Coffee maker for camping
Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 12:02
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birdnerd
Hi all, we are heading off at start of May for 6 weeks and I am looking to buy a coffee/cappuccino maker that is compact, easy and quick to use and clean to take with us. Is there such a thing? Can anyone recommend one they have used or seen someone else use that would be suitable. I have googled these but want to hear from people who have them and use them or seen them is use. We are travelling with an off road camper. Thanks. Sorry if this has already been covered!
Amanda
Reply By: The Explorer - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 12:09
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 12:09
Hi
Have a look at this thread for some ideas..
Coffee On the Road thread
Cheers
Greg
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Reply By: Member - Leigh (Vic) - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 12:23
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 12:23
Billman coffee maker
Had good results with one of these. Takes a bit to master but results are quite good. Like the compact nature of it!!
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:34
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:34
.
Hi Amanda,
We do appreciate good coffee and have an espresso machine at
home. Got tired of instant when camping so looked for alternatives.
I actually missed the Thread that Greg referred to but encountered most of the referrals in my search anyway.
Without debating the pros and cons, we settled on a small double-walled stainless plunger. Glass being too perilous over corrugations. We simply grind sufficient beans for the trip then carry the ground coffee in screw top jars.
Now generally, I drink black, long or short, but Roz prefers cappuccino so there was a need to stretch the milk. We found that the plunger did a fine job of stretching, even better than the steam at
home, so it was a simple matter to plunge the coffee and put it into a cup then pour heated milk into the plunger and a few pumps produced beautiful stretched milk. Voila!
Incidentally, milk frothers or stretchers based on the coffee plunger concept can be purchased, so it was not an original idea of
mine.
One small point........ typically, the plunger had a coiled spring to press the fine mesh against the wall of the plunger. This added a fair amount of friction whilst frothing but removing it solved the problem. It was only necessary to press down slowly so as not to force grounds past the mesh.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: birdnerd - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:29
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:29
Thanks Allan. Great info. Yes I like my cappuccino as
well, whereas my husband is happy with instant- and I am not! Have a couple of months to make a decision.
Amanda
FollowupID:
863378
Reply By: OBJ - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:34
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:34
I don't own one but have had a very nice roadside coffee frm one a few years ago.
Atomic Coffee Machine
OBJ
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Follow Up By: K&FT - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:19
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:19
We have an Atomic, we bought from the importer some 5 years ago and it lives in our caravan. Always makes great coffee which means everyone in
camp comes to you for coffee LOL.
I like the fact that you can use heat from any source to make it work.
We bought ours from here.
DiBartoli Coffee machines and Accessories
parts are readily available although we have never needed any to date
Frank
FollowupID:
863375
Reply By: Member -Pinko (NSW) - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:59
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 13:59
If you purchase one these you will use it at
home and on the road and visiting friends.
Had one for over twelve months and no moving parts.
The best espresso
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Gramps - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:18
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:18
Sometimes it's great to be a tea drinker :)
Regards
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: The Original JohnR (Vic) - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:22
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:22
Hi Al, always easy to do a tea. Presume it is the old Gramps from years back? If instant or poor coffee is on offer, tea is my preference too
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Follow Up By: Gramps - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:28
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:28
G'day
John,
Yep, still hanging about. Always glad I don't have an addiction to coffee. Tastes like dust in water for
mine :)
Regards
FollowupID:
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Reply By: K&FT - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:20
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:20
We have an Atomic, we bought from the importer some 5 years ago and it lives in our caravan. Always makes great coffee which means everyone in
camp comes to you for coffee LOL.
I like the fact that you can use heat from any source to make it work. We mostly use a single gas burner because it is quicker than the electric hotplate.
We bought ours from here.
DiBartoli Coffee machines and Accessories
parts are readily available although we have never needed any to date
AnswerID:
594840
Follow Up By: birdnerd - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:32
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 14:32
Thanks for that. Are you heading off on a road trip this year? Maybe we could just follow you guys and get a coffee from your van!
