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 48 Ounce |
 48 Ounce |
I don’t have one yet, but this coffee press was mentioned on one of our recent live chat sessions and it looks like a “must have” for connoisseurs of camp coffee!
REI offers the press in three different sizes, they all get great reviews. The 48 ounce size would mollify a number of grouchy Scouters!
- Simple to use—add coarse ground coffee or loose-leaf tea and near-boiling water; let steep for 4 min. then press the plunger and pour
- Built-in spout has a fine-mesh screen to filter out the grounds while you pour
- Vacuum-insulated, double-walled stainless-steel carafe keeps your beverage warm for up to 4 hours
- Large 48 fl. oz. capacity holds enough coffee for your whole group
- Handwash the REI Table Top French coffee press with soap and warm water
48 oz. Press available from REI
32 oz. Press available from REI
20 oz. Available from REI
If you can handle the weight/storage I highly recommend making cold brew coffee at home and taking the coffee concentrate in a jar to camp. At camp just boil some water and add it to the concentrate in your cup. You can have a near perfect cup once you figure out a good ratio of coffee to water, and the only clean up is your cup.
We have used the 48 oz REI Coffee Press for the scoutmasters in our troop (Troop 204, Cary NC) for several years and greatly enjoy the coffee press vs the old coleman setups.
We have 2 of these and they see lots of use all year round.
As a press user at my house, I recommend pouring a small amount of boiling water into the pot to wet the grounds, stir for a couple of seconds and let sit for a minute or so before pouring in the remainder of the water. Stir for a couple of seconds and then wait 5 minutes before pressing.
Sitting much more than 5 minutes before pressing will leave the coffee with a bitter taste.
Cleaning these are real easy as they mostly just need a quick wash with very little soap on the filter to keep any build up.
I have this Press for home use and have used it as well on our last 2 camps; it was a lifesaver for several Scouters, not the least myself!! Cleaning is a little hassle as Frank suggested, but the coffee is perfect!!
While I am not a coffee consumer, I would welcome the latest device to prepare the best cup of tea, Earl Grey, in the woods. Naturally, only lemon or honey. The properly steeped cup of tea is refreshing anywhere, anytime, etc..
There’s no question that the French press method is a great way to make coffee and it sure is an improvement over the traditional stovetop percolator. Based on my experience, though, both in the field (with the JetBoil French press gadget) and at home with a couple different FP pots, they get really messy when it comes to cleaning them. When the brew is done and the coffee enjoyed, there’s a pack of soggy fine-grained grounds and you can dump out maybe 80% of it. The rest has to be wiped or rinsed out (either in running water or a basin) which then has to be disposed of. One way to neaten this up might be to put the ground coffee in a filter packet, which would affect the brewing time somewhat as a tradeoff for a neater cleanup. I suppose the filter circles that fit a percolator basket could be adapted for the task, and could be packed and taped up at home before hitting the trail. I have not tried this but it would be worth investigating.
I don’t think stirring during the brew makes a lot of difference, but one thing that does (and helps with cleanup) is to spoon out the grounds that float to the top at the end of the brew time before pushing the plunger down. The screen moves more smoothly through the remaining grounds and reduces the likelihood of splashback.
And for those who enjoy espresso, the Bialetti Moka pot works very well, makes passable espresso and isn’t too hard to clean.
I can vouch for the camp styled coffee press. I bought the GSI 30 oz model last year and love the coffee so much I use it in my office at work daily. I wish I would have bought the 50 oz model for campouts, though.
There’s a big debate in the coffee world about the necessity for stirring 1 minute into your steep. I don’t know whether it’s the water, the temperature extremes or some other reason, but I find it more necessary to stir when camping. It appears the coffee clumps more than at home.
If your coffee isn’t turning out the way you hope, try a quick stir.
Also, anyone looking to step up their coffee game may want to look into the Aeropress. This gizmo, from the same company that designed the aerobie flying toy, produces espresso or other coffee beverages faster and at lower temperatures than a traditional press. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you are a solo coffee drinker it may fit the bill.
Maybe a half gallon… Our group goes thru a lot of coffee with all the adults having big insulated tumblers.
I think I’ll go with the 48 oz. Too bad it doesn’t come in gallon size.