There’s something to be said for having a freshly brewed cup of coffee first thing in the morning when you are out backpacking and camping. Perhaps it brings a bit of civilization to your pursuits, or maybe it’s just that it’s so comforting to sit there and drink your coffee out in the middle of the wild.

To get that experience I’ve tried instant coffee (ick) and those little coffee bags (ick, ick). I had basically given up until I got my Jetboil PCS stove and it came with a coffee press (my Mom knows what to get me in a present!). At the time I had just started using a French press to brew coffee at home and was amazed by the difference, so I was excited about having the press to take with me out in the woods.

Jetboil Coffee Press Basics

The nice thing about the Jetboil Coffee Press is that it’s designed to be part of the Jetboil PCS system. The press fits inside the cooking cup of the stove so besides the press, there’s nothing special you need to carry or bring with you. Not only that, but the whole thing weights in at less than an ounce and can be disassembled so that it’s easy to pack.

That’s pretty convenient.

The majority of the Press is made from plastic, though it does have a metal mesh screen so you can squeeze those coffee grinds down at the bottom and still get your brewed coffee up into the rest of the cup.

Operation is pretty easy – fill your Jetboil Cup with two cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn off the stove and add your coffee grinds. Let it brew for a few minutes (with the stove’s lid on to keep it hot) and then take the Press, run the rod through the lid, screw on the Press and put it down into the cup, trapping the grounds at the bottom and letting the brewed coffee fill up the cup.

Experiences

Like most coffee makers and presses, the Jetboil Press’ coffee quality depends a lot upon the kind of ground coffee that you start with. I experimented with a couple of different brands and settled on my old standby of Green Mountain Coffee. I found their Breakfast Blend to be the overall best, at least to my taste. I had also tried a couple of other different brands and the taste wasn’t quite there. Basically – if you make it at home in a French press and you like it, you’ll probably like it in the Jetboil Press.

I think the trick is to get the grounds in right after you’ve turned off the stove and to keep the lid on the cup once you’ve added them. Otherwise too much heat is lost and the brewing process just doesn’t work right. Once the few minutes of brewing has gone by, take the Press and press down all the grounds and drink the coffee right away. Even though the cup is insulated, it does lose heat and I found that if I wasn’t quick about things, the coffee tended to be too cool for my tastes.

Once I figured out the system through a bit of trial and error with coffee types and cooking methods, I ended up with a cup of coffee that was pretty good. It wasn’t perfect of course (coffee mate just isn’t the same as cream in my book), but considering I was out in the middle of the wilderness, it was good. Not only that, it was a vast improvement over instant coffee or those horrible little coffee bags.

The actual operation is pretty foolproof. I only noticed a few grounds in my coffee after pressing it, nothing more than you’d have in a traditional French press. Cleaning wasn’t difficult either – basically just rinse off the accumulated grounds and letting the press dry.

Packing and transporting the Jetboil Press is quite easy. The whole thing, which consists of the screen and a rod unscrews and the rod also unscrews into two sections. This lets you easily pack it into your backpacking gear. My only complaint here is that while the rod can be slid into the cup when you’ve packed the Jetboil PCS stove and fuel bottle in the cup, there’s no space for the filter to fit in there. You’ll have to pack it separately in your backpacking gear. A minor nitpick, but it would have been nice to have the whole thing self-contained.

Final Thoughts

If you love coffee like I do and don’t think instant or coffee bags cut it while you are out in the woods, then consider getting yourself the Jetboil Coffee Press to go along with your Jetboil PCS stove.

I make sure this press is packed with me whenever I go camping so that I can ensure a well brewed, fresh cup of coffee in the morning. It’s easy to use, simple to clean and very light to pack.

If you have a Jetboil PCS stove and love coffee, definitely get yourself one of these presses.

Recommended: Yes