Amanda
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: K&FT - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 19:52
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 19:52
Hi Amanda
There are several really goo utube videos on how the Atomic works and the techniques to get the best from it.
That was what convinced me to buy one.
Frank
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Reply By: outback epicurean - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 18:10
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 18:10
Hi
We use a Mukka Express, made by Bialetti, bought at a camping
shop but not commonly seen around. Go on line to see details and suppliers.
Had it for 8 years and just keep on going.
Basically bottom tank with water, coffee in the middle and milk in the larger top tank. Put on stove and pressure builds up forcing water through coffee and into top tank. Milk is also being warmed and pressure of coffee into top tank froth's the top as
well.
No moving or parts to wear out, just simple and works. Just need to
check the little pressure gizmo that the coffee comes through is not blocked.
Of course if you just want flat white any of the stovetop metal 2 tank models are quite good.
We think either of these are much better than the plunger type. Had a couple and quickly discarded.
Enjoy
PS my wife has just checked the Internet and appears no longer available!!!! May be some still around, try large camping stores or maybe other similar machines
Sorry for the lead up and then deflation!
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Follow Up By: birdnerd - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:06
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:06
Thanks for that, talk about a build up! Sounds quite good, especially the milk park as I like my cappuccino. Will do some research.
Amanda.
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Reply By: Shaker - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 19:32
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 19:32
Are you wanting information about stove top, 12 volt or 240 volt?
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Follow Up By: birdnerd - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:04
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:04
Hi Shaker, stove top or 12 volt. Either either, whatever will make me a delicious, quick cappuccino!
Amanda.
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Reply By: QLD Blake - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 20:56
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016 at 20:56
Can't go past a Nespresso coffee machine. Great coffee, yes you have to buy pods but you order them online and get them sent where ever. Also a very compact machine.
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Reply By: Sigmund - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:23
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:23
The KISS principle works for us - lighte, simple, reliable, cheap, are good. So we either just use a drip filter (and the grounds stay in the filter that gets cleanly turfed in the bin when done) or some decent coffee bags that are fairly recent on our market. They're Jeds, made in NZ. For folk who like their coffee on the weaker side, one bag will do two.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:48
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:48
We use the Jetboil which uses a butane gas bottle and is designed for hikers so is light and compact. With the extra attachment the coffee plunger is just like any other plunger but is not glass and like Allan B says above, milk can be stretched in the plunger. We also take the beans whole and grind with a 240v grinder (plugged into invertor) as its such a quick power draw this works fine. This allows us to have coffee on the road without a power supply.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:52
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 09:52
Sorry not butane but propane/isobutane.
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Reply By: Member - Iain H1 - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 11:13
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 11:13
I too am unable to get the heart started without a industrial strength coffee or four every morning.I found a thing called a 'Aoro press",essentially, like a espresso machine that uses hand pressure to get the golden stuff into the cup,cheap as chips,easy to use and you can dose it up to the strength you need.
Iain
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Reply By: MUZBRY- Life member(Vic) - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 11:18
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 11:18
Gday
After all those replies, i would like to know how many hours or days all you adicts can go without a coffee ?
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 14:55
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 14:55
Go without coffee? What do you mean?
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Follow Up By: Bob R4 - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 21:30
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 21:30
Going without coffee! Is that anything like the concept I've heard of using left-over wine for cooking?
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Follow Up By: MUZBRY- Life member(Vic) - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 08:43
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 08:43
Gday
I liked the idea of making icepoles for the kids with left over wine. Can you imagine the kids at the first stop asking mum for an icepole? Sorry kids, mum forgot to make them ,,she couldnt find the left over wine.
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Follow Up By: Sigmund - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:16
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:16
I'm a much nicer person with a coffee inside!
