Cowboy coffee is a way to make coffee with only a few items. It’s something you can do while camping or backpacking out in the wilderness. If you really like it, go ahead and enjoy this immersion brewing method in your kitchen! What’s great about this recipe is not only how little is needed for it, but also how easy it is to clean up after. The french press cleanup doesn’t compare!
This is an immersion brewing process. It’s the same idea as a french press: you let the coffee grounds sit in hot water for a bit, and this causes an extraction to take place. The main difference is that this recipe does not involve any special tools. Because of this, there is no step dedicated to filtering the grounds from the final product. This is simply because no filtering tool is involved. Instead, it relies on you to be careful when pouring, or just not care too much about grounds getting into your cup.
This cowboy coffee recipe is designed to be as simple as possible, and I have used it many times successfully while camping. (In fact, I came up with the idea while camping, only later find that other people had already done it. I even called it cowboy coffee!) It should result in a fine brew that tastes as good as the beans allow, and gives you plenty of energy for your day.
Get ready for some valuable camping coffee hacks in this cowboy coffee recipe. This recipe will make one 8 oz mug of coffee. Scale as needed.
Cowboy Coffee Recipe
Tools:
- Pot (the kind for a stovetop) – just make sure it’s big enough to handle the amount of coffee you want to make. Usually this will equate to about 8 oz per serving.
- Mug (this recipe uses an 8 oz mug, but you can scale it as needed)
- heat source, such as a campfire or a portable stove
- Grinding tool if coffee is not pre-ground (a mortar and pestle or a handheld burr grinder is a great option for camping)
- Extra tip: If you don’t want to deal with grinding coffee, you can pre-grind your coffee for your trip. Keep one serving or one pot’s worth in a little baggie, and bring as many baggies of servings as you need. It won’t be as fresh this way, but it will save you some time and energy while you’re in the outdoors. This will give you more time and energy to explore the area and do activities.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp of ground coffee (2.5 tbsp of whole coffee beans)
- 8 oz of safe drinking water
Steps:
- If your coffee isn’t ground already, grind it coarse. A coarse grind is best for immersion brewing because of the prolonged contact with hot water. Since it’s in the hot water for so long, less surface area of the coffee is needed. Too fine of a grind would result in a very messy, muddy cup. It could also make the cup very bitter. If you find that you’ve forgotten your grinder, you can use the two rocks method.
- Measure 8 oz of safe drinking water into the pot. You can do this by filling the mug with water, and pouring its contents into the pot. For each serving, use one mug of water.
- Extra tip: If you aren’t able to bring actual water with you, you can bring a purifying method. This can be iodine tablets or a backpacking filter. Out of the two, I would recommend a filter, since that will make the coffee taste better.
- Put the pot of water on the heat source and wait for it to boil.
- When the water boils, take it off the heat.
- Cool the water down, aiming for 197 F or 91-92 C. If you have a thermometer with you, that’s great, but since you probably won’t have that, it’s okay to estimate it for a little bit while you’re roughing it. You have a few options for how to do this:
- Just let it cool for about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Swish it around for about 10-30 seconds.
- Dip the pot in cold water for about 10-30 seconds if you are able to do so without letting the cold water into the pot. This can be possible if you are next an alpine lake or a cool and calm river or creek. It’s very important that you don’t let unfiltered water from the wilderness into your coffee, as it may contain pathogens. If there’s any chance of letting unsafe water into the pot, don’t use this method.
- If you have an iced cooler with you, pop it in there for about 10-30 seconds.
Which method you use, and for exactly how long you use it will depend on what’s available to you and the temperature of your environment. If it’s freezing outside, you may not even need this step.
- Put your coffee grounds into the pot of water, and stir a little bit to get them immersed.
- Allow your coffee to brew for about 4.5 minutes.
- When the time is up, slowly and carefully pour the brew into your mug. Pouring slowly will help keep the coffee grounds in the pot, reducing the muddiness of your swigs.
- You are now ready to enjoy your coffee!
- What to do with coffee grounds: Simply wipe the coffee grounds out of the pot with a clean towel and into a garbage receptacle. If you’re camping, put the grounds in your trash to dispose of properly. Remember to leave no trace and pack out what you pack in 🙂
This recipe will reduce the things you need to carry, with no need for a dedicated camping coffee pot or coffee maker. It can be great fun to bring special lightweight camping coffee mugs, though. Whatever you bring and whatever you do, this cowboy coffee recipe will allow you to enjoy the great outdoors with a fine hot cup of coffee. If you found this helpful, subscribe to Herbs and Brew 🙂