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Morning coffee is one comfort of home that’s difficult to leave behind, no matter how rugged you plan to get or how light you keep your load. Campers in need of a caffeine boost have plenty of portable coffee makers to choose from, so we put the most popular options to the test to see which truly deserve a spot on highly selective packing lists.
When selecting the best Camping Coffee Makers for your needs, consider how simple it is to use, how well it packs, how much it costs, and how the coffee tastes. To assist you in making that decision, we tested a few of the most popular models in both home kitchens and our Lab.
We looked at things like portability, durability, cleaning ease (especially when water is scarce), and, most importantly, brew quality. We tested the best instant coffee and coffee makers for camping, backpacking, and travel to help you find the best one for your adventure style.
Here is the list of Best Camping Coffee Makers
Bestargot Titanium Camping French Press
This small French press, which is multipurpose, waste-free, and suitable for all weather conditions, quickly rose to the top of our testers’ must-have lists. Its smooth and rich brews impressed tasters, and the titanium presser is ideal for heating other foods like soup, making it a useful appliance to have at camp all day.
Even inexperienced French press users will find the brewing process simple. A handle across the top makes boiling easy whether you use a fire or a stovetop, and measuring marks engraved on the side of the pot add another level of convenience to meal preparation. Even with a limited water supply, the 3-cup cylinder and plunger are simple to clean and dry. Overall, this is one of the best Camping Coffee Makers that you can buy right now.
AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
If you want good coffee that is ready quickly, a classic AeroPress is the way to go. This non-electric maker is known for its quick, immersion brewing process and is guaranteed to produce a delicious cup of full-bodied coffee with no bitterness or acidic flavors. It produces 1-3 cups per brew and is ready in about a minute. It can also be used to make espresso-style coffees or refreshing cold brews.
Our tester appreciated the ease of use of this coffee maker, as well as the fact that all of the parts disassemble easily for storage or travel. It’s only 9.5 inches tall when fully assembled, so it’ll always fit into your luggage or backpack. The coffee also passed the taste test with flying colours. Our reviewer expects “high-quality, smooth-tasting coffee that’s similar to pour-over coffee,” while one of our Lab testers said it brewed espresso-like coffee that would satisfy even the most ardent coffee fan.
GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java Drip
Easily one of the best Camping Coffee Makers available on the market, The GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java Drip weighs only 0.32 oz and produces a surprising amount of coffee. Should we go on? If you’re still not convinced, consider that it doesn’t require any filters, packs down to almost nothing, is simple to clean (we could rinse the grounds off with less than 1/4 liter of water), and fits on almost any backpacking cup or mug.
Furthermore, in our blind taste test, our taste testers rated it as one of their favourite tasting coffees. The Ultralight Java Drip isn’t without flaws. One of the plastic clips could easily break, leaving you in a bind. In addition, once the basket was full of grounds and water, it became a little top-heavy.
Stanley Boil and Brew Camping French Press
This sturdy French press makes a great cup of ground-free coffee, but it’s also a good camping investment. Although it takes up a significant amount of space by backpacking standards, the foldable handle aids in space conservation, and the 4-cup capacity makes it a wise addition to your cooking arsenal. The stainless steel design can be heated directly over fire and is built to last for years of camping duty, and the naturally insulating material, combined with the removable lid, keeps temperature and flavor stable for sipping and slurping at your leisure.
Cleaning and brewing were quick and easy with the three nesting pieces. The ability to easily adjust the strength of each batch of coffee made the press a hit with our testers. It comes with everything you need to brew, just like the other French presses on our list, so you won’t be adding to garbage bags or wasting paper filters.
Bialetti Express Moka Pot
Setting a percolator on a camp stove or next to the fire is perhaps the most stereotypical camp coffee practice. The Bialetti Moka Express is the ideal choice for those seeking to realize their idealistic vision. It comes in one, six, nine, and twelve cup sizes, so you can choose the best size for your group. The aluminum construction aids in weight reduction, but we envision this being used for car camping or glamping trips.
Because it requires medium heat for the best brew quality, our testers were hesitant to recommend it for many camping experiences. That’s certainly doable; however, a camp stove would be preferable to a campfire. Moving it away from the campfire, on the other hand, could undoubtedly achieve that medium heat. Regardless, our testers praised the brew quality, and we could see this serving as an at-home percolator, similar to the Bestargot press. Currently, this is one of the best Camping Coffee Makers that you can buy right now.
Primula Brew Buddy Portable Pour Over
If you’re looking for a compact, portable pour-over, we recommend this compact, low-cost option. The reusable, extra-fine mesh sieve does an excellent job of ensuring that no loose coffee grounds end up in your cup of joe. You’ll need a mug or cup to set the apparatus on, as well as a vessel to drink your brew from. There’s no need for paper filters, K-Cups, or an electric source with this simple pour-over, which will have you sipping coffee by the campfire in no time (as little as 30 seconds). Our Lab testers liked how simple it was to assemble, how portable it was, and how simple it was to clean.
The final cup of coffee was not as strong as the testers would have liked. To get over the learning curve, we recommend trying out the filter a few times at home. Because this is a pour-over method, a kettle or spouted pot is ideal for pouring hot water into and over the sieve. You will adjust the strength of the brew as you use the filter, but for the most part, the slower the pour, the darker the coffee, and the quicker the pour, the lighter the coffee.
Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper
The Hario V60 appears simple, but it was one of the most finicky coffee makers in our testing. It’s capable of producing a really great cup of coffee, but we usually ended up with mediocre or bad coffee. In our taste test, the Hario V60 came in dead last. It has a much larger bottom hole than any other pour over coffee maker we tested. If your coffee is ground too coarsely or you pour your water over it too quickly, you will have extremely weak coffee.
Using finely ground coffee resulted in more consistent flavour, but we couldn’t get it to consistently make decent coffee. We read a lot of tips and tricks, the most important of which was to pour slowly and consistently. That was simple enough with a kitchen kettle, but it’s more difficult with a camping pot. On the plus side, cleaning the V60 was a breeze. It’s also reasonably priced. Overall, unless you plan on camping with a gooseneck kettle for a perfect, consistent pour, the V60 may be better left at home. So, if you want one of the best Camping Coffee Makers, we highly recommend this product.
Sea to Summit X-Brew Coffee Dripper
Although Sea to Summit claims that the X-Brew Coffee Dripper has enough volume for two cups, most solo campers are more likely to require a quick double-dose of coffee rather than a thimble-sized pour. When you’re ready to brew, this collapsible coffee maker pops up, with a reusable stainless-steel double-mesh filter with 180-micron holes to thoroughly strain the grounds.
You can also use a paper filter instead of the reusable filter and still get a good cup of coffee—the spiral pattern inside the dome breaks the surface tension of the paper filter, resulting in a more consistent drip speed. It’s made of food-grade silicone that’s heat-resistant and BPA-free, and it fits on wide-mount water bottles, mugs, and cups.
Final Words
This post will highlight a few of the numerous methods for making coffee while camping. We discuss various brewing methods, favourite camp coffee makers, and some useful accessories. By the end of this article, you’ll be fully prepared to make the best Camping Coffee Makers on your next adventure.