Coffee while touring
#26
Banned
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 43,586
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From: NW,Oregon Coast
Bikes: 8
As the trip went on, I seemed to adopt a combination
of washing up, after wild camping the night before ,
in the WC of the coffee shop, the next morning.
So buying a cup, and some morning nosh, and a wash, was a really good deal.
of washing up, after wild camping the night before ,
in the WC of the coffee shop, the next morning.

So buying a cup, and some morning nosh, and a wash, was a really good deal.
Last edited by fietsbob; 04-14-11 at 06:32 PM.
#27
Senior Lurker, mostly.
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 242
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From: Mid Missouri.
Bikes: '02 Raleigh C40, '10 Fuji Touring, and a refurbished '82 (I think) Motobecane Grand Touring
I second the Folgers coffee bags, it's what I have been using for quite some time, it's real coffee. Also for a less expensive alternative the Taster's Choice little individual packets are pretty good.
#29
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 362
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From: Rochester, MN
Bikes: 91 Specialized Sirrus, 96 Gary Fischer, 08 Specialized Roubaix Elite, 2010 Specialized Tricross Sport
I'm not a coffee snob but I do like strong black coffee. I take instant in a zip lock and boil water on my Trangia. It's not great but it's simple to make, carry and clean up. I stop for a real cup when I can.
#30

