# Camp Coffee



## Hoot (Aug 17, 2012)

I reckon this is as good a place for this topic as any.
When you go camping, how do you make coffee?

Generally, when I go campin' there ain't no electricity. I have been making coffee for nigh on to thirty years using the following method.
I reckon some folks will not care for it, but when in a primitive camp and someone else has made the fire and the coffee, I have found that most folks are mighty glad to have Hoot's coffee.
Build a good fire (that might be a topic for a later discussion)
Fetch water for the coffee pot and set the pot on the grate or hang the pot over the fire.
Throw in a couple of handfuls of coffee.
Let the pot go until it boils over. 
Remove the coffee pot from over the fire afore it puts the fire out.
Pour some cold water in the pot. 
The cold water will carry the grounds to the bottom of the coffeepot.
IMHO, this is some of the best coffee in the world. 
True, the last cup or two will likely have some grounds in it, but that is a sure sign it's time to make another pot.
'Course, some folks have gotten lazy and use them little packages of coffee that you find in the grocery store.
As this is polite company, I won't say what we call them things at Rendezvous.


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## Souvlaki (Aug 17, 2012)

I believe I am not supposed to say this..but I do not camp. Lol not because I do not like it, but because of the toilet issues there. 

some friends tried to change my mind several years ago but I think i am hopeless...so they gave up. 

Hoot, what about taking several bags for the fiter coffee machine with you? if you do not like grounds in your cup. 

Honestly I wouldn't mind trying your coffee, in fact I love coffee so much that I often chew a coffee bean, smells divine


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Aug 17, 2012)

The United States Army instilled a true hatred of camping in me a very long time ago. I make coffee in my kitchen or I drop in at Starbucks, just like normal people.


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## Alix (Aug 17, 2012)

Souvlaki said:


> I believe I am not supposed to say this..but I do not camp. Lol not because I do not like it, but because of the toilet issues there.



+1. Love the campfire, hate the outhouse etc.

Camp coffee sounds a bit like emergency coffee in our house. If you run out of coffee filters well, that's what you'd do! Still tastes good, just a bit gritty.


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## Bigjim68 (Aug 17, 2012)

My dad, who worked as a sheepherder for a summer, claimed that they made coffee similar to what you describe except that the grounds were not poured out till the pot got too full to leave room for the coffee.

These days I have an insulated french press specifically made for camping.


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## Hoot (Aug 17, 2012)

Souvlaki said:


> Hoot, what about taking several bags for the fiter coffee machine with you? if you do not like grounds in your cup.



I truly do not mind grounds in my coffee...As for a coffee machine, most of the time there ain't no electricity. I don't believe a coffee machine would fare too well over the fire pit.  
The bags you mention are showing up at Rendezvous....I reckon they are OK, just ain't my style.


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## Souvlaki (Aug 17, 2012)

Hoot said:


> I truly do not mind grounds in my coffee...As for a coffee machine, most of the time there ain't no electricity. I don't believe a coffee machine would fare too well over the fire pit.
> The bags you mention are showing up at Rendezvous....I reckon they are OK, just ain't my style.



lol iby using filter bags i meant to use them to pour your coffee in your cup. Not to take the machine and make the coffee with it, just the bags.


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## Hoot (Aug 17, 2012)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> I drop in at Starbucks, just like normal people.



LOL "normal"...I like that!
I went to a Starbucks once....The poor gal behind the counter got the most blank expression on her face when I ordered plain black coffee.


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## ChadHahn (Aug 17, 2012)

I brought a Coleman coffee maker with me when I went camping.  It is like a Mr. Coffee machine that fits on the top of a Coleman white gas stove.  It takes a while to brew but the coffee it produces is pretty good.

The only problem with it is it's size.  It's pretty big and comes with a glass carafe.  But for car camping it's not too much of a problem.







Chad


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## bakechef (Aug 17, 2012)

Camp coffee is what my dad made at hunting camp.  When we would go "camping" mom would use an old fashioned stovetop perkolator.  Of course this was in our 30 ft. self contained travel trailer... 

I'll never forget the smell of that coffee first thing in the morning along with the smell of breakfast cooking outside on the camp stove.


