simmering on the fire, add a cup of cold water for each cup of coffee you remove.* 

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*The Coffee pot is always on here at our place... come on by and say hello and chit chat for a bit........there is a hand made rocker by the fire for you...... if you look by the fire, there are cinnamon twists on a stick baking... warm and very cinnomony...*..

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## Justin Case

Thats easy ,   (not as much fun but it sure is good !)

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## OhioGrizzLapp

I have used those in a pinch... just not the same as chewing grounds LOLOL A lil pinch of Baileys Irish Cream if it is a nippy morning out is always an added pleasure  :Smile:

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## crashdive123

I use an old percolator pot.

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## canid

cowboy mud: my secret is low heat; never above a simmer and absolutely never boil. not only does it get really nasty, but some of the oils in coffee which are released at higher temps are not good for you. I stir if nessecary, but just allow to slowly and gently heat untill all the grounds sink.

persolators are great, but the ones sold specifically for camping are either expensive, or have an almost universal tendency to let grounds into the coffee.

french press: definitely the tastiest camp option, but they are wastefull of grounds, since the extraction efficiency is low.

otherwise: instant. it never tastes good to begin with, so you can't  make it wrong. goes good with a packet of carnation instant breakfrast  or swiss mist.

my 2¢.

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## OhioGrizzLapp

I have never figured out my french press, I just use the metal mug for a huge coffe mug....I have all the parts, just never took the time to work it. I got it as a gift at a time anything French was taboo...so I took it apart and just use the mug.

LOL I like those oils that are BAD for me... what good is something so good of smell and taste unless it does something bad to you.......I like the boil, it gets rid of any nutty taste and makes for a really strong caffine wise coffee..... 

Percs are good, I just usually burn em up because I use em so much, even the expensive cabelas one, they replaced mine twice (wood handle would burn, even though it was the camp fire model) and then the third time I just went back to my enamal ware.....,

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## Rick

I'm a folgers single kind of guy, too. My wife doesn't drink coffee so hot water makes her tea and my coffee.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> Thats easy ,   (not as much fun but it sure is good !)
> 
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I love those things!

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## randyt

I've been drinking a instant called kava. It's actually pretty good, I drink a cup in the morning and then when I get in town and my cardiologist aka wife isn't looking I get some real stuff from the gas station.

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## canid

not the good tasting, good smelling oils; the ones that come out at the higher temps, give you nasty heartburn and taste like battery acid. the tasty ones come out at the medium temps.

unless you like battery acid. just tastes like burnt coffee to me.

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## BENESSE

Attachment 6487This is the cat's meow, if you like strong coffee with a lot of flavor. Comes in individual packets, I just add sugar and fat free powdered milk.

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## your_comforting_company

I take my normal "dose" of coffee, placed in a regular filter, and either use a bread twist-tie, or thread (no, not sinew this time) to make a little pouch of it. Bring water to a simmer in whatever container you are using (bubbles start forming on bottom), toss in coffee pack and wait till it's as strong as you like it.
I find that the individual packs are too expensive compared to buying regular coffee in the big can like OGL posted up top.

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## pete lynch

Folger Singles here, too. Don't mind a cup of instant, either.
Or some Lipton green tea.

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## OhioGrizzLapp

I have honestly never, ever had heart burn issues and never from drinking my camp coffee....it just tatses strong, not burnt at all....my formula came from an old Bradford Angiers backwoods basics book and he stole it from a old gold miner log he had found..... eh nobody else wants to drink it, I'll take it.....LOLOL

B... that Starbucks Italian roast is good, Caribou coffee also has one kind of like it.... I love a strong coffee, the USA is so used to a weak and low flavor coffee....when I was in the mideast, man, now that is some coffee. I think they call it Turkish roast..... but I also like espresso and coffee shots....if you can stand a spoon up right in it, I am good with that. 

That is why there are so many coffee's, we are all individuals. It is also why I made the post....I like to see what people like.... no right or wrong answer.....

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## Justin Case

I seen a show on tv about coffee,,,  they said Percolated was absolutely the worst coffee you could make taste wise,,

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## preachtheWORD

A real man just boils his coffee in his cup and strains out the grounds through his teeth!  Then he chews up the grounds that get through.

As a side note, I have really missed posting on here.  I took a new job back in November that demands much more of my time.  It's a bigger church in a bigger town (my hometown, actually).  The Lord is blessing the ministry here, but it doesn't leave much time for WSF.

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## Rick

Welcome home, again. Congrats on the "promotion" and getting back home.

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## gryffynklm

For me it depends on how much coffee I'm making. Singles for just me and my wife. If we are at a rendezvous we pre make coffee packs using two coffee filters staples together around the edges and filled coffee pre measured for 12 cups. I'm usually up at light o'clock and get a fire going. I usually get the pot to just boil and then simmer. Timing?? well when it smells good its done. I have done the egg trick and added cold water to settle the grounds.

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## grrlscout

If I'm car camping, I use Starbucks in a French press. 

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Backpacking, those Folgers tea bag thingies (in the pic, they are tucked under the egg carrier), or Starbucks Via.

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Though I have been known to tote the French press backpacking as well. I've been meaning to try one of those $10 coffee baskets that go in your Nalgene. Now that would be multitasking!

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Could probably even cold brew it overnight, and heat it up the next morning.

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## BENESSE

Now that's a cool gadget, GS. Haven't seen it before. Where would you get one?

