review… by road and track…
Tools for the brew
Making a brew on road or track stimulates the biochemicals and readies us for the steep climb ahead or to bring to an end that long drive to our campsite. Here, we take a look at some of the devices for making that brew.
OKAY. I know. Coffee bags are convenient and quick. Just dangle one in a cup, pour on boiling water and away you go. Easy, you say. Sure, but nothing like a cup of real coffee made with coffee grounds, I say.
Sometimes in years gone by I would make cowboy coffee when on overnight or multiday bushwalks. The most basic and simplest method of making a bush brew, you just bring a billy of water to the boil, toss in what you consider the right amount of coffee grounds, brew for a few minutes and drink. Some people pour in a small volume of cold water to settle the grounds. Add milk powder and stir if you have not yet acquired a taste for coffee black and strong. We made tea the same way—boil, toss in a handful of tea leaves and leave to brew.
Here I have to admit to a great misdoing. Once, thankfully years ago when I was too young to know better, I would bring instant coffee on bushwalks. Yes, I know. Doing that is the pits. Instant coffee is really emergency food rather than something anyone would voluntarily drink at other times.
Compared to cowboy coffee the devices for making a brew in the bush that are reviewed here are elaborations on a theme. My partner and I have tried all of them over the years, mainly for cap camping when we make a brew in the kitchen box at the back of our minivan. All work well for that. So, let’s take a look at them.
Sea to Summit X-Brew Coffee Dripper
THIS little gizmo consists of a silicon coffee grounds funnel with a base that fits even wide cups. Put in coffee ground and pour on boiling water which drips through the stainless steel mesh in the bottom of the funnel and into your cup, picking up flavour as it goes.
There is not much to fault with this device. There are no moving parts, no filter papers, and it is light weight and compact enough to toss into your pack. The funnel folds down to form a circular, flat package. I have never tried making tea in it, but it might work.
MSR Mugmate coffee filter
THE MUGMATE is a stainless steel filter in a nylon framework for beverage brewing. It comes with a stand that catches any liquid remaining in the device after use. MSR—Mountain Safety Research—is an American manufacturer of mountaineering and adventure equipment. We sometimes use their filter for brewing tea at home, however it works well for coffee too, with only one downside which we will get to shortly.
The German-made Mugmade weighs only 0.03kg and measures 8.9 x 7.6cm, making it wide enough for most cups or mugs you night take into the bush. Unfortunately, it is not wide enough for the 480ml Sea to Summit collapsible silicon X-Mug I use in the bush, although it would fit the smaller version. To conserve space in the pack, Mugmate can be carried inside a mug.
Now, the downside. At a few dollars less than AU$50, this is one pricy filter. The upside of the the cost is the device’s durability. We have been using ours for years.
Brewspoon
PRODUCED in South Africa, Brewspoon is essentially a one-serve fill-and-dip coffee clamp.
The brewer is made of polypropylene and 150 micron 304L stainless steel. Simply swivel the device to open, add your ground coffee, close and insert in a cup of boiled water for a few minutes. The manufacturer recommends a coarser rather than a fine espresso grind.
With the coffee grounds contained within the spoon, disposing and cleaning is easier than with a coffee plunger. Empty the grounds into your compost bin and wash the clamp under the tap.
We use this device and find it works well. It is small and light enough to take on overnight bushwalks or for car camping, and would do just as well for making a brew for picnic lunches or for a single person at home.
Biolite CampStove coffee plunger
THE KETTLEPOT and Coffee Set is an add-on to Biolite’s Campstove, forming parts of a complete, wood-fired cooking kit. The stove burns biomass — sticks, twigs, leaf litter, pine cones — any forest material small enough to fit or that can be cut to fit.
At 1.5l capacity, the stainless steel kettle is what you brew your coffee in and it also serves as a container when transporting the CampStove and coffee plunger. It has graduations readable from outside as well as inside the device. A plastic top with pouring spout which attaches to the pot with a silicon ring completes the kettle, which can also be used as a cooking vessel without the top. The insulated, swivel handles make pouring easy.
Use is as for any coffee plunger/French press. Boil the required amount of water for the cups (Biolite claim it makes six cups), throw in the amount of coffee grounds according to the strength you like your coffee, put on the kettle lid, allow to brew and pour.
Unscrew the plunger handle for packing. All-up weight of the plunger is 80g. Dimensions of the kettle pot is 25.9 x 13.2 cm, weight 465g. Material are stainless steel, silicon and BPA-free polypropylene.
We have used the kettle pot for making soup as well as for making coffee and boiling water. The entire kit, less the optional griller, is useful for car camping, especially so because the attachable thermoelectric generator that is part of the stove has a USB A port for topping up your phone. The kit is also useful for cooking when there is a power blackout. Its weight and size makes it unsuitable for bushwalking unless it is taken as kit for group cooking.
Coffee for the road
If you prefer tea rather than coffee there are those little stainless steel tea clamps in which you put your leaves and swish around in a cup of hot water. They have been around for decades. I have never tried using one for coffee, so if anyone has let us know in the comments what happened.
We have used a conventional French press when on the road, a two-cup stainless steel, double-wall-insulated model. It takes little space in the kitchen box drawer and works well. GSI, who manufacture equipment for use in the outdoors, have a plunger model made of polycarbonate enclosed in a foam insulating sleeve with a nylon outer, however that is one I have never used.
Come the end of the day, we each have our own preferences for a beverage as we sit on a log or in a chair and watch the sun as it approaches the western horizon. Some of us prefer a can of beer, perhaps a glass of chilled fruity wine or, maybe, just a cup of tea or coffee. My partner and I are partial to them all, although not all at once. Coffee or tea, neither in bags, is how we prefer to start our day on the road or track.