Oh, you want to drink coffee.
I have an Aerobie coffee press. See reviews here. It makes pretty good coffee, fast. The result is a small cup of strong coffee, closer to espresso than drip coffee. The press is indestructible plastic. It uses small round paper filters about 2 inches across. It's easy to clean, the filter cover unscrews from the base.
1. put a filter in the base and add coffee. Fill up the base with very hot water, stir for just 10-15 seconds, then use the plunger to press the coffee through the filter into the mug.
You need a sturdy mug, since you press down on the plunger.
I used this every day when my drip coffee maker was broken, but I rarely use it now. I like big mugs of drip coffee with milk, instead of the small size this thing makes. Still, it's decent coffee, strong but not bitter at all.
Last edited by rm -rf; 02-17-11 at 05:54 PM.
#32
I bought a Vietnamese coffee maker when I was in there last year. If you go to any restaurant in Vietnam they make your coffee for you right at your table with one of these babies, its a French colonial influence. https://www.espresso-machines-and-cof...fee-maker.html
They are a lot better than the plastic ones that have been posted because they are metal and tough. They don't make the coffee taste like hot plastic, they don't require paper filters so there is less to carry, and they are a lot smaller because they are meant to actually BREW the coffee rather than just drip over it.
With the plastic ones I have used, this might not be true for all, the reservoir is always too big and once you pour the hot water in it goes straight through the filter very quickly and leaves you with watery coffee. Not so with this little beast. The reservoir is much smaller which forces you to refill it 2-3 times for a cup of coffee but it insulates the top of the mug while you are doing it so your coffee ends up much hotter, and darker than with other drippers. They come in a couple of sizes but the smallest one is best for touring. If you tour with a lot of people just get a couple of the small ones because its easier than one big one.
Here is a website with more info and better pictures: https://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/brewing-coffee.html
There are a lot of them on Amazon for about 3-5$ This one looks a lot like the one I have. I should have gotten more than one when I was in Vietnam because mine only cost about $0.25 or 5,000 dong! https://www.amazon.com/Newstar-Intern...f=pd_sbs_gro_1
They are a lot better than the plastic ones that have been posted because they are metal and tough. They don't make the coffee taste like hot plastic, they don't require paper filters so there is less to carry, and they are a lot smaller because they are meant to actually BREW the coffee rather than just drip over it.
With the plastic ones I have used, this might not be true for all, the reservoir is always too big and once you pour the hot water in it goes straight through the filter very quickly and leaves you with watery coffee. Not so with this little beast. The reservoir is much smaller which forces you to refill it 2-3 times for a cup of coffee but it insulates the top of the mug while you are doing it so your coffee ends up much hotter, and darker than with other drippers. They come in a couple of sizes but the smallest one is best for touring. If you tour with a lot of people just get a couple of the small ones because its easier than one big one.
Here is a website with more info and better pictures: https://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/brewing-coffee.html
There are a lot of them on Amazon for about 3-5$ This one looks a lot like the one I have. I should have gotten more than one when I was in Vietnam because mine only cost about $0.25 or 5,000 dong! https://www.amazon.com/Newstar-Intern...f=pd_sbs_gro_1
Last edited by zeppinger; 02-17-11 at 08:06 PM.
#34
I second the Aerobee Aeropress. Simply the best coffee maker I have ever used, home or away. Easy to use on the road and cleans up with a paper towel or whatever. I now own 3.
Last edited by k9 gromit; 02-18-11 at 11:02 PM. Reason: spelling
#35
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jan 2011
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From: PNW
Bikes: Novara Randonee, Trek 800
There are a lot of them on Amazon for about 3-5$ This one looks a lot like the one I have. I should have gotten more than one when I was in Vietnam because mine only cost about $0.25 or 5,000 dong! https://www.amazon.com/Newstar-Intern...f=pd_sbs_gro_1
That Aerobee Aeropress looks pretty sweet too!
And I also do agree there is a difference in taste between coffee made in plastic vs metal.
#37
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 87
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From: Vancouver, BC
Bikes: Surly LHT 54cm, Thorn Nomad Mk2
I wasted countless hours waiting for coffee to drip using a GSI Java Drip, and eventually settled on the Big Sky Bistro Mug.
I'm still on my original one over a year later, it's been eaten by animals at night, I hear a wheezing sound when I fill it up with hot water, but I will throw some shoe goo on it before I head out again in a few weeks. I use it 2 times a day, Clips onto my panniers or rack, and I'm a master of a one handed rider now - If I didn't have the Big Sky Bistro riding through the 9 days of hell going to Yellowknife with little to no food, water, people - but bugs (LOTS) and bear, and bison - I would have lost my marbles...
further.
I wrote a review here on it:
https://www.tiredofit.ca/2010/01/big-...ffee-pressmug/
I can't find it at the local outdoors store where I picked it up from originally for $15 but you can buy it from Amazon
I'm still on my original one over a year later, it's been eaten by animals at night, I hear a wheezing sound when I fill it up with hot water, but I will throw some shoe goo on it before I head out again in a few weeks. I use it 2 times a day, Clips onto my panniers or rack, and I'm a master of a one handed rider now - If I didn't have the Big Sky Bistro riding through the 9 days of hell going to Yellowknife with little to no food, water, people - but bugs (LOTS) and bear, and bison - I would have lost my marbles...
further.
I wrote a review here on it:
https://www.tiredofit.ca/2010/01/big-...ffee-pressmug/
I can't find it at the local outdoors store where I picked it up from originally for $15 but you can buy it from Amazon
#39
Silly Party Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 345
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From: NH
Bikes: Rans Stratus XP
I have an Aerobie coffee press. It makes pretty good coffee, fast. The result is a small cup of strong coffee, closer to espresso than drip coffee. The press is indestructible plastic. It uses small round paper filters about 2 inches across. It's easy to clean, the filter cover unscrews from the base.
On our last long trip we brought a backpacking french press made of plastic so it wouldn't break like the glass versions would. But the strainer part on top eventually started leaking. I bought an aerobie from amazon and have found it to be a great bike touring coffee maker. Faster and better tasting than a drip device, lightweight, packs smaller than a french press (and cleaning is waay easier than a french press).
https://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-AeroPr...7995496&sr=8-1
#41
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 40
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From: Ottawa Canada
Bikes: SC Heckler, Echo Pure, Giant XTC, Bianchi Strada, Fiori Modena, Norco Rampage
Cowboy coffee is the way to go on tour. Bring water almost to a boil, add grinds, let sit for a minute, then stir and let sit for a little longer. Then pour and be careful not to get the grinds in your cup. Makes great coffee, i even drink it black. This is what I did on my transAm tour this summer. And yes im a coffee addict too
#42
Riding
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,909
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From: Bend, Oregon
Bikes: Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro; Motobecane Nemesis Pro
Cowboy coffee is the way to go on tour. Bring water almost to a boil, add grinds, let sit for a minute, then stir and let sit for a little longer. Then pour and be careful not to get the grinds in your cup. Makes great coffee, i even drink it black. This is what I did on my transAm tour this summer. And yes im a coffee addict too
#43
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,766
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From: NE Tx
Bikes: Tour Easy, Linear USS, Lightening Thunderbolt, custom DF, Raleigh hybrid, Felt time trial
If a buck a cup is in the budget, 1+ for VIA.
DIY: paper filter, fav coffee, twist top closed, secure with clothespin, dip. Dime a cup.
DIY: paper filter, fav coffee, twist top closed, secure with clothespin, dip. Dime a cup.
#45
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,207
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From: Northern VT
Bikes: recumbent & upright
[QUOTE=valygrl;12240170]I carry a plastic coffee cone and paper filters. Many bigger grocery stores sell coffee in bulk, so you can buy & carry only as much as you'll need until the next resupply location. That said, I often buy a whole pound, that's how important coffee is to me.

