By Patrick Gensel

Coffee, that mystical bean teaming with encapsulated energy. For centuries, folks have been consuming hot water infused with this bean. For some, it is a means of day-starting energy. Others simply love the rich and bold flavor, regardless people from all walks of life enjoy it.

Coffee is not just for the men and women of the world putting in their days worth of work, coffee can also fuel those who play outdoors. Rock climbers getting up before the break of dawn to get those pitches in, or campers up for an early morning breakfast before a day of hiking are both situations where coffee and the outdoors can merge. In many cases though, coffee prep can be a detailed endeavor leading many to settle for Instant coffee. Though there are many great solutions for tasty instant coffee, it does not have to be the only choice.

One of the many options for making a good cup of coffee while playing outside is a French press. With a French press, hot water is added to the container of the press and ground coffee is added directly to the water. After a few minutes of steeping, the press is plunged down, pushing the coffee grounds through the water resulting in a strong cup of coffee.

There are several options on the market for a convenient camping french press. Snow Peak makes a titanium French press that weighs in at only 6.3 ounces and retails for about $53. Another great option for back country french pressing if you happen to own a Jetboil Flash, is the Jetboil Coffee Press. With this coffee press add-on for the Flash, water is boiled, and the coffee pressed right in the Flash’s cooking vessel. The vessel also doubles as a way to drink the coffee, thanks to the sip through lid.

If car camping is more your speed, then weight won’t be as much of an issue, and maybe brewing with a percolator is for you. Percolators work by adding water, and filling a basket with coffee grounds. The basket sits in the top portion of the percolator urn, and as water boils, it bubbles up into the basket of grounds thus brewing coffee. REI makes a fantastic stainless steel percolator with the camper in mind.

For the ultra light minded folks, there are good old fashioned reusable coffee filters such the MSR MugMate. Filters of this sort can be easily stowed with your other ultralight cooking gear and can be used for coffee or tea. With this type of filter, you simply add ground coffee and set the filter into a cup of hot water, letting it steep to the desired strength.

There also is instant coffee, which is perhaps the lightest weight solution for coffee on the go. Though instant coffee has long been revered as “less than quality tasting” there are a few really good options on the market now. One such option is Starbucks Via. Out of all the instant coffee available, Via seems to be the closest to tasting like fresh ground, though it is a bit pricey.

Before setting out on your next adventure, take a look at your options, and consider what you plan to do. More than likely one of these solutions will fit the bill better than the others. Oh, and one more thing! Don’t forget the cream and sugar.