Be sure to place it on the highest point to avoid burning the coffee or making the water evaporate too fast. That said, am I the only person OK with cold coffee? Ever wondered what it takes to go car camping? For you to brew enough coffee, you need to understand how to use a camping percolator to measure the right amount of water. It’s perfect if you are camping by yourself or with another person (though you still need another cup—unless you plan on sharing a mug ). A coffee percolator is a kettle with separate chambers for the water and coffee grounds. Add an extra tablespoon for the pot. Most people choose to purchase 8 or 12 cup percolators; plenty to get through the entire morning. There are a few simple steps to using your percolator: Take out the metal straw and brew-basket (the brew basket should have a filter covering it as well). Use your fingers or a spoon to flatten the coffee down. There's nothing like having a cup of coffee while you are relaxing in the woods. Now, when you go looking for information about how to use a coffee percolator online, you will find images of a modern, electric operated coffee percolator. Read Reviews Online. If you prefer drinking a lot of coffee, buy a large camping coffee percolator. Most people associate them with camping because the device works just as well on a campfire as it does on the stovetop. You can eventually move the percolator off to the edge of the firepit (but still close enough to the fire) once it starts percolating to reduce the heat. One possible reason is that you did not add enough ground coffee to the percolator brew basket. You now have your coals ready. The average ones are made of aluminum and chrome and can survive high temperatures. * one scoop of coffee is ussually equal to 2 level tablespoons. Percolators work by passing hot water through the coffee grounds over and over–heating everything inside until the coffee reaches the desired strength. Camping coffee mug . Next, put the percolator's basket onto the stem and measure in your coffee. Transfer it from the percolator to your cup. Read to find out how to use a percolator. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. All of a sudden, life on the tracks becomes easier, and the stimulus you receive from the caffeine gives you the energy to start your day. The design of a coffee percolator further influences its size. This is recommended, as they will generate controlled heat as compared to campfires. Such a blue camping coffee pot can also maximize heat distribution for an even brewing. Tag along your favorite coffee beans and follow the above steps to make a perfect mug of coffee in the outdoors. It all depends on the make and model you have. You need to get the camping coffee … The first thing you need to do is have a suitable percolator coffee pot for an open fire. With a shovel, transfer the burning coals to the coal pit. But, in truth, any ground coffee will do, so you can opt for a classic brew, some german blend, donut flavored…idc. They can be either pressure type or gravity type. Set the grate as high as you can to avoid ruining your coffee. Some need an outlet plug, some need batteries, and some need a fire to use. - Use freshly ground coffee to bring more flavor into your morning. What you'll use will depend on your personal tastes, standards, existing equipment, and budget. But, for an average-sized 6 cup percolator, they are usually about 8” x  6” x 5” and can typically weigh between 1 and 1-½ lbs (or 16-24 oz). The secret to blending good coffee over a campfire is to know how to use a camping percolator over a small amount of heat. A camping coffee percolator comes with a pot and vertical tube (with a stand) that leads from the top of the percolator to its bottom. Why Should You Use a Percolator? Coffee percolators (or camping percolators) are probably the least fashionable coffee makers on the market today. After that, the steps are similar to those you’d use with a stovetop model: Put the stem mechanism into the percolator. If you desire a good cup of coffee at your campsite, choose a good brand of coffee. Percolators have been around since 1880, and they were one of the earliest coffee brewing devices that used percolation instead of infusion or decoction. Maybe you’re camping and trying to keep your hammock, fire, or your tent dry? For the best coffee brew, it’s recommendable that you grind your beans as close to brewing time as possible. A french press on the other hand sometimes comes with a built-in insert that can dual-purpose your French press to serve as a drinking cup. It is a metal tube that fits into the bottom of a pot. Either a single burner or a traditional portable camping stove will work. They can be of varying sizes, but your standard models come in a 3 cup, 6 cup, or 12 cup model. How To Use Coffee Percolator When Camping. Because they give us our coffee when we’re camping. There is a basket sitting on the tube, which acts as a perforated chamber with lid. The Latte Art Guide for the Coffee Obsessed. Before that we had mostly just been throwing ground up coffee beans into boiling water like savages and then trying to drink around the grounds. Starry Eyed Camping is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Copyright 2020 © All rights Reserved. If you want it hot or warm, you’re going to have to reheat it…you just won’t have to percolate it again. Because let’s face it, no one likes weak coffee. Adding condiments to your coffee to enhance the flavor to your liking adds a great twist to the drinking experience. Percolators have remained popular with campers because they are easy to use over an open flame, and they produce a pretty decent cup of coffee. Unlike a campfire though where you can get away with using something like a grate underneath, heating a percolator probably is best served by sitting directly on the coals, unless you can get the temperature of the coals very high. However, there is no way you can enjoy your coffee on the trails if you don't know how to use a percolator in the camp. Blue camping coffee pot: The blue camping coffee pot (or percolator) is ideal for outdoor or indoor use. A coffee percolator is a pot used for making coffee by allowing the boiling, or almost boiling, brew to cycle continually until it reaches the preferred color or taste. © Copyright 2018 StartYourDayWithCoffee.com. ☕︎. Clean it with hot water and dishwashing liquid to assure that your percolator is ready to use later on. Assuming you have a good quality percolator with an adequate brew basket and filter, your best bet is to try and use coarse ground coffee. Thank you law of diminishing returns. How to Use A Coffee Percolator When Camping. Process to Make Coffee in a Camping