What's the Scoop on Coffee?

Pack 10-days worth?  Buy enroute?  Etc.

The last write-up I found in here was a decade ago …  https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/13731/page/2/

There is an advisors meeting in the evening on your first day at base camp.  In the past they always had single serve packets of coffee and fixins on the side table and encourage you to take what you need for the trek

Staffed camps also have “advisor coffee” in the evening – they kick the kids of the porch during program time and have coffee and (usually) cookies available for the advisors.  It is fun to sit around and talk to other advisors.

All of that said – if you are particular about your coffee then definitely take your own.

I haven’t been there yet, but next summer when we go, my plan is to carry an ultralight gas canister stove, titanium mug and instant coffee for the morning.

One of our other adults is more of an addict than I am, so we’ll be sharing. I just need to start trying some varieties.

On our car camping activities, I use a Jetboil and a French press.  Packing out the mess and the weight is not worth it to me for backpacking.

I think Starbuck’s Via and Medaglio d’Oro are two of the better tasting brands of instant coffee. Other folks prefer other brands. Mind you, I’m not much of a coffee snob, but I do like something with a fairly rich taste.

Check out Cafe Bustelo Instant Espresso.  Target usually carries the packets ~$1 for 6 packets.

I like my coffee like I like my women.

Cold and bitter.

“I like my women like I like my Scotch…light brown and 20 years old” – Sterling Archer

During my 2017 trip, the other adult and I got up 30 minutes before the boys.  We made our coffee and were finishing up when the boys started getting up and packing.  We each took 2 Starbucks via’s a day, plus a Starbucks powdered latte mix.  Split it between the two cups.  It was worth the weight.

During my 2017 trip, the other adult and I got up 30 minutes before the boys.  We made our coffee and were finishing up when the boys started getting up and packing.

Was this in the Oops bag and the 2 of you lowered it before the crew was up?

@Brad – We generally kept our coffee in the Oops bag and dropped it first thing…

@thoover1968 I think the other adult(s) and I will likely go with your method. I’ve often said a properly caffeinated scoutmaster is the number 1 safety item in scouting. :)

Having a cup of joe before the scouts are up sounds like a good idea. I’ve also said I look so peaceful when my kids are sleeping.

Several month before my trip I broke my addiction to caffeine so it would not be a problem.  I did not want to carry extra gear for my own coffee making and I decided getting extra sleep was more important to me.

For our Philmont trek in 2016, I used Starbucks Via, sometimes turned into PhilMocha.. I brought a personal canister stove (BRS3000) and heated water in a titanium mug – too much work and time involved to get out the white gas monster just for me..  Wake up, fire up the stove on low, take down my tent (..while boys are collecting the bear bag..). About the time the tent is down, water is hot enough and bear bag is in camp – then I’m sipping coffee while buttoning up and getting ready to go.  Once or twice I even enjoyed a steaming mug of joe along the first mile of trail.

The one 5 AM morning we had (heading up Baldy) I made cold Via in a Nalgene…  Not going to do that again unless I am even more desperate. Might find a couple no-doz caffiene pills next time for those mornings.

Not sure what I’ll do this year.  Probably just repeat the same – I love excellent coffee but Via was good enough for me for 10 days.  Of course, I need to tinker, so I’m planning to experiment with a <1oz pour-over setup on some practice hikes.

What do you use on your regular backpacks?

I found the best staff coffee at Fish Camp since they used a french press. I personally found the coffee undrinkable at many of the other camps since they were using percolators and burning the coffee.

I take my coffee with milk, no sugar. I carried a pound of Peets Major Dickasons Blend and 4 oz of Nido Instant Milk. I used an MSR gold coffee filter, an MSR Titan 0.85 liter pot, and one of the group stoves (which I was carrying as common gear) to make one or two cups of drip filtered coffee every morning.

On my more leisurely personaly backpacking trips, I use the same set up to make cowboy coffee and use the MSR filter to separate out the coffee grains upon serving.

My other luxury items were a second sleeping pad and a pillow, the latter which doubled as a sit pad.

I’m a pour over filter guy with French Roast on weekend trips, but went with Via at Philmont. I brought a Snow Peak 700 with foil cover to boil the water for me and the other coffee drinker. Also a GSI backpacker mug.

Going back in 2021. Could ditch the mug and add a reflectix cozy to the 700 to save 3oz, but that’s kinda going “stupid light.”

Oh, yeah…

Sport Beans or gummies with caffeine was a great afternoon booster and very easy!

Starbucks Via.  Mornings were pretty hectic for us, so simple and quick was important. I also didn’t want to deal with the grounds.

I took a Soto Amicus stove and a titanium mug.

Via packets are nice.  You will usually have a bit of time in the morning while scouts are packing up to make a cup.  I had tea, 1 sweetener packet in the mornings.  Ti cup and a small BSR stove and one of the small canisters of gas. All fit into one package.  It was great.

Hey the via vanilla latte at 31 grams has 130 calories so it beats the 100 calories per ounce criteria. Also like 4 grams protein, 3.5 grams fat, 21 grams carbs. Pretty much a perfect food!  ;)

From my 2019 trip, we were given the “Base Camp advisors meeting/supply session” for basic instant coffee. I think it was Folgers and/or Nescafe. Some sort of tea bags were on the table as well. The three advisors brought our own daily coffee packets. We had two scouts that had parental “coffee permission” who brought a couple of packets each.

My fellow advisors and found by day 3, some of the Scouts wanted hot water in the morning for their cider and cocoa packets, so we had two wake-up calls – the hot water crowd, and the rest 5 minutes later. People moved their mugs from the pile by the sump-pipe to the stove and went back to packing gear. Designated boiler-man poured and stirred and people retrieved mugs when they were “ready”.

We used two heat-exchanger pots on two remote-canister stoves, so boiling 2 liters of water only took few minutes of time. Pots and burners cool off very fast on big rocks. Mugs were stomach-sumped and stowed. Inevitably we were still waiting for our slowest Scout each morning.

Really work on cutting out creamer and sugar. The potential for messy spills and more trash is not worth it in my opinion. Also, sugar and creamer make sticky, extra-smellable mugs, and required multiple attempts to sump clean. Same for the mugs used for cocoa.  The mini-bears preferred them…

Years ago I learned to drink black coffee on “regular” camping trips because sugar and creamer were buried in the food box  (or not there at all).

For the last few years, when weight and convenience has been paramount, I’ve been packing Via Italian Roast. I take my coffee black so inferior taste cannot be camouflaged with cream and sugar.  At $1 per packet, 2 required for the proper amount of coffee, and quickly tiring of the cost, I decided to try both of the alternatives most often referenced on BPL…Mt Hagen and Medaglia D’Oro.

Mt Hagen:  Very good flavor but much too smooth.  I *like* a certain amount of bitterness in my coffee.  This just didn’t cut it.

Medaglia D’Oro: Impressive creama for “instant espresso”, nice bitterness, but not really the flavor I’m looking for.

Then I had a brilliant (obvious) idea and mixed them 50/50.  I have found my Via replacement, am saving quite a bit of money and reducing waste.  Win win win.

I like my coffee like I like my women.

Cold and bitter.

Starbucks also sells packets for iced coffee.  So if you want a boost during the day, that’s an option.

We used Via packets last year – each advisor brought their preferred roast. I find it works fine with cold water if you won’t have time to heat water.