BETTER COFFEE IN THE CAMPERVAN

Words and photos by Alex Brown / Advanture Magazine

If there is one thing that most van campers will come to appreciate, it is that unprecedented moment of satisfaction when you melt into a camp chair with a good cup ‘o coffee.

I have been on a quest over the past few months to improve the camp brew. More than ten years in the making, this article has the ingredients to wake you up and show you that there is so much more to enjoy than just what spurts out of the moka pot.

I was the coffee lad at my temp job while I was studying at the University of Winchester. Working on a building site in England, in the middle of winter, wasn’t exactly the most glamourous part-time gig. Five rounds of milk with two. I would pile another teaspoon of Instant Gold Roast into mine, hoping it would at least get me through to the next tea break. I would work that job for the entire three years of my course, eventually spending some of my cash on my first van, a brilliant red VW T4. But god, the coffee was terrible.

A few years later, my girlfriend and I were living in a tiny Mitsubishi L300, which we had self-converted on the street of our rental apartment in Sydney. There is a wonderful coffee scene in Australia that we had become part of. Mascha worked as a barista in a cool café right by the beach. The regulars would hang out all day, salty from their sunrise swim in the Pacific Ocean. Travelling up the east coast to hot spots such as Byron Bay, Noosa Heads and also inland to some of the Sunshine Coast national parks, we always were sure to appreciate great moments with a coffee next to our little van.

We left Australia after a year of travelling around and headed for New Zealand. Our money was really thin after months on the road in Australia. It had been a consideration to try and ship our camper across the Pacific, but really, it was not economical at all. Some lucky girl got our van, with all of the camping gear that we had accumulated. Except the moka pot. We needed that for elsewhere.

Making coffee at the base of Mt Ngauruhoe (2291m)

Mascha Blome

The difference between coffee and espresso is defined by a few factors. While both drinks can be made using the same beans, there are some differences in the way the beans have been roasted when it comes to specialising in either one. Typically, an espresso roast has been roasted for a longer time and makes the grind more easily soluble in water. And, the grind size itself matters too. Espresso is ground much finer than coffee that is being prepared for a press brewing method. As water is introduced to the grind, the coffee becomes soluble and is extracted out of the porta filter, and dispensed into the cup. An espresso is created under pressure, with water being forced through a densely packed cake. Something like brewing with a French Press is a longer process. The ground beans are immersed within water for some time before being separated from the liquid.

The grind.

Grind size is the starting point of your drink preparation. Filter and French Press methods require a coarser grind, close to small pieces of gravel. Espresso requires a much finer grind, close to sand. Going too fine will result in your cake turning into a saturated brick, preventing water from passing through completely. When you first get your grinder be sure to take some time to grind a bunch of beans to find the sweet spot. This will also help to season the burr. A great coffee bean grinder is worth its investment. Look for the following features when selecting:

When I started looking around for a grinder I was pretty much sold on a €20 one off the internet. But with research and speaking to some people that had been down that route, the cheap grinders seemed like something great for the odd weekend, but were nothing for the barista to be. Right at the top of the hand-cranked range you will find the Kinu grinders. Manufactured in Romania in a precision engineering factory, I was told a little about the family companies history by the current VP, Christian Biernatek. Just over a year ago, 30 years of passion burnt down and destroyed the machines which had been turning out premium milled products in their family run factory. At this point, I started to realise how the Kinu grinders commended that higher price. These are some expertly milled items that you will see in the hands of the best baristas around the world.

A Kinu grinder

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First cup of the day.

I am in the Pyrenees chasing a pretty big storm that is due to arrive shortly. I’ve studied the radar and picked a spot close to Estany National Park where I hope to get out on my skis over the coming days. On the way out I was sure to pick up a freshly roasted bag of beans, a speciality blend imported from Columbia. Trying not to let any freezing air into my sleeping bag, I peel back the curtain to see fresh snow covering the ground. I don’t have a diesel heater on-board, and trust me when I tell you that it gets absolutely freezing up at altitude.

The first order of the day is to cup that coffee. I grind my beans, coarser than espresso, but not by too much. The first coffee of my day should be something longer that I want to enjoy over the morning. For this, I will use an Aeropress GO.

The Aeropress GO is a fantastic little piece of coffee gadgetry which is also amazingly priced at around €35. It is similar to a French Press and is made from durable and lightweight plastic. The press, filters, cup, spoon and mixing stick all pack up into something no larger than the size of the cup itself, which is ideal for leaving in your campervan permanently.

Making a good coffee with the AeroPress GO is fasr

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The coffee produced from the Aeropress GO is rich, free of bits, and extremely consistent. It took little practice to get used to the work flow but I love the amount of coffee that I can produce from it.

Suck your coffee.

When winter rolls around it means I also take a break from trail running and will focus on ski touring. For me, it is more about the climb up than the ski down. Over the past couple of years, I have experimented a lot with various types of training and nutrition. While I appreciate it might not be for everyone, I absolutely love waking up before the first light, and climb the mountain on my skis to get a great view for sunrise. Most of the time it means I skip breakfast in order to get out early. While experimenting with this fasted state exercise I was happy to discover the chewable coffee beans from AirmenBeans. While they do not pack an incredible amount of caffeine, 100mg per 21g pack, it has meant that I can get a bit of a pick up early in the morning during my training.

A fancy AirmenBeans box easily fits in your pocket and contains a handful of the beans. And with a number of top European athletes supporting the brand, I have felt comfortable in supplementing my brewed coffee for this chewable one, when the moment is required. Check them out at @airmenbeans_official

Chewable coffee beans from AirmenBeans

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Real stove-top espresso.

I am happy to introduce you to the 9Barista stove-top espresso machine. When I first discovered the 9Barista I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. Was it a piece of art? Something that had fallen off a Space X rocket? Well, this is the result of a jet engine designer from Cambridge in the UK, Will Playford, who knew exactly how to reach espresso perfection in the van.

Real barista grade espresso is a small, highly concentrated shot of extracted coffee. The weight of ground beans is proportionate to the amount of liquid that is to be produced. The time it takes to brew the drink is as important as the temperature of the water which is passed through the portafilter. And here is the kicker, this process needs to be carried out at 9 bars of consistent pressure.

The 9Barista puts on a show, before you get to enjoy a delicious espresso

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The naked shot of espresso collects on top of the machine. You get to see the richness of the espresso swirling around in the collection cup, then a layer of crema comes to rest on top. What a show.

Real stove top espresso in the campervan

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If you are in your first DIY built camper, this might not be the piece of equipment at the top of the necessary purchases list. But for those of us cruising around looking to unlock that last bit of luxury, you most definitely need to look at getting a 9Barista on-board. Seeking out a few new pieces of equipment for the van is always fun, and incorporating some of this different coffee equipment into your camper routine will enhance the camping experience much more.

Read the full article in Advanture Magazine issue 05. Be sure to subscribe for our new annual package, 4 magazines for €12.

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