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    Home » Recipes » Camping Beverage Recipes

    Campfire Coffee

    Published: Jun 4, 2025

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    Jump to Recipe

    You're camping, but with no electricity or coffee maker? Campfire coffee to the rescue! Here's how to make fantastic coffee over a camp fire!

    2 mugs of coffee next to a small lake. Overlaid text says campfire coffee how to make good coffee without a coffee maker.

    Porter is a coffee addict. You know, one of those people who are better off not approached before they get their morning fix.

    So much so, that we’ve got a little Keurig coffee maker in the RV. The pods are expensive, and it’s obviously not a great solution for tent campers, but it works for him.

    That said, sometimes we don’t have electricity, and don’t want to waste solar power on something that can very easily be done outside.

    Cowboy coffee is a thing, of course... but who wants to mess around with straining loose coffee grounds?

    So - rather than ALSO packing a French press for those times - we came up with our own method of making coffee over an open flame.

    See, I’m a tea drinker. My morning beverage doesn’t require anything like portable coffee makers, just some hot water.

    And you know... coffee doesn’t need to be any different!

    We had teabags on hand from my earlier experimenting with homemade valerian tea blends, so we gave it a go.

    After a bit of playing around with amounts and techniques, Porter nailed the perfect “recipe” for making coffee in the great outdoors.

    It makes coffee with a nice rich flavor, without any unwanted bitterness or gritty floating grounds. You can even prep the bags ahead of time!

    Anyway, let’s take a look at how he does it!

    A bag of algonquin coffee, along several prepared teabags of coffee.

    Supplies & Ingredients

    While the recipe below is for a single serving of coffee, we tend to do up a bunch of baggies ahead of time.

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    Tea Bags

    First, you'll need some Drawstring Tea Filter Bags. You can buy these online (Amazon has a ton of options), or in specialty tea stores.

    In general, you’ll want bags that are big enough to hold 2 tablespoon of coffee grounds - with a little extra room, but not much more.

    The ones we use are 7 x 9 cm / 2.8 x 3.5 inch, and that seems about perfect.

    You can even order Unbleached Drawstring Tea Filter Bags, if you like.

    The big thing to understand is that pretty much NONE of these seal all that well when knotted - but I have a technique to get around that. I’ve got photos in the pictorial walk through, a little further down in this post.

    Several empty tea bags on a table.

    Ground Coffee

    While he’s a whole bean coffee kinda guy at home, no one wants to mess with grinding coffee beans on a campsite. So, ground coffee it is!

    Realistically, you can use whatever coffee you like to drink - not much to say there!

    You can even package up different flavours, for some variety on the road - just be sure to pack them separately, and label the freezer bags with the flavour of coffee in it.

    As pictured in this post, we used some Algonquin Coffee, that we picked up in the Lake of Two Rivers store in Algonquin Provincial Park, during a recent stay at Canisbay Lake Campground.

    Apparently they have several different coffee flavors available, but only one at that outlet. It was lovely, a nice medium roast with a light smoke flavor!

    A bag of ground coffee and several teabags of coffee on a plate, in front of a pile of wood and a fire pit.

    Everything Else

    Rounding out this “recipe”, you will need:

    1. A heat source.

    2. A pot

    3. Water

    4. Whatever you generally like to add to your brewed coffee: milk, cream, sugar, etc.

    2 mugs of campfire coffee on a picnic table next to a lake at sunrise.

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    How to Make Coffee Over a Campfire

    The basic instructions - without photos - are available in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the visual walk-through.

    Ahead of Time

    Carefully spoon the ground coffee into an empty tea bag. I’ll assembly-line a bunch of them, before proceeding.

    2 part image showing teabags being filled with ground coffee.

    One tea bag at a time, pull the strings tight to close off the opening, knot to secure.

    Wrap the strings around the opening a few times - as shown in the post - and knot once more. This will prevent coffee grounds from floating out of the opening - the initial knot doesn’t close it tight enough.

    Once packed and closed, transfer your prepared coffee bags to a Ziplock freezer bag. Press all excess air out and seal; store in a cool dark place until use.

    5 part image showing the teabag string being tied tightly, then looped around the bag and knotted again.

