Picture this—the sun is rising, the birds are singing and everything smells like campfire from the night before. Only one thing would make the morning complete: an expertly brewed cup of coffee. Here, Andrew Robertson, district manager of Arizona’s Press Coffee, explains his favorite gadgets for gourmet coffee at the campsite.
Making a great cup of coffee in the comfort of your own kitchen can be a challenge. Even with the “home field advantage,” factors like grind size, water quality and temperature, and the rate of extraction can all be problematic variables—even in perfect conditions.
Now remove yourself from the kitchen and try to produce a perfect cup in a less civilized environment. How much less? As primitive as it gets—we’re going camping!
Thankfully, the specialty coffee scene plays well both indoors and out. While the tried and true outdoor brands like Coleman make propane-powered portable drip brewers and percolator pots, you don’t have to settle for an inferior cup just because you’re brewing in the wild. Here are some practical and chic options to help you become the best barista in the boondocks.
The UniTerra Nomad espresso machine would be at home in any art gallery or on a wilderness camping trip. Producing a great shot of spro is no easy task, but this sleek machine does it effortlessly—and without any electricity needed. Just add hot water, pump the lever and keep the pressure within nine bars. You’ll be enjoying a crema-topped shot in no time—and doing it in style.
If you prefer a more traditional cup of coffee, the Frank de Paula allows for a 30-second hot or four-minute cold brew. Utilizing a vacuum technology to speed up the brewing process, this machine is battery-powered, rechargeable, and is sure to impress with its functionality and beauty.
Also, if you want to expedite the process, eliminate the transporting of equipment, but still end up with a fantastic cup, the specialty scene has you covered here too. Two recent products have emerged: single-serve coffee bags that are made just like tea, and specialty-grade instant coffee. Swift Cup Coffee offers some very high-end and amazingly good instant coffee options—they even have a Panamanian Geisha, considered one of the best coffees in the world. For the single-serve bags that resemble tea, hot water and five minutes are all you need to get a perfect cup every time, and the options are becoming more broad as more roasters jump on board with this novel niche of specialty café noir.
There’s never been a better time to get away—just don’t forget to bring along good coffee!