I love drinking a hot cup of coffee when I wake up while camping. And I’ve had a bunch of friends ask me how to make coffee camping.
The first time someone asked me this I stared at them with a dumbfounded expression on my face. Le duh. You grind your beans at home and bring your French press.
It’s simple.
At least it seemed simple to me.
I didn’t realize that there were so many camping coffee options out there. I’m sharing with you my favorite ways to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while camping.
Cowboy Coffee
I’ve written a whole post about how to make cowboy coffee. It’s probably the most traditional way to brew a cup of coffee over a fire. That’s actually exactly what it was meant for.
The American cowboys were expert campers that also needed a way to stay alert on their long trail rides from Texas to Montana. They devised an almost foolproof coffee brewing technique that is now used by outdoors people and select hipsters.
You’ll need to prepare a couple of items ahead of time and have some rudimentary equipment. You can read here about how to make cowboy coffee while camping and the equipment you’ll need.
French Press Coffee
I’ve also written about how to make French press coffee at home. This is my preferred camping coffee brewing method. I simply grind my beans at home for French press coffee brewing, securely pack my French press brewer (because it’s glass after all), and a vessel to heat the water with to brew the coffee.
There’s some pretty innovative travel mugs that offer “in mug” French press brewing. My favorite is this one from Bodum. It’s easy to use if you’re familiar with how a French press coffee maker works, and it keeps your coffee hot for hours. As a bonus, you’re not toting a glass carafe around the Great Outdoors. You can buy the Bodum Stainless Steel Travel Press on Amazon. They were sold out of the lime green one, but they had a few other colors in stock when I checked.
Before we had A, this was my go-to for backcountry camping. It was easy to slip into my pack. Now that we do most of our camping in a teardrop camper and tend towards more of a glamping experience, I just pack my trusty 32 oz. French press in our camp kitchen box.
If you’re glamping or have a 5th wheel (camping trailer) then make sure to bring your measuring cups too. You’re going to need to measure out your coffee to water ratio to brew an excellent cup of coffee. 
If you’re looking for a great option for camping measuring spoons and cups, these are the set we use. The silicon cups and spoon are rated at 500 degrees (think hot water) and are easy to store because they lay flat. You might want to go ahead and pick some up at Amazon because you’re going to need them regardless of how you choose to brew your camping coffee.
Pour Over Coffee
You can easily achieve this notoriously detailed coffee brewing technique when you’re in the wilderness. A little planning and ingenuity will give you the ability to make pour over camping coffee. Let’s not forget that pour over coffee brewing is pretty basic once you get past all the hype.
Much like the French press camping coffee, you’ll need to grind your beans ahead of time. The small difference here is you’ll want to measure out your servings in individual containers. If you’re going to be there 3 mornings, I would suggest going ahead and measuring our 3 containers of 42 grams of pour over coffee grounds. Then you don’t need to mess with a scale on the trail. I would also take a water bottle and mark what 700 grams look like once boiled in the bottle.
Now that we’ve taken the finicky measuring work out of the process of making pour over coffee camping all you have to do is find an appropriate pour over brewer. There are a ton on the market these days that range from pretty basic single serve pour overs to elaborate and bulky ones that will set you back a pretty sum of cash.
My favorite pour over brewer for camping is the GSI JavaDrip pour over coffee maker. It’s a traditional pour over maker but the reusable filter and the drip cone fit in the pot when not in use. It’s compact, light, and incredibly convenient when your brewing killer coffee in the woods. We don’t leave on a camping trip without this handy device. You can buy the GSI JavaDrip on Amazon. I promise you that this going to change your camping coffee game.
One last thing I encourage you to invest in are these containers for measuring out your coffee for brews while camping. I use these and love them. They’re easy to use, clean, 
and compact. The BPA free plastic makes them safe for campsites and nontoxic. What really sold me on them is that they make an airtight seal so your ground coffee stays fresh. You can buy them on Amazon.
AeroPress Coffee
AeroPress coffee is a newer brewing system (think 2005) to the coffee world that combines the beauty of a pour over with French press techniques. I have a friend that will only drink her coffee brewed this way. She swears by it so much that this is what she took with her when she hiked the entire Appalachian Trail a few summers ago.
I think this speaks volumes about the ease of using an AeroPress for your camping coffee. The brewing system is straightforward. You grind your coffee (at home) for an AeroPress, this place the paper filter in the coffee container, place the brewer on top of your coffee mug. Once you start to pour the hot water over the brewer, the coffee will start to slowly trickle into your cup.
Once the brewer is filled with water you’ll wait 20-40 seconds and place the plunger in the top. Plunge the water on top of the ground coffee and presto! You have a rich smooth brew that is easy to clean up.
You’ll be left with a hockey puck of used grounds. Just throw itaway. Then you just rinse the AeroPress brewer. I read that this is the favorite camping coffee system of several outdoors enthusiasts. I have yet to use it myself while camping. It’s so popular with campers that REI (one of the largest backcountry retailers) sells it in their stores and online.
The biggest draw is the slim design and how easy it is to throw in your pack.
I’ill definitely be trying this camping coffee brewing method on our next camping trip.
If you’ve been swayed, like I have, to try this adventure lover’s favorite way to brew coffee while camping here is the one that’s on my Amazon wish list:
Weighing in at 11.5 oz, this AeroPress is going to not weigh you down. The speedy brew time is going to make waking up in the woods more enjoyable. You can brew 1-4 cups of coffee on the spot and can even use it to make espresso.
The travel pouch makes it easy to store in your pack or camp kitchen box. The AeroPress comes with 350 paper filter which will give you 350 brews before you have to buy more. If you’re looking for something more sustainable, you can buy a reusable steel mesh filter.
You can buy the AeroPress at Amazon with free shipping for Prime members.
Instant Coffee
Don’t you turn your nose up at instant coffee. Today’s instant coffee isn’t your great uncle’s instant Folgers, I promise. There’s a ton of independent coffee roasters offering everything from instant cold brew coffee to instant hot coffees.
If you’re wanting coffee when you’re camping and don’t want to mess with bringing coffee brewing gear with you an instant coffee is a fantastic alternative. For most, all you’ll need is a source of heat to boil your water and a cup. If you go the cold coffee route then all you need is a cup for your coffee and water.
There’s a ton of instant coffee to try but my favorite is DOMA (Idaho’s best independent roaster). Doma offers a wide variety of instant coffees you can brew with hot or cold water and enjoyed in any setting. The packets are easy to throw in with your camping gear and taste fantastic. My go to is Chronic, I think there’s a joke there but you don’t want to hear it.
Their Chronic blend is full-flavored and great cold or hot. If you want cream and sugar with your coffee, make sure to put in a couple of the gas station style creamers. Now you’re set for some of the best, no-fuss coffee you can have on the trail.
Conclusion
If you’re glamping or backpacking through a National Park, there are more camping coffee options than ever before. As long as you have a little know ho and do some preparation before you leave, there’s no reason to struggle through a morning camping without excellent coffee.
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming camping season and trying my hand at an AeroPress.
What are your favorite ways to make camping coffee? Did I miss one that you wouldn’t leave home without?