    To Make Campfire Coffee

    Start your campfire, charcoal, or other heat source. If possible, shift the heat source to one side, leaving the other side as a warm spot. This is a great way to keep the coffee hot when it's done.

    In a large pot, boil 10 ounces of water per serving – some will evaporate during heating, and some will be absorbed by the coffee. This will leave about 8 ounces of water per serving.

    When the water starts boiling, remove it from the heat or slide it to the warm spot.

    2 part image showing a pot, a measuring cup of water, and a bottom of water, then a pot of water over a campfire.

    When the water stops boiling, add 1 coffee pouch per serving.

    Steep for 3 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. If you like stronger coffee, it's better to add more grounds than steep longer. Long steep times can cause it to become quite bitter.

    2 part image showing teabags of coffee steeping in a pot of water over a grill grate.

    Remove coffee bags and serve.

    A pot of coffee over a campfire.

    Leftovers

    Once cooled to room temperature, leftover campfire coffee can be transferred to an airtight container and chilled for later use.

    We like to brew extra, for iced coffees later!

    2 mugs of campfire coffee on a picnic table next to a lake.

    More Camping Breakfast Recipes

    Looking for some more easy - and tasty - camping breakfast ideas? I've got you covered:

    Apple Fritter Bread Pudding
    Apple Fritter French Toast
    Banana Protein Pancakes
    Campfire Banana Bread
    Campfire Breakfast Skillet
    Gingerbread Protein Pancake Mix
    Hobo Eggs
    Homemade Camping Pancake Mix
    Pumpkin Protein Pancake Mix
    Traditional Bannock

    Also be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes!

    2 red chairs overlooking a lake, with 2 mugs of coffee on the table between them.

    2 mugs of campfire coffee on a picnic table next to a lake.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Campfire Coffee

    You're camping, but with no electricity or coffee maker? Campfire coffee to the rescue! Here's how to make fantastic coffee over a camp fire!
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Steeping Time3 minutes mins
    Total Time8 minutes mins
    Course: Beverage, Breakfast
    Cuisine: African
    Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Lactose, Low Salt, Vegetarian
    Servings: 1 Serving
    Calories: 3kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Tea Bag See post for details
    • 1 Small Pot
    • Grill or Campfire

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoon Ground Coffee
    • 10 oz Water

    Instructions

    Ahead of Time:

    • Carefully spoon the ground coffee into an empty tea bag. Pull the strings tight to close off the opening, knot to secure.
    • Wrap the strings around the opening a few times - as shown in the post - and knot once more. This will prevent coffee grounds from floating out of the opening - the initial knot doesn’t close it tight enough.
    • Once packed and closed, transfer your prepared coffee bags to a Ziplock freezer bag. Press all excess air out and seal; store in a cool dark place until use.

    To Make Campfire Coffee:

    • Start your campfire, charcoal, or other heat source. If possible, shift the heat source to one side, leaving the other side as a warm spot. This is a great way to keep the coffee hot when it's done.
    • In a large pot, boil 10 ounces of water per serving – some will evaporate during heating, and some will be absorbed by the coffee. This will leave about 8 ounces of water per serving.
    • When the water starts boiling, remove it from the heat or slide it to the warm spot.
    • When the water stops boiling, add 1 coffee pouch per serving.
    • Steep for 3 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. If you like stronger coffee, it's better to add more grounds than steep longer. Long steep times can cause it to become quite bitter.
    • Remove coffee bags and serve.

    Notes

    Leftovers:  Once cooled to room temperature, leftover campfire coffee can be transferred to an airtight container and chilled for later use.
    We like to make extra, for iced coffees later!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Cup | Calories: 3kcal | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g | Calcium: 9mg

    2 mugs of campfire coffee on a picnic table next to a lake.

    Thanks for Reading!

    If you loved this post - or have any questions about it - please leave a comment below! We'd also love it if you would consider sharing the link on social media!

    A pot of coffee with 3 teabags in it.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marie & Michael Porter

      June 05, 2025 at 8:01 am

      5 stars
      This is definitely our favourite way to prepare coffee, when electricity isn't an option. Hope you love it too!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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