Truck Camper Magazine Blog

How Do You Make Coffee In Your Truck Camper?

Morning coffee is serious business in our camper.  Heck, afternoon coffee is serious business in our camper.  I honestly don’t know if this magazine would continue if not for morning and afternoon coffee.  No coffee, no magazine.  That’s the deal.

Folgers Coffee Singles Caffeine

When we set out on our first truck camping adventure, we used Folgers coffee bag singles; essentially the tea bag version of instant coffee.  The Folgers singles were convenient, delivered a touch of caffeine, and more or less hinted at the coffee experience, but that’s about the best I can say about the product.

Melita Pour Over Coffee Brewer

When we relayed our Folgers frustrations with fellow truck campers Sylvie and Jake, they highly recommended a simple Melitta pour over coffee maker.

With an inserted No.2 filter, you place the pour over coffee maker on top of your preferred coffee mug, add coffee grounds to taste, and pour in water that’s been heated on a propane cooktop.  The coffee then drips into your mug.  When one mug fills, quickly transfer it to the next mug between drips.  It’s so easy a Truck Camper Magazine Publisher can do it.

As Sylvie and Jake had explained, there are many advantages of a pour over coffee maker for truck camping.  Pour over coffee makers are inexpensive, small, lightweight, practically unbreakable, don’t require electricity to work, and don’t require any water to clean; just throw out  the inserted filter and spent grounds.

I realize that some folks might object to throwing away the filter and grounds rather than using them for compost, but it’s hard enough finding basic recycling on the road.

Ceramic Melita Pour Over Coffee Brewer

Others might be concerned about the pour over coffee maker being plastic.  For you Melitta offers a ceramic version of their pour over coffee maker.  Just be aware that the unbreakable quality might be lost, and the Chief of the Weight police is always concerned about additional weight (almost kidding).

When we’re not on the road, we prefer to use a French Press.  French Press’s generally give coffee a stronger flavor and brew enough coffee that we can both have a cup or two.  Ideally we would use a French Press while truck camping, but the size, weight, and water required for cleaning has kept us using the pour over coffee maker.

Other traditional coffee makers and Keurig machines cost more, take up more space, weigh more, are more breakable, require 110-volt power, and require more water to clean.  Unless someone has found a better way, we’ll stick with the pour over drip.

This week’s Question of the Week is, “How do you make coffee on the road?”

Please include the make and model of your coffee maker, and what you think of it.  There are a lot methods to make coffee in the world.  Which one do you take with you?  And why?

As a bonus question, tell us what brand of coffee you prefer.  On a daily basis, we really like Folgers Breakfast Blend.  We stray from this choice now and then to try something new, and go right back to the Breakfast Blend.  So what’s in your coffee mug?

This QOTW is now closed.  Two-hundred readers shared their responses and gave great tips!  Read “The Best Portable Coffee Makers For Camping“.

 

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