Life in Central Oregon affords us the luxury of day trips to a large selection of scenic places. Occasionally we’ll hit a pub or restaurant, but more often these trips are accompanied by a packed lunch and sometimes dinner.
The one constant in all our adventures is a cuppa camp coffee … or two. Sometimes we cook a meal but regardless the size of the offering we always put the kettle on the stove.
We’ve had the same picnic kit for nearly 40 years. At it’s heart is an old “Frostline kit” with a small nylon utensil bag both gifts from Jack’s older sister. In here is a small ‘billy’ can, tea pot, two bowls, a couple sets of eating utensils, a sharp knife and a white gas stove.
Gear has gotten upgraded over the years. We still have a vintage Svea 123 Bronze stove, but our current cooker is MSR’s PocketRocket canister stove, it is a much quicker set up. Yeah, there is a S-bucks on every corner but our steamy hot mug served up with a view is unlike anything you find outside a chain latte store’s window, It is hard to equal.
The go to recipe on these cool winter outings is equal portions cocoa mix and Trader Joe’s instant coffee stirred into a mug of water fresh off the boil.
A scale is pretty important but the one you are using for everyday cooking is fine, if you don’t have one … why not?
Brewing method is a simple three step process. First you wet and bloom the coffee. Pour about 150 grams of 200 degree water over the grounds make sure they are all saturated. This stage is the bloom. Let that sit for about a minute or so.
Now add more water, bring the weight up to half of your finished amount.