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OuTDOOR ADvISOR Camp coffee confidential Take your daily brew to new heights—in the backcountry. by larry Pynn For $14 from Mountain Equipment Co-op (mec.ca), you can buy the Big Sky Bistro Coffee Press, a durable, convenient, all-in-one plastic mug/coffee press with a removable plunger and screen. Pour water and coffee into the cup and allow it to steep a few minutes. Then press the CourTesY JeTboil DRIP An advantage of making coffee through a filter is having zero grinds in your cup; the process is also faster. GSI Outdoors (gsioutdoors.com) makes a cute "diminutive" Ultralight Javadrip ($9.95). Weighing less than 14 grams, the drip has three plastic legs that clip to any mug. No need to haul paper filters or a French press contraption. I turned the mesh filter inside out, tapped out most of the grinds, then poured in water to clean out the rest. It took 45 seconds for medium-grind coffee to drip through. An alternative is the $16.95 MSR (cascadedesigns. com/MSR) reusable MugMate CoUrTESY gSI oUTDoorS CourTesY MeC PReSS plunger down until the full flavour of the coffee is released and the grounds are trapped on the bottom. Although I used mine for years in the backcountry, I remained unhappy with making coffee in a plastic container. Recently, I adopted a better method involving my much-adored Jetboil (jetboil.com) stove with lightweight pot, which allows for fast boiling and cooking without fear of wind blowing out the flame. Jetboil sells an easily stowed press specifically designed for its pots for $15. It makes a good batch of brew, enough for two or more persons, and few grounds find their way into your cup. Whatever press you choose, expect to experiment with the grinds to get the brew right. Don't bring glass models into the backcountry. Some suggest adding cold water at the end of the process to sink the grinds faster. I've even heard of camp cooks swinging the coffee pot overhead to allow centrifugal force to assist the settling process— something best attempted with extreme caution and well away from others. The minimalist method is to toss some grounds into a cup, add boiling water, let it settle, and drink. A splash of water in the cup afterwards and you're all washed up. of course, coffee making has advanced since the campfires depicted in John Wayne westerns. Here's a sampling of modern options for backcountry travel that are simple, inexpensive, and involve lightweight gadgets. Coffee/Tea Filter with lid, which weighs 28 grams. Scoop your grounds into the filter then plunk it into your cup and add hot water. eSPReSSO For the coffee connoisseur, GSI Outdoors sells the Italianmade 1 Cup Stainless Mini Expresso listed for $39.95, (gsioutdoors.com) plus $5.95 for the Glacier Stainless Double Walled Espresso cup. The stovetop maker brews one double-shot serving of about 75 millilitres. It was fun to make on the Jetboil, although the shot is small and I would have preferred the coffee hotter. Although probably too weighty and bulky for long hikes, it does add a classy touch to a wilderness camp. Allow the unit to cool before handling. InSTAnT Starbucks (starbucks.ca/coffee/ via) is trying to make instant coffee cool with its VIA Ready Brew packets. The company starts with arabica beans, makes a liquid coffee extract, then uses a process to dry the coffee in small steps. While lacking in full-coffee flavour, the packets are almost weightless at 3.3 grams apiece and convenient given that you just add boiling water. A Huffington Post taste test of 22 instant coffees gave top marks to Starbucks's VIA Colombia blend, which costs $11.95 for 12 one-serving packets. Further reading CoUrTESY gSI oUTDoorS D uring a camping trip to Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park in 1987, my older brother, Brian, introduced me to the perks of traditional cowboy coffee. Brian worked as a BC rail locomotive engineer, but started out in the 1960s as a bridgeand-building labourer stationed at remote railway sidings. "The work was tough and coffee breaks were rarely missed," he recalled. A crewman skilled in such matters would suspend a coffee pot over a campfire next to the tracks, boil the water, toss in some medium grounds, and return it to boil. Then he gently removed the pot, allowed it to cool a few minutes until the grounds settled, and poured. "In the great outdoors it will taste great and no one will mind a few grounds in the cup," assures my brother, now retired in Prince george. • outdoorgearlab.com/ Camping-Coffee-Reviews/ buying-advice • outdoorgearlab.com/ Camping-Coffee-Reviews • adventure-journal. com/2011/05/the-ultimateguide-to-camp-coffee • squidoo.com/campcoffee • ineedcoffee.com/04/ cowboycoffee B r IT ISH C o lU M B IA M AgA Z IN E • FA l l 2 0 1 3 61

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