Percolator. The Stanley Camp Percolator is one of the most compact options you’ll find, and it quickly brews up 6 cups of coffee—plenty to get you started in the morning. Just like in the open fire, you could let the percolator heat up until it begins to percolate, then you could remove it from the direct embers and let it sit on the edge of the coals until it finishes brewing your coffee. These are available in different capacities determined by the number of cups one can hold. However, you may not have these fancy machines with you when you are camping or on vacation. No worries–we go in-depth on this simple yet useful camping tool to drink coffee. You may have seen one before, but do you know how to use a camping percolator? Keep in mind that most camping coffee percolators use a filter in the baskets for the coffee. However, in different settings, other varieties of coffee makers can be used. Your percolator can be used on any sort of heat source, but a nice bed of coals at the edge of your campfire might be best. While the coffee percolator is not the optimum way to brew coffee for a lot of people, it is a method that will work at getting the coffee done while you are camping. Read a lot of reviews as you seek to learn everything pertaining to the usage of a percolator, Determine the features you want to help find the percolator that will best suit your situation, Consider the number of people that will regularly use the coffee percolator, Decide how long you want the percolator to keep your coffee hot once it's off the fire, Once you are done cooking, disassemble your coffee maker and clean every part thoroughly, Dry all the pieces on a drying rack till they are absolutely moisture free, Pack your percolator as you do when you go camping, Cleaning it once a month with a water-vinegar solution will help to remove the coffee stains, Store the coffee percolator in its box to keep it safe. The, press, for example, has such an insert even with a screw on the lid. After all, you wouldn't want to be tasting rust-flavored coffee due to lack of maintenance. Add whatever you prefer, such as a sweetener. Supplies You Will Need To Use A Coffee Percolator. Here are some tips: Image source: unsplash.com via Clem Onojeghuo. Very big grounds will waste the delicious coffee flavor while too small grounds might dissolve and end back into your coffee hence adding more bitterness. Just remember that anything you take to the camp site is another thing to carry; and liquids may spill. II. Add the coffee to the basket. Something about this idyllic setting just seems to make the coffee taste better than it would at home. From camping, to a holiday abroad, your trustee stove percolator is easily portable, which is the big advantage of knowing how to make coffee this way. Coffee from a camping percolator can last about 4 or 5 days if stored in a thermos. Remove the percolator : Take off the top basket, dispose the grounds and now, your coffee is ready. Selecting the right camping coffee percolator In today’s world the simple percolator that was used by previous generations has come a long way with the help of technology. Like the image, these old school but useful tools have been part of American iconography since 1880. Whereas fine ground coffee will work, it may spill through the filter or through some brew baskets, so you’d be better served with coarse ground coffee. The tube and basket rest inside the percolator pot. Most percolator lids have a see-through globe/knob on it so you can easily identify how strong the coffee is. In the following section, we shall discuss how they operate: A campfire is usually very hot, and trying to make a good cup of coffee over without causing scorching is very challenging. Cylinder shaped camping coffee percolators can be transported easily since they can be packed with other equipment and supplies; the rounder ones are harder to pack based on their size. Camping percolator coffee pot: The percolator coffee pot works by brewing the coffee but with the continuous cycling of the boiling or by nearly boiling brew through the coffee grounds with the gravity so that the required strength can be achieved.The percolator coffee pot is one of the most traditionally used in the camping world. You know, like camping in your car? 8 Best Foam Sleeping Pads for Camping . There’s got to…  ☕️. If you have enough sources to light up a fire, then it is very well. If it didn’t taste like good coffee, people would not have constantly been using and still using it until this day (if for example, you are camping or somewhere with no electricity). Percolators – The Classic Camping Coffee Maker. Well, I guess the first thing you will need to know is some of the key things you will need to bring in your camping gear to use a coffee percolator. Prepare a coal bed and dig a small hole about 6 inches (15 cm) deep and 12 inches (30 cm) across by the fire. It is a good idea to use a high quality coffee grinder that guarantees a uniform grind each and every time. Scoop your coffee of choice into the brewing basket. They are also of different sizes to suit different brewing needs. Once the fire is going, you want to place your coffee percolator on a campfire grill grate. Enjoy Your Cup … StarryEyedCamping.com. image source: unsplash.com via Kyle Peyton. Read on to learn how to use a percolator coffee pot to brew great coffee. That’s why. The truth is that everyone has rather specific tastes and preferences, so most people tend to buy the same coffee at the same place and use the same method to brew it. You may also want to use a percolator because it gives you total control. Percolator coffee is best for family camping trips and large groups of campers. The better percolators are made from titanium and iron, as these two metals cope well in extreme heat. This will probably ruin the taste of the coffee or produce fewer cups if there are over four people relying on the same pot. On the downside, most french presses generally have flimsy parts, may require you to do unnecessary stirring of the coffee when it is poured in, and obviously are more easily found in smaller units than say something like the GSI Outdoors 12 cup percolator. First off, you can use a portable propane stove or single burner, such as the Outbound Propane Stove. Even though making coffee outdoors can be a challenge, though, it is not an impossibility. If you leave a percolator on too long, it will eventually burn the coffee and/or it will be really strong. If you don’t have a see-through knob, you’ll have to open the lid to observe what color it is. Manual percolators require a bit more attention than their electric counterparts. 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