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## taxlady (Aug 17, 2012)

I was once invited to supper on a Polish ship. The meal was great. Then it was time for coffee and dessert. One of the sailors put a couple of heaping tablespoons of dark brown powder in each large mug and then poured hot water into the mugs. I was aghast. The powder came out of a jar marked "instant coffee". 

I bravely tried the coffee. It was wonderful! I figured it out when I got near the bottom of the cup and found the coffee grounds. I use that method at home for "emergencies".


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## CampfireCowboy (Mar 24, 2013)

I  like the last cups with grounds. Gives me an extra zip!


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## salt and pepper (Mar 24, 2013)

I like to take 12 to 16 oz of strong ground coffee, mix an egg in it, then wrap it in cheese cloth and tie it off . Dump it into my coffe pot and boil for 15 minutes, let sit for another 5 mins, remove the "sack" with a pig tail and serve.
   My pot holds 2 gallons filled to the bottom of the spout. I also have a 5 gallon stainless steel milk can I use for large crowds and serve with a large laddle.


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## Gravy Queen (Mar 24, 2013)

I thought this thread was about the coffee in a bottle called Camp Coffee. Anyone ever use that. ? 

Never been camping myself but if I did I would make tea of course .


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## Addie (Mar 24, 2013)

Alix said:


> +1. Love the campfire, hate the outhouse etc.
> 
> Camp coffee sounds a bit like emergency coffee in our house. If you run out of coffee filters well, that's what you'd do! Still tastes good, just a bit gritty.


 
Have you never rinsed off your last filter and dried it in the m/w? Then you reuse it until you can get to the store.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 24, 2013)

When we really camped years ago we used the Hoot method and then tossed in a couple of egg shells to help settle the grounds. 

You drank the top half of the cup and chewed the last half!  It tasted great and it was very filling!


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## Addie (Mar 24, 2013)

Aunt Bea said:


> When we really camped years ago we used the Hoot method and then tossed in a couple of egg shells to help settle the grounds.
> 
> You drank the top half of the cup and chewed the last half! It tasted great and it was very filling!


 
They make coffee on the fishing boats with the egg shells. I was never a fan of it. They also toss in a dash of salt. The men usually made it strong enough so that your spoon would stand up on its own. And I have never been fond of chewing on coffee grounds. I always had a cup of tea.


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## Snip 13 (Mar 24, 2013)

I make good old South African Moer Koffie. Put the grounds in a cut off stocking (not used), let it simmer in an earthenware coffee pot over the fire. Add a dash of brandy and sit around the campfire telling stories.


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## buckytom (Mar 25, 2013)

i have to laugh at slob's "normal" people comment. life might be drastically different by him, but here the least normal people frequent starbucks ordering drinks rhat are far from a cup of camp coffee.

that said, using some kind of reuseable filter like a cheesecloth or stocking (unused, lol. unless that's your thing) would make sense and gave negligible weight; important for a traveller to a rustic environment such as a rendezvous.


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## Hoot (Mar 25, 2013)

Just got back from the Spring 'Vous yesterday. T'was uncommon chilly for the time of year. Mrs Hoot had indicated to me a few years ago that she would never again go to our winter camp. I 'spect that she will be marking future spring events off her calendar if there is even the slightest hint of chill in the air.
Back on topic.....More and more I am finding that "proper" coffee is getting scarce at the rendezvous. Just makes me more determined to keep doin' things my way.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 25, 2013)

Where does the rendezvous take place,  Hoot? Can outsiders visit?


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## Hoot (Mar 25, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Where does the rendezvous take place,  Hoot? Can outsiders visit?


The Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen hold two events every year. One in the spring, one in the fall.
They are both open to the public...no charge for visitors.
Rendezvous site is off Rt 10, about 8 - 9 mile from from Smithfield, Va. heading to Surry, Va. Turn off Rt 10 onto Moonlight Rd, keep your eyes peeled on the left.... about a mile or two you will see a brick house close to the road...I believe it is the first brick house you come to on the left. Follow the driveway all the way back till to you see the parking lot. You gotta walk in unless you are camping. if you do camp with us there will be a fee and you got an hour to get your hoss outta camp.
You can find more info at ovpr.us but be warned, the website is not in my control these days and the feller runnin' it ain't the most punctual feller about updates.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 25, 2013)

Sounds like fun. I'll try to remember to check it out this fall.