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Reply By: Member - John and Lynne - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 14:38
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 14:38
We could not leave
home without our simple Italian style stove top coffee maker. We have found life is a lot easier if we just learn to like a good long black and do without milk - frothy or otherwise. (Visitors can be offered a flat white.) If the coffee is good enough milk becomes unnecessary. Of course being able to make decent coffee led us to the next level of coffee snobbery. We purchased an old style basic hand operated coffee grinder so we can have freshly ground coffee beans of our choice whenever and where ever we have coffee. Camping is not meant to be about hardship. Lynne
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Follow Up By: Nargun51 - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 12:17
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 12:17
We have a number of Bialetti type expresso stove top machines, ranging in sizes from a demi-tasse up to a 12 cup. The oldest is almost 60 years old (imported from Europe because my in-laws couldn't get a decent cup of coffee in
Melbourne (!) after immigrating). One of the four cup ones lives in the van.
Perfect for the coffee that demands to be saluted.(Why drink coffee if it's not like that?)
I also have one that I found in a country town (not one of the brand name ones) about 30 years ago. Same idea as the stove top expresso, but rather than the reservoir in the top to hold the brewed coffee it has a tap and lever controlled spout. The coffee is brewed in the same way but decanted straight to the cup via the tap.
Close the tap, leave it on the stove top for a minute or two to build up steam again and then use steam from the spout to heat milk. Not powerful enough to make a cappuccino, but makes a mean latte.
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Reply By: Australian Landscape Jewellery - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 22:23
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 22:23
Aeropress for sure. Simple, fast, light and quite cheap but
well made. Small and easily cleaned but the coffee is right up with the very best because it uses pressure. Just Google for them If you buy one, get the reusable flat plate type filter or the paper filters rather than the mesh filters.
If you want to make two large cups at a time, just make double strength and add hot water.We have had ours for several years and use it lots on the road and at
home. And we are particular about our coffee. If you are a beyond hope coffee fanatic, get a hand grinder as
well and grind the coffee fresh each time as you travel, it really makes a difference.
Mike
![Aeropress at Devils Marbles.](https://cdn.exploroz.com/images/forum/uploads/158518_0__TN600F.jpg?gid=133999)
Aeropress at Devils Marbles.
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Reply By: SuperGrover - Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 23:56
Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 at 23:56
We also love having a good coffee on the road and have a fully automatic at
home. However I do not like all the mucking around to get my coffee with portable machines or the cleanup after. Our answer is to add a capful of Baileys to your standard instant coffee and notice the difference. That is for a coffee when not driving. Our camping friends quickly purchased Baileys for their next trip. An alternative for Baileys would work just as
well but we have not had the need to try.
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Follow Up By: MUZBRY- Life member(Vic) - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 08:45
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 08:45
Gday
Now coffee with Baileys is my kind of coffee. Ill be trying that on the next run into the wild blue yonder.
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Follow Up By: Bob R4 - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 09:00
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 09:00
Do you use left over Baileys for that?
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Reply By: Sigmund - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:25
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:25
My partner and I amuse ourselves in the pursuit of cappuccinos in cafes and roadhouses. We aim to write the definitive guide to The Worst Coffee in Australia.
So far
Pimba has the gong. It's painful to dredge up the memory of a few years ago but it was an automated machine, weak as ... , and must've used powdered milk. There are few brews that have me saying I wish I hadn't drunk that but this was one.
As an aside, the camper trailer guru Collyn Rivers says that the two things that fail most often on CTs are the wheel bearings and the electrics. We can attest to the second of those. There seems to be a lot of 12v components that aren't made for off- or rough-roading.
Of course if you've got ground coffee and all the tech has failed there's always the 'cowboy brew' - the coffee tossed in the billy and treated so that the grounds have mostly sunk to the bottom before the pour. It helps to have a mustache for the remainder.
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Follow Up By: birdnerd - Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 15:07
Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 15:07
Thanks Sigmund. Yes we have had a few bad coffees on our travels, even poured them out they were that bad! We have no shortage of good coffee
places near
home, so pretty spoilt I think.
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Reply By: just - Monday, Jan 18, 2016 at 10:45