A Coffee Lovers Guide to Brewing Coffee Outdoors

Brewing coffee outdoors

Written by one of our troop, this is a wonderful insight to brewing our speciality coffee outdoors. Read on to find out more.

Cup of Joe, Brew, or even Bean Juice! Whatever you call your chosen cup of coffee it’s the one thing many people miss when they are travelling – Good Coffee.

If you are backpacking through the Andes on your gap year, travelling London to Cape Town overland or just grabbing a quick weekend city break fear not because we’ve got you covered! Brewing coffee outdoors doesn’t have to be cumbersome.

Let me introduce myself. I’m the guy who gets itchy feet if I stay in one place too long. I’ve travelled much of Europe, spent time in Central Asia and even made a quick visit to the Middle East since my teens. I’ve lived out of a back pack and now I do my travelling in my trusty Land Rover Defender ‘Nero’.

I’d love to say that there is only one way to make coffee outdoors if you are travelling light, but the options for brewing are numerous, all with their individual benefits and drawbacks. I’ll save you some trouble and narrow down your options for the Holy Grail of proper coffee lite.

The Basics

Let’s start with the basics – to make coffee we need freshly ground, roasted beans and hot water. ‘Easy’ you say, but if you have poorly roasted or poor quality beans you will never make that ever satisfying brown elixir. That’s where Two Chimps Coffee come in. They have a selection of well thought out roasts to suit any palette or even time of day and they can grind it for your preferred brew method. Winner!

So that’s the beans sorted, “what about hot water?” you cry. Well, this is absolutely dependant on your mode of travel and the area you are travelling in. If you are staying at a hotel or B&B hot water is readily available. If you are out in the sticks camping or even staying at a hostel you are going to need a heat source.

My ‘go to’ options are firstly a Jetboil. Gas powered, compact, easy to use and as the name suggests – Super quick. This can also double as a French Press with the right accessory. If I’m travelling super light and in an area where I can grab fuel, then a Solo Stove is my second option of choice. Using anything from dry leaves to alcohol gel I can get a boil on in no time. The only drawback to the Solo Stove is it needs a separate receptacle for the water.

Brewing up

We’ve got beans. We’ve got water. All that is left to do is brew up. You could carry a Moka pot, a pour-over kit or you could even go hardcore and stump for Cowboy coffee. For me, when I’m away from home there is only one option. The Aerobie AeroPress. This small, light, easy to use device produces an excellent cup of coffee! Recommended by Baristas the world over, this diminutive plastic cylinder is a coffee lovers saviour. It’s practically unbreakable plastic construction makes the Aeropress travel safe and its method of operation means it practically cleans itself, saving water and time.

There is nothing greater than seeing new places and experiencing new things. It’s even better with a steaming hot mug of Two Chimps coffee.

Catch you on the trail. I’ll be the one with the coffee on!

Ready for more things coffee? See you over on our coffee lovers blog.

I want an Aeropress!