+1 etc to this method. Use it all the time at home and on tour. The cone and filters are light weight and easy to transport. Prefer bulk coffee ground very fine for this method. I've also used the cone as a sort of colander.

+1 etc to this method. Use it all the time at home and on tour. The cone and filters are light weight and easy to transport. Prefer bulk coffee ground very fine for this method. I've also used the cone as a sort of colander.
#46
I use the tea bags used for loose tea, just with coffee instead. I get the bags at the local Whole Foods store. I just dunk the bag up and down to extract the coffee. No mess, no fuss and good coffee. Good for short or long trips, a box of 200 filters weighs 4 oz, so you can take enough for any length tour. (I'm assuming that in tour longer than 200 days, you would be able to find more somewhere in the last 100 days : )
Pour boiling / hot water over coffee bag, dunk, discard bag, drink.
For backpacking I make them up ahead of time and just put the sweetener right in with the coffee. Used coffee bag goes on the campfire if it's burning hot enough.
#48
Senior Member



Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 12,726
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From: Madison, WI
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
GSI used to make a green lexan french press. The green one was much lighter than the black one. I just looked at REI website and they no longer sell the black one either. I prefer Folgers Gourmet Supreme from a french press.
I bought one of these for solo trips but have not tried it yet.
https://www.rei.com/product/792857
I also have taken instant on backpacking trips but I have to be really concerned about weight before I settle for instant.
I bought one of these for solo trips but have not tried it yet.
https://www.rei.com/product/792857
I also have taken instant on backpacking trips but I have to be really concerned about weight before I settle for instant.
#49
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 70
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From: Helsingør
Bikes: 1 Speedster & 2 Ibis Touche, 2 Thorn Raven Tour, 2 Thorn Audax mk III, Pedersen, Koga Roadchamp, Centurion Super Le Mans, GT Karakoram Elite, Motobecane Trainer, Mtobecane Inter tandem and 9 cycles (singlecoaster, 2 - 3 gear Torpedo)
This year we are going to try our two new Bodum Travelpress on our touring bicycles.
https://www.bodum.com/dk/da/shop/detail/11057-01/
Nice to be able to have a good cup of fine coffee. Usually we prefer Moonsooned Malabar, although we have difficulties getting this from our coffee house here at last. We are still searching easy and light ways and equipment to getting the water boiled.
https://www.bodum.com/dk/da/shop/detail/11057-01/
Nice to be able to have a good cup of fine coffee. Usually we prefer Moonsooned Malabar, although we have difficulties getting this from our coffee house here at last. We are still searching easy and light ways and equipment to getting the water boiled.
#50
I don't know.

Joined: May 2003
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From: South Meriden, CT
Bikes: '90 B'stone RB-1, '92 B'stone RB-2, '89 SuperGo Access Comp, '03 Access 69er, '23 Trek 520, '14 Ritchey Road Logic, '09 Kestrel Evoke, '08 Windsor Tourist, '17 Surly Wednesday, '89 Centurion Accordo, '15 CruX, '17 Ridley X-Night, '89 Marinoni
Starbucks Via is amazing. I drink it at work.






