Coffee in the woods

**aflineman** · 01-20-2013, 10:57 PM

Went on one of the last Grouse hunts of the season today. After climbing down the hill to retrieve a couple of birds, I figured that it was time for a hot cup of coffee.

I pulled the fixins out of my bag, and got some water heating.

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Cup is an old one I picked up years ago. Stove is one made from a mini Altoids tin, heat proof fiberglass wrap (like is used on hot rod headers), and some scrap metal mesh. White bottle used to hold saline nasal spray, and now holds alcohol. Coffee is a mix pouch (coffee, coco, sugar, cream) that I picked up at the local Asian market. (Be warned if you try this stuff, it is NOT normal coffee. I have acquired a taste for it in my travels. It is very handy in a pack, as it contains everything, and lasts forever).

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Stove set-up

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Coffee cooking (only takes about 2 min to get nice and warm)

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Ready to drink

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Part of my load-out for this trip. There was a bit of snow on the ground, so I took the pack plus my belt and pocket kit. (Pack has a poncho and liner that I tie to the bottom, plus has a stripped MRE in the hydration pouch area.

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Views from the top. Area is a mix of private timber land and BLM. Most of the private land is open for hunting and wondering, except for times of high fire danger.

**Sarge47** · 01-20-2013, 11:06 PM

I don't drink coffee, but did you ever check out Ron Hood's recipe for "Cowboy Coffee?" That stuff'll bring the cows home on it's own!

**aflineman** · 01-20-2013, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by Sarge47

I don't drink coffee, but did you ever check out Ron Hood's recipe for "Cowboy Coffee?" That stuff'll bring the cows home on it's own!

I have had "Cowboy Coffee", in many number of variations. Some good, some just plain horrid.

**hunter63** · 01-20-2013, 11:14 PM

I with ya on the coffee, thermos goes with me on most day hunts, hike, and gathering trips.....plus the cup, and a couple of "singles" if necessary.
Actually passed up a couple of shots on deer....I was on break.....come back in 20 minutes
Awesome pic's....Thanks for posting.

**Stiffy** · 01-20-2013, 11:51 PM

Could you please go into a little more detail on your neat little "stove." Maybe you've explained it in the past, but I missed it.

**aflineman** · 01-20-2013, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by Stiffy

Could you please go into a little more detail on your neat little "stove." Maybe you've explained it in the past, but I missed it.

Stove is modified from an idea I found in Backwoodsman Magazine. Original version used Vermiculite under the screen. That turned to powder to quick. I used a high temperature fiberglass tape that I had spare from a car I did years ago. It was used to insulate headers on a car. I cut and folded that under the screen, and it seems to hold the alcohol fairly well, and it does not turn to powder from rattling around in a pack. It is not something to really boil water in a hurry or efficiently. Just to heat the water so I can make coffee, coco or tea.
If I make another one, I will wrap the screen all the way around the tape. Easier than keeping it tucked in over the tape.

Link with a similar idea. I used a mini Altoids tin rather than a full sized one. And the header tape instead of Vermiculite (perlite).
http://www.backpacking.net/makegear/...ove/index.html

**WolfVanZandt** · 01-21-2013, 02:16 AM

Where we have the Howls, they have fire rings with a nifty grate that hinges over the ring. I keep a percolator (sans guts) full of water over the fire and when I get ready for another cup, I just dump a spoonful of instant into my megacup, add a pouch of hot cocoa powder, and add hot water.

**Wildthang** · 01-21-2013, 06:30 AM

I always have coffee with me when I'm in the bush, I will not give up my morning coffee!

**crashdive123** · 01-21-2013, 07:14 AM

Great pics.

To go into the woods without coffee would be downright uncivilized.

**Seniorman** · 01-21-2013, 02:20 PM

I use a trick I learned years ago from a friend who lived in California's Sierra, and who was a big time hiker, hunter, fisherman, rough camper, etc. As he'd retired from the U.S. Army, he spent a lot of time out in the boonies.

He said before he left his cabin, he'd put fresh coffee grounds in cheesecloth, the amount sufficient for two cups of coffee, per portion. He'd tie each portion into a "bag" with cotton butcher's twine. After tying he'd leave a piece of string long enough for it to be used to pull the coffee bag out of his pot after it'd boiled "enough." ("Enough" depends on how strong you like your coffee.)

If he were going out for several days, he'd carry enough "coffee bags" to make coffee twice a day. Practically weightless, and tasted far better than instant coffee. He kept the bags in a small, lightweight, watertight plastic box he'd bought at a sporting goods store.

He'd toss the used grounds and save the cheesecloth to be washed at home and used again.

I've done it many times and I favor that method over others. I keep the bags in a double ZipLok bag.

S.M.

**hunter63** · 01-21-2013, 02:26 PM

You know for years I could never figure out why they had "tea bags" for a single cup, but you had to "make your own"....so mine had grounds in it...LOL...never thought about a bag (duh).....good idea.

Really like the 'singles"........http://www.staples.com/Folgers-Class...01&KPID=402701

**Wildthang** · 01-21-2013, 03:35 PM

Can somebody explain, why it is when you are camping, and you crawl out of the debris hut early in the morning, how that campfire coffee tastes so much better than it does at home!

**hunter63** · 01-21-2013, 03:57 PM

I comfirms that you are still alive, king of the domain and can afford the finer things in life......LOL....I hear ya.

Also the best spice is called hunger.......

**Echo2** · 01-21-2013, 04:05 PM

Excellent....Gotta love a cup a java.

**aflineman** · 01-21-2013, 04:05 PM

If possible, I will always have coffee and a way to make it with me in the woods. If I do happen to get lost, life still ain't to bad with a cup of hot coffee to contemplate it.

**Winter** · 01-21-2013, 04:43 PM

Nice little stove.

I have been a folgers singles guy since they invented them. Before that it was instant coffee. The difference in taste is vast.

**cwi555** · 01-21-2013, 05:02 PM

Green coffee beans, tea ball, and a Hario MSS-1B Mini Mill for overnighters. There is no replacement for 'fresh' roast.

**hunter63** · 01-21-2013, 05:19 PM

One of our buckskinner friends would bring green beans, take some out and roast them in his frying pan......Then put them hot into a soft buckskin bag and beat them in to "ground coffee".....good stuff.

I would bring him a cup of my ready roast to have while he was screwing round for the flatlanders.....never said any thing, just took it and nodded.

**Stiffy** · 01-21-2013, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

. . . I would bring him a cup of my ready roast to have while he was screwing round for the flatlanders.....never said any thing, just took it and nodded.

What's the best coffee? Free coffee.