Should You Bring Your Aeropress Camping?

Yes, an Aeropress is one of the best coffee makers for camping. It's nearly indestructible, cheap, and small enough to disappear into a backpack, which is why it's become the default camping brewer. The real question isn't whether to bring it. It's what to do about the beans.

There are two options: grind before leaving, or bring something to grind once there.

Should You Grind Your Coffee Beans Before a Camping Trip?

You can, but freshness takes a hit the longer the trip runs. Grinding at home is the easy move: grind, seal it in an airtight bag, done. The problem is that ground coffee goes stale fast because of the increased surface area, so on a four day trip, the last cup comes from grounds that are four days old. It'll still taste like coffee, and for a lot of people, that's good enough.

There's also a flexibility issue. A grind dialed in for a quick two minute steep won't necessarily hold up if that steep time stretches to four minutes. Push it too far and the cup can turn sour if the beans aren't ground properly.

If pre-grinding is the plan, grind right before leaving and keep the bag sealed and out of the sun.

Should You Bring a Manual Coffee Grinder Camping?

Yes, if there's room in the pack, a manual grinder wins. Fresh coffee every day, and a grind you can change with your brew.

The top pick is the Hario Mini Mill. It's a ceramic burr hand grinder that shaves beans instead of cracking them, so the grounds come out even and extract beautifully. The adjustment nut makes dialing it in easy, and it grinds straight into its own container, so there's zero mess to clean up at a campsite in the dark.

For anyone looking to get into prosumer coffee, it's a great starting point since it's much (much) cheaper than other options. It takes time, and a good arm workout, but if that doesn't scare you off, give it a try and see how it feels before investing in something bigger and more expensive, like the Baratza Encore.

Which Is Better: Pre-Ground Coffee or a Travel Grinder for Camping?

It depends on how much freshness matters. Brewing the same way every morning and not minding coffee that's a little past its best? Grind ahead of time. Simple, and it works fine. Wanting fresh coffee and the flexibility to change things up depending on the day? Bring the Hario.

Coffee snobs, this one's for you: bring the grinder. Everyone else, either way, an Aeropress is a great choice whether it's headed for the trail, a road trip, or the kitchen counter.