I came across this product on http://www.minimus.biz/ while searching instant coffee products. One Fresh Cup is marketed by KMJ International of Long Beach, California. See their web site at http://www.onefreshcup.com/product.asp.

So you get a foil bag about 4" square and 1/4" thick that weighs 0.4oz/10g. Inside is what looks like a large teabag with ground coffee inside and a die-cut card stock gizmo on each side that hooks over the edge of your coffee cup. You open the perforated top edge of of the bag, place the holders on oposite sides of your cup and pour hot water over the grounds.

I'm not big on the waste generated, but it should be biodegradeable other than the outer packaging. It makes a real cup of coffee using compact and light means and it would make a good coffee system for overnight or three-day trips. Looks like a clever solution to me.

I've used the little #2 Melita filters and filter holder that sits on a mug. It has the same problem in having to pack out a soggy filter with grounds in it and the holder does take up a little room. I wonder of I could make my own filter holder from a cut up file folder? It shoulder take more that a little scissor work and a few staples. More later..... :)

I tried these a few years back and had problems with the packaging being uncooperative in that the filter section would come apart when opening the cone up. Lost 1 in 5 or 4 maybe. And too small amount of coffee. I want something that will make a 20 oz cup of coffee. I am thinking of making a cone of nanoseeum netting, though the Montbell fabric filter cone looks O.K. as well.

They work OK but not fantastic.

Now onto making a DIY filter here is an idea: you can take cone filters, add the ground coffee for one cup (to your cups size of course!) then sew the top closed with cotton thread. Cut off the top excess and you have a "coffee bag". Then toss it in like a tea bag when you make coffee. Due to it being a filter and cotton it is biodegradable later. As for soggy filters, that is easy - park them on a rock for an hour or so, pressing out any extra water first with your fingers. Tea bags and coffee filters dry out fast!

i found the folgers single coffee bags are an ok alternative to bringing coffee and a filter. you have to leave them sit in the water long enough to get the flavor. i have a titanium mug to which i sewed a cozy and found gladware 4 oz. containers have a cover(used upside down) that fits perfectly over my mug. on the top of the cover i superglued a piece of foil type bubble wrap. keeps the coffee hot for quite some time. the only minus is the foil type wrap that the coffee comes in. you could remove the foil prior to your trip and just put the bags into a ziplock, but i think they would get stale if it is a long trip. i squeeze out all the liquid into my mug and lay them on a rock to dry. if no time to do that, just hang them from your pack until dry.

I'm with Victoria. The Folger's packs are just too easy, and I've gotten too lazy. I still use the DeLonghi Magnifica at home though.

Must have my joe; must have my joe; must have....

I've tried most every method and gizmo available, and for now have settled on either Java Juice (a bit more tart of a roast than I prefer, but otherwise quite good) and the MSR Mugmate (takes a lot of coffee, but no waste other than the grinds themselves).

I await the next bit of technology.

I just pour very hot water over the coffee of my choice ground 1 notch coarser than espresso(more surface area exposed to the hot water without the grounds going colloidal), cover and let sit for ~3-5 minutes(depending on the altitude), stir to settle the grounds, and enjoy. Aaaaahhh. I can smell it now, the indescribably delightful aroma of Yemen Mocha Sanani filling my nostrils as the sun rises above the Kaweah Peaks Ridge. Thus begins another crummy day in paradise. Sort the coffee equivalent of toilet paperless backpacking.

Hi Rick

> I await the next bit of technology.
Behold:


Fine stainless steel mesh, spot-welded together into a filter which just fits neatly over a standard (lightweight) fairly air-tight face cream jar. Coffee is carried in the jar of course. A hook on the side of the filter hangs over the edge of the cup.

Cheers

so i have to ask. joe, what is delonghi magnifica? coffee brand or brewing method. never heard of it. also, you guys that take grounds. do you pack them out? i would love a real cup of coffee, but am planning a 4 week hike on the john muir next summer and packing out grounds seems like a pain...easier to pack out a neat little package of folgers. i just ordered java juice for the mornings that i'm going to have to get up at 3 to get over the passes in a timely manner. don't like the idea of cold coffee, but will save time by not having to heat water plus i won't get a caffine withdrawl headache. yes, i am addicted to my 2 cups in the morning.....

Slight thread drift here, but I'm a self-admitted Seattle coffee snob and about the lightest, easiest and bestest tasting coffee I've found for the trail is Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Coffee: http://www.foodlocker.com/1-00002.html

Nothing to pack out and it has a FANTASTIC flavor!

Edited by hoosierdaddy on 12/07/2008 09:30:47 MST.

thank you steve. i am constantly looking for an instant that tastes good instead of the folgers bags, which like i said are an ok alternative to fresh. i will give your brand a try...

I don't know how much it weighs but I have an old Aluminum 9-cup coffee pot that I have been carrying for over 20 years. It perculates as good now as when it was new. I have just never seen a reason to fix something that ain't broke...
On our Boy Scout troop outings, I am the only one that drinks coffee (LDS troop) and my family, with the exception of my Boy Scout son only go car camping so I have a 2nd coffee pot for just hot water when they are with me.
I am the type of person that can (and will) drink a pot of coffee and go straight to bed. After setting up camp I love to nurse a pot all night long while sitting around the campfire (or camp stove if a fire isn't permitted or advisable).

Edited by scottmphoto on 01/01/2009 10:29:44 MST.

My favorite is the one cup coffee/tea steeper. You just load the ‘spoon’ with your favorite coffee and stir into a cup of boiling water. All that’s left to clean up are the coffee grounds.

http://www.packitgourmet.com/OneCup-CoffeeTea-Steeper-p84.html

I haven’t ever tried the One Fresh Cup filters… I might have to give that a go next trip.

I meant to add that there are some really good instant Asian coffees available now too. I’m actually drinking one right now – I didn’t feel like making an entire pot of coffee and these are good enough that I’ll happily drink them when not on the trail.

Some of our favorites are up on Packit Gourmet but if you have a good local Asian store you can probably find them there too. Asian seems to be the way to go with instant coffee – better than Folgers any day!

For what Sarah of Packit says - yes, by all means Asian instants are awesome. My favorite is 3 in 1 Inna brand from Thailand. Good stuff.

What Steve, HD, mentions? I use the instant espresso at home all the time for cooking and my morning frappes I make. Soooo good! I also mooch off of Steve as well on trips ;-)

At the summer Outdoor Retailer expo I found an interesting product from GSI that was in the prototype stage. I was very interested in it as it was basically a drip coffee system that weighed less than some similar designs. Also it is made of fabric rather than metal so it can be compacted or space.

That looks a good deal like MontBells O.D. Compact Dripper 4. It weighs 0.18 ounces and makes 4-7 cups of coffee. It's made of fabric with a collapsible metal rim. I've used mine as a particle filter for my Steripen.

Chad,
Do the support sticks come with that? The Montbell site is severely lacking in details.

I'm currently using the MSR coffee filter that sits in the cup. I don't use the lid that came with it (foil instead) so it weighs 0.6 oz. Not bad but yours has it beat!

Chad, that Montbell device is awesome! What fabric is it made of?

It’s made of a 60 micrometer mesh polyester fabric. I’m not sure what the wire is made out of. No support sticks come with the filter (technically the support sticks shown are the MB chopsticks). I would just use small sticks from around camp.

Here is a link to the O.D. 4:

http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=52&p_id=1124538

Edited by chadnsc on 12/08/2008 14:31:47 MST.