18 Sep Coleman Camping Coffeemaker
My wife, Susan, and I love to camp and we both love coffee. We have been using a percolator coffee maker for years while camping, but the coffee just wasn’t the same as our home-brewed coffee. It didn’t have the same taste and we were always dealing with coffee grounds in our coffee. We finally decided to get a Coleman Camping Coffee Maker. This thing looks a lot like our coffee maker at home with the ten cup, glass decanter and the removable, swing-out filter basket and it makes great coffee. All you need is a propane camping stove to operate it, as it simply sits on one of the burners.
We bought this coffee maker to use on our 2015 camping trip to Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains where the mornings are really cool, even at mid-summer. We were extremely pleased with it on the third pot of coffee we brewed, the first two pots were simply a mess but that was my fault. Here was the issue and something you should know before brewing coffee in this coffee maker. I set the coffee maker on our propane stove which was on our chuck box, which was really really close to being level but it wasn’t completely level. The first pot of coffee that we brewed poured out at the top of the filter basket and coffee, grounds and all, went everywhere, a big mess. I thought that maybe I had let the filter fold down on top of the grounds which would have caused an overflow so we cleaned up the mess and started over. The second pot did the same thing, a big mess. At this point I was convinced the coffee maker was broken because the chuck box was ALMOST level.
Susan suggested that we move the stove and coffee maker to the counter on the side of our camping trailer which we knew was level, completely level. We rearranged a few things, made the move and started our third pot of coffee. That pot of coffee and every pot thereafter was perfect, just like our home brewed coffee. This was definitely a good purchase and we were extremely pleased with the coffee on that camping trip. I would recommend this coffee maker to anyone that wants a good cup of coffee without coffee grounds floating in the cup.
A few things to keep in mind:
You need a propane stove to operate the coffee maker, it has to set above the flame which is what heats the water to make the coffee. Don’t worry about the flame damaging the coffee maker because the base is metal and designed to take extreme heat.
The coffee brewed in this coffee maker was quite a bit hotter than what we were used to, be careful not to burn your lips. Also, the flame from the stove is what heats the water to brew the coffee so once it’s brewed, if you turn the stove off, the coffee will start cooling.
Do not touch the lower part or the metal part of the coffee maker while in use, it gets extremely hot from the flame.
You can use regular coffee filters in this coffee maker as well as any of the ground coffee you choose.
You can also use the coffee maker to warm hot cider, hot cocoa or instant soup.
Finally, THE COFFEE MAKER HAS TO BE LEVEL, not almost level. I learned this the hard way. It says this in the directions and I knew this before I started the first pot. Really close to level will cause a mess so make sure you’re coffee maker is level.
I hope this information helps you with your decision on making a purchase and if you do purchase, on the use of this coffee maker.
Good camping
Jeff Furr