Camping coffee for 17 guys

[mmmcoffee]

Hi all need some help, next weekend going camping out bush with 17 mates and we need coffee. No power only fire and an ability to make enough coffee relatively quickly for everyone. Any suggestions would be sensational!!

Thanks all.

[gonzob]

I had a similar discussion in my head a while back. I didn't solve the espresso side of the equation, but I did think that to get frothy milk you could fit a steam wand to a pressure cooker, and put that on the fire. The good thing about a pressure cooker is that it is a properly designed pressure vessel with an over-pressure mechanism. I think they run at about 1 atmosphere (120C), and you have lots of room for water, so you don't run out in a hurry.The big problem is having enough milk for 18 people...

Gonzo

[readeral]

Just make a bunch of French press...

[Javaphile]

A pourover/drip, mokapot, or french press would work but they will take many pots to make coffee for 17 people.

The only method I can think of off-hand that would brew enough over fire for that many people would be a 'cowboy pot' to either boil or percolate the coffee. The pots come in a variety of sizes from small to huge and with or with-out the percolator components. 2l is a pretty standard size but I've seen them up to 8l in size. Do a search for 'enamel camping coffee pot' on the bay of evil for examples. Outdoor outfitters should also have them on hand. Around here you can find them at places like Target, K-Mart, and Walmart as well.


Java "Big pot" phile

[brendanw]

I have seen people do a 40L pour over before for a festival using large pots and a strainer with cloth in it.

[Gingerman]

Make Cowboy coffee. It sounds all wrong, but is very good. It's full Immersion coffee without the press.
Just don't take the last cup

[chokkidog]

I thought real cowboys used their socks as filters! :-D

Cowboy Coffee | American Cowboy



"According to some diaries written along the cattle trail from Texas to Wichita, cowboys would often heat the water, dump in the coffee, measuring by the fistful, and, when it was dark enough, they would pour it through one of their socks to filter out the grounds. Sugar was in high demand on the trail and was measured the same way. Yum!"

Quote from: How to Make Cowboy Coffee: 13 Steps (with Pictures)

[sprezzatura]

Yep. Cowboy coffee. Throw the grounds in simmering water; stir and remove from the tripod. Cover. Let cool a bit then ladle it out into enamel cups with sugar nearby. It's rough but it does the job.

I make a version in a glass called 'kopi tubruk' - you can place a saucer over the rim and invert it (carefully! Hot!) a neat camping trick: the grounds float up to the bottom of the glass and one can sip the coffee that seeps under the rim of the glass where it meets the saucer.

[yabba]

Make Cowboy coffee. It sounds all wrong, but is very good. It's full Immersion coffee without the press.
Just don't take the last cup

Make "Eggspresso" Essentially you make cowboy coffee but you add eggs into the grounds (cracked and then mushed in shells and all). Makes for a clean coffee as the eggs act like finnings drawing all the grounds into a goop at the bottom. I have heard that it doesn't impact on flavor.

Second advantage is you only need to cook the bacon and breakfast is done!

Cheers Yabba

[sprezzatura]

Oh, man - I'm trying this tomorrow. Standby for images! Cage or free-range? Gotta be free-range if it's cowboy coffee, partner.

[magnafunk]

I'd be inclined to say use only the egg whites. They're pretty much flavourless and we have a precedent of using them for clarifying stocks. Overcooked yolks have a very distinctive taste.

[sprezzatura]

Good point! Egg whites it is.

[herzog]

Isn't tea the customary camping beverage? Definitely a lot easier to prepare for 40 ppls!

Just get a billy and a campfire...

[stephen28]

Generator and a Behmor Brazen Plus. Surely one of the lads won't mind slotting a generator in their kit bag.....

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Just make a bunch of French press...

Yep...that is the practical solution.