Travel Coffee
Coffee is one of the few things that our crew can agree on. That is – that it's necessary to function – not exactly what constitutes a good coffee.
The truth is, most of us will take it in whatever form it comes in, a fancy at-home brew or the carafe that has been sitting in the gas station for 8 hours.
A couple years ago I settled on what I consider to be the most effective way of making coffee. Certainly, there are more precise (and expensive) methods for brewing, but for me, the Aeropress is about as good as it gets. Let me tell you why.
It's cheap. Not only is the device itself less than $30, but it also doesn't require any electricity, and you need little more than a spoon, a cup, and a way to heat water in order to make it work.
It's small. The Aeropress itself, along with a mug, spoon and about a weeks worth of coffee will fit nicely in one of our Accessory Case 2.0's. Not bad for a way to have good coffee anywhere you go. If you vacuum seal your grounds, you can stash one of these kits almost anywhere and have GOOD coffee when you really need it, a natural disaster or zombie apocalypse isn't the time to deal with caffeine withdrawl.
It's durable. I'm actually unsure how you would break this thing. It's basically a big coffee syringe made out of high impact poly carbonate. Bullet proof glass is also made from poly carbonate, so there you go.
It's easy to use and easy to clean. There are quite a few recipes out there for the Aeropress, and you can certainly get as nerdy as you want, but the basic concept is pretty simple and results in a great cup of coffee regardless of the quality of the beans you use.
Here's how you use the damn thing.
1) heat some water.
I like to use a little Jetboil when camping, but any other method will due. Heat enough to fill your mug or a bit more.
2) Prep the press.
Basically, insert a paper filter into the filter holder and set the press on top of your mug. Some weirdos prefer to rinse the paper filter in a little water before they add the grounds, this is mostly optional. Your call.
3) Add the grounds.
We prefer about 18 grams of beans, but you can use as much or little as you prefer. You can pre-measure your coffee into separate baggies before your trip, that seams tedious though. The important part is that you have pretty fine grounds, not espresso fine, but definitely finer than you would put in your standard drip machine.
4) Pour and steep.
Literally just pour your hot water into the press and stir it with a spoon. Let it sit for 60 to 90 seconds.
5) Press and top off.
Slowly press the plunger on the press until you hear the hiss of air. Top off your cup with the remaining hot water. enjoy.
The whole process takes less than 5 minutes with the Jetboil. If you use another heating system, your mileage may vary.
You can check out some of the handy cases and pouches that we make using the links below.
