Coffee in my Sleeping Bag

Coffee in my tent, in the morning.

When camping in the wilderness I don’t do complicated. Or I at least try to avoid it. That’s why I kicked coffee for my 2015 and 2017 AT section hikes. I decided to endure the caffeine headaches rather than make my coffee every morning on the trail.

In 2016 I opened a coffee shop and started offering pour-over coffee to my patrons. This was when I also began using the pour-over method at home. Unfortunately the idea of doing this at a campsite did not occur to me until halfway through the summer of 2019. Sigh.

Sometimes us old dogs take a while to learn new tricks.

This is the basics of how pour-over coffee works. Why it works for me on the trail is due to my collapsible coffee cone.

I found a collapsible cone on Amazon (where else?). Check it out: Collapsable Coffee Cone.

The weight penalty for this is minor. I carry the collapsible cone, some small filters, and a small container of coffee.

Here’s my favorite part! Early in the morning I drag my arse out of my tent to retrieve my bear bag. Wait. That’s not my favorite part.

I return to my tent to brew my coffee while everyone is still asleep. That's my favorite part!

• Note: I do not boil the water inside my tent. Never light a camp stove inside a tent.

The process is simple:

1. Heat water to boiling. Only 12 ounces. My drinking cup is small.

2. Place my pour-over cone over my cup, and place the filter inside the cone. Carefully pour one scoop of grounds into filter.

3. Once water is done boiling slowly pour over grounds, soaking them, but not overfilling the cone. Continue doing this until the cup is full of coffee.

4. Enjoy the coffee

I then crawl back into my bag to sip my coffee. Morning quiet time with the sound of a running stream. It’s hard to imagine a better feeling.

If the sun is up maybe I’ll sit next to the stream with my coffee. There’s options available as long as I have my warm cup of Jo.

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