5 Things You Can Do Instead of Waiting for Coffee to Brew When Camping
Save time on coffee brew without sacrificing the taste of your cup of joe, even when camping.
The fresh smell of nature and singing birds in the trees above wake you just at dawn. The tent rustles as you climb out of it, stretching and taking in the scene around you. Last night’s coals are ash, and the sun is just peeking through the trees. All is silent around you for a moment—the peaceful calmness that being in nature inspires overtakes you.
This scene is one I’m very familiar with as an avid hiker and camper. My next steps would be to build a fire and get out the percolator. Whether I had hiked the day before or would be hiking when I awoke, I must have coffee to keep my energy up, especially after a night of camping. So I would get the coffee going over the fire and then wait. And watch. And wait some more.
Maybe you think I should just use instant coffee, but I’m a picky drinker. I want the taste of drip coffee, and a percolator is as close to it as I usually get. So I wait, and I think about what hikers like me could do instead of waiting for coffee. If I had an instant coffee that tasted like drip, I would consider these five morning activities:
1. Morning Yoga
Clearing your mind before a day of exploration is a great way to prep for the day. Building a fire and watching coffee cook takes away from time you could use to meditate and stretch.
2. Identifying Birds or Plants
Those birds singing above are probably in a bird watcher’s guide. Or maybe you’re into plants and you have a field guide. You could venture out a bit and discover the species that you haven’t found yet.
3. Take the Tent Down
You’ll have to do it anyway, but if you get an early start, you’ll have more time for the trail. If you aren’t waiting for the coffee to brew, you will be ready to go earlier and can even stay on the route longer.
4. Relax with a Book under a Tree
When you’re on a hike, there may not be much time for leisurely lounging beneath a tree and reading. Especially when your schedule includes delayed actions because of percolation. But if you didn’t have to worry about that, you could have extra time to relax and enjoy where you are before you hike away from it.
5. Take Photographs
You’ll probably take plenty of photographs on your trip, but morning is a prime time for beautiful lighting, catching the drew on spider webs, and photographing the mist over valleys. If your coffee is ready quickly, you can spend your morning hours focused on those beautiful photographs instead of focused on a campfire.
There are so many wonderful experiences to be had when you’re in nature on the trail. With a high-quality instant coffee that tastes like it was made from a drip machine, you can stretch, relax, or enjoy a hobby instead of watching a percolator and waiting for the right brew. When you’re out there living your life, you want to make more time for the things you love, and spend less time making coffee.
