If it was cold during the night, your mummy bag might be snugged up just so your mouth and nostrils are exposed to the crisp air inside your tent. Wouldn’t it be awesome if just as you sat up someone opened the zipper on your tent and passed a steaming mug of coffee into your hands? It’s a wonderful dream, but the next best thing is to make your own camping coffee bags. It’s easy, economical, and a much-appreciated convenience on campsite mornings.

All you need are some coffee filters, some 10-inch long pieces of cotton twine, and your favorite fine ground coffee.

Make Your Own Camping Coffee Bags

1. Lay a coffee filter flat on the picnic table or hold it in your hand.
2. Measure a couple of generous tablespoons of finely ground coffee (your favorite brand, of course) into the center. You don’t need a lot since each pouch is intended for a single cup.
3. Carefully gather the filter up around the coffee and twist the paper at the top closed.
4. Tie it off with a piece of the string.
5. Voila! You now have a camping coffee bag … or pouch.
6. Place the pouch into a large mug, and pour rapidly boiling water over the top to within 1/2 an inch of the rim. You don’t need to leave room for milk or cream or such because when you remove the bag, the coffee level will drop and you can add whatever you like or top it off with more hot water as you like.
7. Allow it to steep until its as black as you like it, then remove the bag and enjoy.

Chances are there are probably a few embers still glowing from your campfire the night before, but stoking the fire or building a new one takes precious time when you need coffee! Pre-making your own camping coffee bags is mostly about being ready for the first cup in camp quickly. No, the Keurig’s at home! You’ll be from striking the match to 16 ounces of boiling water in less than 15 minutes. The Zip cubes are all natural and food safe, so no problems there. In the meantime, you can stoke up the big fire and set a big pot of cowboy coffee to boiling for when the rest of the crew rolls out. Camping coffee bags are about getting the first fix of the morning … FAST!