Some of my ancestors lived in Lunenberg County and my aunt gave me a book about its history. There's a recipe for Dundas Sheep Stew made as a community event that starts like this: "Two days ahead, make bread for crumbs. One day ahead, slaughter (8) sheep. Chill overnight."

It also calls for 400 lbs. of onions and 100 lbs. Irish potatoes. Let me know if you want the recipe. lol


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## Hoot (Mar 25, 2013)

Might be interestin'. We cooked 360 lbs of yard buzzard leg quarters to feed the camp. May be time to mix up the menu a bit.


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## taxlady (Mar 25, 2013)

Hoot said:


> Might be interestin'. We cooked 360 lbs of yard buzzard leg quarters to feed the camp. May be time to mix up the menu a bit.


What the heck is "yard buzzard"?


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## chopper (Mar 25, 2013)

taxlady said:


> What the heck is "yard buzzard"?



+1


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## Snip 13 (Mar 25, 2013)

It's a bird as far as I know.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 25, 2013)

A chicken.


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## chopper (Mar 25, 2013)

Aunt Bea said:


> A chicken.



Does CWS know what some people are calling her girls?


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 25, 2013)

chopper said:


> Does CWS know what some people are calling her girls?



To paraphrase Mae West.  _Those Canadian chicks were pure as the driven snow, then they drifted_.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 25, 2013)

Hoot said:


> Might be interestin'. We cooked 360 lbs of yard buzzard leg quarters to feed the camp. May be time to mix up the menu a bit.



Here you go: Dundas Sheep Stew

My mom said they were still making it as a fundraiser when she was growing up in Kenbridge, Va., 60 years ago.


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## CraigC (Mar 31, 2013)

I'm not really a coffee drinker, so I'd get mine as chocolate covered expresso beans. No pot needed and they will get you going. Less weight if you're huffin it.


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## MrsLMB (Mar 31, 2013)

CraigC said:


> I'm not really a coffee drinker, so I'd get mine as chocolate covered expresso beans. No pot needed and they will get you going. Less weight if you're huffin it.


 

Oh .. I had some of those a few years back.  Went into a tiny little coffee shop and they had bins and bins of beans .. then at the counter they had them dipped in all kind of things.

You are right .. they WILL get you going like I couldn't believe .. but so tasty !!


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## buckytom (Mar 31, 2013)

the original speed bombs that yougins drink today (vodka and red bull) n my time were 3 or four dark roasted coffee beans in sambuca.


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## ALABAMACHEF (Jun 7, 2015)

I love coffee. I use an old beat up percolator while camping. She makes a fine brew and in a timely fashion.


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## Bitser (Aug 29, 2021)

Made gallons of camp coffee (while working as a camptender for a sheep outfit, a range rider, and a grazing cop).  But I'm presently devoted to a little plastic thingie that makes wonderful coffee with less fuss:  the AeroPress plunger.






I take it on river trips and to hotel rooms:  better coffee than those cartridge machines and far less waste.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Aug 29, 2021)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> The United States Army instilled a true hatred of camping in me a very long time ago. I make coffee in my kitchen or I drop in at Starbucks, just like normal people.



Another thing the U.S. Army turned me off of was hiking.


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 29, 2021)

There was some bottled stuff in England when I was a kid, called " "Camp Coffee":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Coffee
I can assure you, it was absolutely disgusting.
I grew up with Instant coffee - I think it was probably Maxwell House and Gold Blend, I´d never have known the difference, until I met some South Americans in the 70s. One of them gave me a packet of Colombian coffee, freshly ground. After that , I never looked back; I always had Colombian coffee in my house in London until...
I moved to Venezuela. Venezuelan coffee is just as good as Colombian coffee. The problem is, successive governments have never got it together, so Venezuelan coffee is a mystery, and Colombian coffee is exported everywhere. 
Any way - coffee, for me,  has to be strong. Doesn´t matter if you like it with sugar, or milk, or just black; it has to be strong. However, if you go into a coffee bar in Venezuela, there are at least a dozen varieties. The weakest is called " guayoyo" - which is closest to an American coffee.
Depends on your taste, right?


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