So how do you make the perfect coffee when on the road in a campervan? It's not easy, but it is attainable with a bit of effort. Life is all about little obsessions and rituals and one of my obsessions has developed around the quality home brew coffee, particularly first thing in a morning when the world is just waking up and you need that initial jolt of quality caffeine to kickstart the day.
If you are used to quality coffee at home, being on the road will bring you some unique challenges- not least the lack of 240v power to run a decent coffee machine. Everything in our VW camper runs off 12v and I have no intention of fitting an inverter for purely coffee purposes! Neither do I intend to ever buy an American Motorhome with a built in coffee machine- that would be just silly.
4 years of travelling in the van has taught me that there is no one perfect way to brew coffee for every occasion. The perfect technique depends on a whole manner of things that I will take you through below, with the pros and cons for each particular method.
Instant coffee (really!?!)
Style of brew- average at best. Like all things in life, the more you pay for the brand- generally the better the product.
Method- boil the water, add 1 or 2 tea spoons to the mug. Add hot water and stir!
Equipment- Mug and spoon.
Evaluation- although the brew is not the best, if you are after something quick, warm and wet and have little equipment with you, instant coffee can be ok. The brew is not comparable with the freshly made coffee that we will discuss later, but in emergencies it will get you out of a fix. This method is cheap, requires no specialist equipment, skill or indeed patience. It does what it says on the jar- provides instant coffee.
French press/cafetière
Style of brew- a smooth, long and relaxed brew in whatever quantity you like.
Method- add a heaped desert spoon of coffee grinds to the french press for each cup of coffee required. For this method you need the beans to be coarsely ground- too fine and the grinds will pass through the filter and corrupt your brew. Boil the kettle, but let the water come off the boil for a couple of minutes to avoid scalding the grains and causing a bitter after taste to your brew. Add the hot water to the press and stir to mix the grains. Add the lid and leave to brew for a few minutes. Gently push down on the press in a smooth and slow motion- the slower the better to avoid any grains escaping into the pourable coffee. Serve the coffee directly from the pot.
Equipment- a French press pot. These come in a variety of sizes from tiny 2 cup to large 8 cup pots. We have a large press that we bought on our travels, but ideally would go for one of the smaller version if we needed a replacement.
Evaluation- very quick and easy to use, producing a quality brew. French press pots are cheap and readily available. Ground beans are easy to come by and are relatively cheap. The only negative to this method is cleaning the pot afterwards. The used grains go everywhere! The best thing we have found is to rinse the pot with fresh water to discard the grains and then wash up as normal. The glass presses that are so popular and readily available are at risk of damage whilst in a campervan, but we have only broken one in four years of travel. A more robust option would be to go for an insulated metal press that look fantastic and seem really durable…but are considerably more expensive than the glass options.
Filter cone
Style of brew- a smooth, longer brew that can either be simple, or the most complex scientific process of weighing, measuring and timing that you could ever want to make it.
Method- using a filter cone, add a filter paper to the cone and then your finely ground beans. Generally when camping, we filter straight into the mug, although many people prefer to filter into another receptacle and then pour the brew later. Boil the water and allow a couple of minutes for it to come off the boil. Carefully add a small amount of water to the grains in the filter cone to start the brew, with just enough water to cover all the grains. When this has filtered through, add more water to the now wet grains to continue the brew. If you want a stronger brew, add only a small amounts of water and then repeat regularly. If you want a weaker brew, add more water initially to fill up the cone- gravity will take its course and push the water through at a quicker rate, diluting the brew.
Equipment- a filter cone and filter papers. Our guilty pleasure is a Snow Peaks Titanium filter cone that was a retirement gift from work. It is a thing of engineering beauty and brings me joy every time I use it. Is it any better than a plastic supermarket option? Probably not, but it keeps me smiling! I am a little sceptical of the collapsable silicone camping cones as I think that the silicone will taint the brew, but I have no proof of this.
Evaluation- for the full ritual of making a home brew coffee, you don’t get much better than this. You cannot rush the process and it requires your constant attention and focus. You can go as geeky or as simple as you require with the process, and this only adds to the ritual. The Japanese have a very ritualistic way of making tea- with the process being just as important as the outcome. This method of coffee making strikes me as very much the same. It is almost spiritual, and certainly very calming in its process! It is quite a cheap way to make your brew and requires little specialist equipment, but does take time and is not a method to use if you are in a rush.
Stove top espresso
Style of brew- a short, strong espresso brew that can be used as the base for lots of longer drinks if you wish. We tend to water down to an Americano length drink. The maker pushes hot steam up through the coffee grinds in the filter section, then this steam condenses into coffee in the upper pot.
Method- fill up the water section of the coffee maker with hot water. This is a top tip to keep the brew smooth. Adding cold water to the boiler means that the coffee pot has to be on the hob for longer, hence increasing the risk of a burnt aftertaste. Add the filter section to the water boiler and add a fine ground coffee to fill the filter section. Do not compress the coffee as this will affect the brewing process. Carefully screw on the coffee pot top to the espresso maker until finger tight- be careful if you added hot water to the boiler- it will be hot to touch so use a tea towel to protect your hands. Add the maker to a low hob heat and let the machine work its magic. Keep on the heat until no more coffee is adding to the upper pot- in effect you will have boiled the water section dry- do not worry about this- it is meant to happen!
Equipment- a stove top maker- these iconic coffee makers range from cheap look-a-likes, to the traditional angled pots to modern designer models from the traditional Italian coffee manufacturers
Evaluation- this method makes a strong brew!!!! It also makes a very short brew so be prepared to add hot water as required for your prefered strength. We like this method, particularly when on the road in Europe as often the only ground coffee available is a very fine grind that is too fine for a French press.
Wacaco manual pump Nespresso machine
Style of brew- a short, strong espresso type brew with all the consistency benefits that Nespresso pods offer.
Method- This is a compact coffee maker designed for providing pressurised coffee making on the go. You do however require a source of hot water. To use, simply unclip the collecting cup. Add the coffee capsule to the maker. Add hot water to the water container in the machine. Unlock the pump mechanism and start to pump. Once the pump generates the required pressure, the hot water will be forced through the capsule and into the cup below. Continue to pump until all the water is expelled.
Equipment- a specialist Wacaco pump.
Evaluation- produces a quality, consistent brew with the most desirable crema that is so hard to attain on the road. It is quite a faff to use, and has the need for specialist Nespresso compatible capsules that are not the most eco or economical way of consuming coffee. Nespresso style pods are however very accessible at supermarkets around the world. Wacaco do produce a version of the machine that you can add your own coffee grinds to, very similar to a normal espresso maker, but we have never used this version of their machine.
Other essentials
Grinding on the road- in a new development to my ever developing obsession with the best quality coffee on the road, I was gifted as part of my early retirement a snow peaks portable coffee grinder. This handy little gadget enables me to freshly grind the prefect amount of beans just prior to making each brew. It’s ceramic grinding disks can be set to a variety of grades to provide the perfect grind required. The benefit of this fresh grind is that you are more likely to attain a really good crema from a fresh grind as opposed to ground coffee that has been stored for a period of time.
Cups and thermos- we have far too many cups in our van. In reality you just need your favourite one- and we all have a favourite coffee cup! We fluctuate between liking normal china mugs, to ceramic, to metal to insulated. The benefits of an insulated mug are obvious- keeping your coffee warm and fresh over a longer period of time, but many people do not like raging hot coffee all the time and prefer to let their coffee cool naturally to the desired temperature.
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