There were only a handful of things that cowboys in the Wild West really looked forward to as they charged out into the wild frontier, never really knowing what life was going to throw them next – and one of those simple pleasures had to be a good cup of cowboy coffee!
Sure, most of us are used to getting our coffee at some fancy joint with a breeze stuff or three behind the counter, ordering our beverage in all kinds of different languages and adding plenty of different “extras” to the cup.
But if you are real fan of coffee (the real deal stuff, just as black as space itself with some of the most unique flavor profiles you couldn’t possibly imagine), you just haven’t lived until you’ve had coffee the way they made it out on those cattle drives – brewed smartly on a roaring campfire.
At the same time, a lot of us (especially us city slickers) have lost a lot of the “secret knowledge” our ancestors had when it came to putting together simple luxuries like this.
Most of us haven’t done ANY cooking on a campfire outside of roasting marshmallows and maybe burning some hotdogs, and brewing the perfect cup of Joe on and open flame may not be something that you are all that comfortable with right out of the gate.
Thankfully though, by arming yourself with all of the inside information we have for you below, you’ll be rocking and rolling with a master plan to brew your own coffee while camping (or just on the fire pit in the backyard) whenever you like.
Let’s dive right in!
The Best Beans Make the Best Coffee
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/asherisbrucker/11589552836
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but if you’re looking to make a top-notch couple of coffee out on a campfire (or in the comfort of your own home, for that matter) you’re going to need to make sure that you get your hands on the highest quality coffee beans that have been roasted to perfection after passing through a rigorous selection process.
The web is going to be your best friend when it comes time to find the perfect coffee beans for your specific tastes, and coffee suppliers in your local area can help you find perfect coffee beans to help you out as well.
Always go with those that have been roasted already, but try to stay away from coffee beans that have been ground-up already as they’ll release a lot of their oils and their freshness if you don’t grind them up right before you make coffee out of them.
A good old-fashioned hand cranked grinder is going to work wonders to open up your coffee beans and their maximum flavor when you’re out in the woods!
Buy the Right Camp Stove Brew Kettle
There are plenty of companies out there that are selling old school camp stove brew kettle options designed to look and operate exactly the same way that brew kettles used by the cowboys more than 100 years were.
Today they take advantage of higher-end construction materials and technology, but as a general rule they are close to carbon copies.
All you have to do is fill up your camp stove brew kettle with plenty of water, don’t be your freshly ground coffee beans directly into the water inside of the pot, and then place the flameproof cattle directly into the fire (on top of a solid bed of coals to speed things up).
After about 15 minutes or so you’ll be able to pull the entire cattle out of the fire (using an over proof glove, or something similar) and will then be able to pour yourself a picture perfect cup of cowboy coffee – just as pure and as delicious as it gets.
The heavy coffee grounds will inevitably settle at the bottom of the cattle, allowing you to pour smooths and delicious coffee so long as you do your best not to jostle or shake things up.
Bring Your French Press out to the Woods with You
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenlynn/9427764813/
Of course, if you are looking for a high class couple of coffee the way that you make it at home, you’ll also have the opportunity to bring your French Press out to the woods with you.
Small, compact, and lightweight, all you have to do to make the most out of this coffee maker is to heat the water up on the fire (and just the water) before pouring it into your French Press and then adding your coffee into a station at the top.
Simply use your French press exactly the way you would at home and you’ll be able to enjoy a fantastic cup of Joe whether you’re in the woods 1,000,000,000 miles from civilization or just parked at a picnic table under a pine tree 100 feet from those ubiquitous Starbucks cafés.
The Final Thought
At the end of the day, making cowboy coffee on a campfire is really simple, really straightforward, and really a lot of fun. Use the inside information above (as well as good old-fashioned common sense) when making a great cup of Joe out in the woods and you won’t have any trouble whatsoever.