One of the best parts of camping is waking up with a freshly brewed cup of campfire coffee in your hand as you gaze out over your surroundings. Want to make a cup as good as the one you make at home? The secret to brewing a great pot of traditional campfire, or Cowboy, coffee is to bring the water to a good rolling boil before adding your coffee grounds, and then to sprinkle cold water in the pot after steeping so the grounds to sink to the bottom. It works!
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Makes one pot.
Ingredients:
- Large pot or kettle
- 2 Tbsps. finely ground coffee per 8 oz. of water
- Water
Steps:
- Fill pot or kettle with water, calculating 8 ounces for every cup of coffee you want to make.
- Set the pot over the campfire and bring the water to a rolling boil.
- Remove pot from heat and allow water to sit for 30 seconds to a minute so the temperature reduces slight and is more ideal for steeping.
- Add two tablespoons of finely ground coffee for each 8 ounces of water in the pot.
- Stir the grounds into the water and let sit (still off the fire) for two minutes.
- Stir again and let it sit for another two minutes.
- Sprinkle an additional 3 to 4 Tbsps. of cold water on the hot coffee. This helps any coffee grounds still floating on the top to settle to the bottom of the pot.
- Carefully pour coffee into mugs, making sure the grounds remain near the bottom of the pot.
Variation:
Brewing campfire coffee in a percolator or stovetop espresso coffee pot is another popular way of making an aromatic outdoor Cup of Joe if you have one at camp. To brew, add 1 to 2 Tbsps. of coarsely ground coffee for each 6 ounces of water in the pot. Place vessel over the fire. Remove from fire once you hear the percolating sound slow down and the coffee is a rich brown color. The longer you leave on the fire, the stronger the coffee.
Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