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## grrlscout

That particular one is a GSI Outdoors H2jO! Coffee Filter. I have seen it at REI, among other camping supply places:

http://www.rei.com/product/750397

 and on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/GSI-73020-Outd.../dp/B000PGPGQC

I think what would be cool, and compact, would be to use that, with a stainless steel bottle:

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http://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Guyot-.../dp/B001O7DRXA

and the cup that fits around the bottle:

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http://www.amazon.com/Olicamp-Space-...ef=pd_sbs_sg_7

I see there's also a filter that goes straight into your mug. Hmm:

http://www.rei.com/product/726094

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## Old GI

A crusty, crotchety, old CW4 once told me (and showed me) a long time ago that the secret is a clean sock.  You can figure it out.

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## crashdive123

> I seen a show on tv about coffee,,,  they said Percolated was absolutely the worst coffee you could make taste wise,,


I believe they were wrong.  Maybe they didn't know how to use it properly?  People at the Jamborees didn't seem to mind percolated coffee.

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## Rick

I,I,I,I,I sssssspent the afternoon tttttttesting different bbbbblends of cccccoffee and mmmmakers. I did, I did, I did. Ccccccolumbian 8 O'clock is the bbbbbbest bbbby ffffffar. I,I,I,I have a sssssslight cccccase of the jjjjjjitters after all that ccccccoffee.

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## Justin Case

> I believe they were wrong.  Maybe they didn't know how to use it properly?  People at the Jamborees didn't seem to mind percolated coffee.


I think it was on Modern Marvels,,   anyway,,  here is what "The Coffee Detective" says,,LOL   
http://www.coffeedetective.com/drip-...h-is-best.html

But WAIT,,  Theres More !

http://www.coffeedetective.com/coffee-percolator.html

 :Smile:

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## Justin Case

Just came across this in my email ,  Everything you ever wanted to know,,,http://lifehacker.com/?utm_source=Li...-coffee-making

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

I percolate mine at camp. We call it Duck Blind coffee. If your spoon won't stand in it, it ain't done.

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## OhioGrizzLapp

The stuff that used to come in C-Rats and LRRP meals, the freeze dried stuff.... we just use to open the pack, dump it in our mouth and drank some canteen water to swish it down. That and that dang coffee candy carmel chews, I would trade all my fruit away for em.....

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## OhioGrizzLapp

Ok... this is my coffee press from Caribou Coffee Company, can someone educate me on its use ??? 

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## PNW

Unless it is different than others I have used, [ the Caribou ], ground coffee is put in the bottom, boiling water poured in, the plunger is fitted to the top, when it is as strong as you like it, slowly push the plunger down to the bottom. This traps the grounds at the bottom and you then pour off the cleared coffee.  Makes good coffee, but you still have to clean the slurpy grounds from cup. Ugh.

We usually boil coffee and water. When it is as strong as we like, we pour our coffee into cups; pouring the coffee through a tea strainer. We use a mesh ball that hinges in the middle, and can be locked closed. We collect the grounds in the tea strainer and reuse them once or twice. This is the ultra cheap method, reheating the grounds until there is no taste left. Warning: this is not coffee purist coffee. It is ...we may run out of coffee and need to be careful with what we have, kind of coffee.

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## Winter

Hmm, I have a press like in the last post. It's OK.

I eat coffee grounds with my coffee as has been done since my people have known coffee. It's yummy. Coffee works like pepper on most meat.

Ever have red eye gravy? Pork blood and fat mixed with coffee grounds?

I like my Mr Coffee, but in any woods/bush deal, coffee is great any way you do it.

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## pete lynch

> I,I,I,I,I sssssspent the afternoon tttttttesting different bbbbblends of cccccoffee and mmmmakers. I did, I did, I did. Ccccccolumbian 8 O'clock is the bbbbbbest bbbby ffffffar. I,I,I,I have a sssssslight cccccase of the jjjjjjitters after all that ccccccoffee.


I hope you mean Columbian 8 O'clock _whole bean_. I love the freshly ground coffee.
I actually switched from Columbian to French Roast as the former comes in 11 oz. bags now and the latter is still 12 oz. I can't tell the difference in taste. Maybe being a cheapskate dulls the taste buds?  :Smile:

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## OhioGrizzLapp

I miss our 8 o clock grinder in the store, they took it out due to people leaving beans all over the floor and causing safety issues. Only place I can get beans ground near me is a Starbucks and personally, I hate taking out a loan each time I buy coffee beans there. 

I have tried some of the free trade coffees but again, they are very high priced for what it is. Sometimes for a real treat I will break out some of the free trade Kona Koast Dark Roast (Kona Coast) coffee from Hawaii.....very expensive, but very good. 

I think I tried every coffee on the store shelf and have settled on that Maxwell house breakfast blend for both home and camp. I found it on sale for $3.29ea  at Costco for that big blue container (2lb 2oz ea) and I bought 3 cases worth, that should last me a few weeks or so.  

The best coffee from a coffee chain I have ever had is from Caribou Coffee, their Arabica Bean dark roast, but at $5.35 a freakin cup, I rarely get any of it.  

If I have to use instant, I prefer Tasters Choice brand if that is not avail, then Nescafe.

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## OhioGrizzLapp

Ok, just tried the Caribou coffee press......I was not sure how much coffee to use so I measured the water and added coffee per the coffee container instructions. A lot of goofing around for a dang cup of coffee though, the coffee was not bad, on a scale from 1-10, I'd say it was a 6.5. The clean up was a lil more than I thought it was going to be, those lil grounds get everywhere and look like ants. 

I do think however, I will just use the mug as a mug and not as a press, nice to know it is there if I need it though.

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## Don

I've never messed with perked coffe and until recently instant never appealed to me. However, I did discover a way to make instant better tasting. Mix sugar(amount you like) a rounded teaspoon of instant coffee and milk. Stir until it forms a syrup then add water. Can't explain why but it tastes much better done in this order.

Don

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