The Beautiful Cup

[Duane Hall]

Dang – I could barely read this without getting all excited.

[Scott Ireland]

and this is no exception.

After reading this, I went to our grocer to find the Republic of Tea strainer…instead, I found one from ForLife. Sort of in between the MSR and the RofT…cost $9, and weighs 3oz., and has a lid like the MSR

http://www.forlifedesign.com/infusers-strainers/433.html

[Jason Castellani]

Seriously, I never knew there were so many ways to make coffee. I honestly give it up on the trail, only because I usually keep myself so busy I forget. But, these ideas might get me to change my mind. Excellent read and drawings.

[John Nausieda]

Try this on for size ."Combat espresso, on the other hand, is brutal. The creamer, instant coffee and sugar are poured directly into one’s mouth and then washed down with water. In 2004, I survived on those things for two weeks with a Marine company during the battle for Falluja." From the NYT today .
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/weekinreview/05gilbertson.html?hpw

[Rick Dreher]

Heh, hilariously hard-core, John. :-) (Understandable, given the circumstances.)

My standard "ultimate dirtbag hiker breakfast" challenge is a ground-up NoDoz tablet sprinkled on a PopTart. Nobody's taken me up on it…yet.

Cheers,

Rick

[Mike Clelland]

Thanks for all the kind words about the article. This thing was written a while back, and my system now includes STARBUCKS VIA packets. Yes, these are instant, but they are actually quite good.

Expensive, but VERY light and simple. These are also good cold.

Presently – I use these solo camping. Two packets per cup. But – If I am with a pal, I would do COWBOY coffee in the titanium pot.

cheers,
Mike C!

[Will Webster]

[Travis Leanna]

There goes my sub-10lb base weight.

[joe newton]

…my comment about the abundance of UL down jacket reviews that seemed to become a weekly feature was in no way a sleight on the quality of reviews here on BPL (because on the whole they are very, very good). I just felt that they could have been tested and reviewed side-by-side in one article, freeing up editorial for more articles like this one by Mike (and his Groovybiotic article) and other highly informative, some may say legendary, technique articles such as the winter footwear trilogy, the one about winter soft-shell systems and the one about surviving persistent cold rain. These are the kinds of specific 'UL' articles you just can't find anywhere else. Just my 2 kroner.

Oh, and as for coffee, I like Ethiopian through a filter at home and use Via on the trail. I may put a sachet of sugar in the first one of the day. Forgive me Mike for I have sinned… ;-)

[Casey Bowden]

Mike,

What about coffee bean storage? How do you keep the ground beans as fresh as possible in the backcountry?

[joy robinson]

You are cracking me up!!! I just wish everyone was a coffee drinker so we can all share the deliciousness of it all!!

Not ultralight, but one luxury I afford myself are the single serving creamers (real stuff with no flavors added)that you can now purchase at the grocery store…real cream with my coffee outdoors and it could rain for days, I wouldnt care :)

[Benjamin Evans]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but sugar cubes are available in most grocery stores. These are great for just plopping a couple in a cup of java or tea. No need to measure out before your trip…just multiply cubes per cup by meals. I always throw a few extra in the ziplock for a late night brew or a particularly rainy day.

[Eugene Smith]

x2 packs of VIA bold + Hershey's Cocoa + 1 powdered creamer single = Backcountry satisfaction of the highest degree.

Excellent article Mike, I definitely needed this one and enjoyed it fully.

[Ken Bennett]

We've taken Via on our last couple of trips. Easy and fast, tastes pretty good.

For extra coffee goodness during the day, I like to eat chocolate covered espresso beans. A very small handful of those puppies gets me climbing hills like nobody's business. Love 'em.

[j lan]

For the purists –
Kyocera ceramic hand grinder at 8.4 ounces : http://www.orphanespresso.com/Kyocera-Ceramic-Coffee-Grinder-CM-45-CF_p_1993.html

In use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e0ABtsARso

[Alex H]

I finally tried Via on my last trip and was underwhelmed, especially at the price. I am going back to my Instant Italian Espresso (Ferraro brand), really not too bad.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Ditto on Via products. It is still instant, but light years ahead of the rest of the instant products.

Real coffee? A #2 Melita cone and filter that sits on top of my insulated mug and the resulting brew is the same as what I drink at home. This is fine for overnights and shorter multi-days. Cleanup is simply hauling the grounds and filters out with the rest of your garbage.

Cleaning screen type filters is a pain. Do you haul the wet grounds out or dispose of them in the backcountry?

[Scott Ireland]

Just noticed at Outdoor Daily that today (9/10/10) the special is two french press mugs for $29,99. If you roll that way, not a bad deal.

http://www.outdoordaily.com/

Scott

[j lan]

This last trip we dried out the grounds over the fire after using them before disposing, really cut down on weight and yuck factor.

[DARCY OLSEN]

One , I do not see any consideration of the relative weight of your various methods , so you might as well take fresh eggs for breakfast , they are good for at least 5 days ( do not keep too warm or to long or you might have to have fresh chicklet for dinner ). Point is that eggshells will sink grounds in cowboy coffee almost instantly . Also i think that if you double up on the VIA you will find that it is the very best hit for the gram . Lastly , comparing brewing methods to cafes in europe or any where else is totally bogus because here we do not have access to the same coffee .

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I now use Starbucks VIA packets and other brands like Taster's Choice have begun to make their coffee in the small packets.

I have also used the tea bag style coffee in years past. One AT thru hiker was so impressed (and coffee starved) that after sampling one of my Folger's tea bag coffees he made a detour to a nearby town to buy them. He caught up with us a day later – natch – and the next morning was happily brewing his Java.

At home I grind my coffee every morning. Now I fine grind my coffee before a backpack trip & put it in tea bags I get at a Whole Paycheck store. (Whole Foods) :)

[Jeffs Eleven]

The wife and I have 14 oz mugs and split 3 via packets. It is good enough for us. The taste is fine enough to drink black (usually we don't)

The weight is tiny, we don't have to worry about creamer, and it is very, very easy.

I think via is the best answer. YMMV

[Richard Colfack]

Ditto Starbucks Via Instant coffee packs. No extra equipment required, no messy coffee grounds to deal with, and a pretty darn good cup of joe.

[Patrick Starich]

Cowboy coffee is so "in tune" with the UL approach. No gadgets, no special pots, no mess. I recently saw it finished with a shot of cold water to help settle the grounds (i.e. cold water increases the density of the grounds causing them to sink). While it seemed to work well in a large 12-cup pot, I have haven't seen it done in a cup. I'm on board with scattering grounds to the soil when appropriate.

[Gustav Bostrom]

+1

Great article! I really appreciate the thoroughness. Must go out and try the "Turkish Cowboy". My Bosnian coffee grinder needs exercise.

[Author]

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