The Truth About Cowboy Coffee and How to Make a Better Cup
Channel: Mark Young
Date: 2021-12-04

In this video I share a number of recipes from experts for cowboy coffee, plus my own way of making it

Rampage Coffee https://rampagecoffee.com/

Cowboy Kent Rollins on making cowboy coffee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UAoT21eqXI

Mors Kochanski on making bush coffee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX91Nj0uItI

Ray Mears recipe from his book "Wilderness Chef"

Campfire Coffee (AKA Cowboy Coffee or Bush Coffee)

The attraction to this type of coffee making is simplicity. No special coffee making device is required. All you need is a pot, coffee, water and a heat source. 
There is also a good amount of nostalgia with cowboy coffee. Taking us back to a simpler time.
However, simple does not necessarily mean easy or good

Coffee Hacks
● Coffee Roast and Quality
o Fresh roasted, fresh ground
o Light roast coffee tolerates hotter water
o Dark roast coffee use more, coarser grind, cooler water
o Very course roast will lessen over extraction
● Coffee Quantity
o 60 grams per litre of water (60 grams can be 4 to 5 tablespoons of coffee depending on how dark the roast)
● water quality
● Water temperature – 205F/96C
● adding a small amount of salt to the coffee will make bitter coffee taste "sweet"
● adding egg shells will alter Ph value to counter bitterness
● Use a pot with enough height to prevent boil over 
● You can make a strong coffee and add water if using a small pot 
● Work out water to coffee ratio you might normally use then add enough additional coffee to balance the water used in the cold-shock method of settling grounds

Settling the grounds
● time, tapping, cold water shock, swinging or pumping, whipped eggs with shell stirred in and scooped out

Cowboy Coffee - Cowboy Kent Rollins
● ¼ cup coffee (any brand or grind) to 1-quart water (1 tablespoon per cup of water)
● Pour coffee into warm water on the heat
● Bring to a rolling boil for 4 minutes

Bush Coffee - Mors Kochanski
● Any coffee will do. Makes cheap coffee taste good. No mention of grind
● Add coffee to cold water in a pot in a ratio of one tablespoon for each cup of coffee
● Do not stir coffee into the cold water
● Place pot over the fire and watch closely for water to come to a boil
● Watch that coffee does not boil over. Raise height of pot as needed
● When the water comes to a boil leave for one minute
● Coffee will mix into the water as the boiling occurs

Camp Coffee - Ray Mears
● Add 2 tbl of coffee (very coarse grind) to each cup of cold water and place over the fire
● Bring to a boil and immediately remove. May have to stir to ensure all the coffee is mixed
● Let sit for a few minutes till grounds settle or use a means of settling the grounds
Swedish KoKkaffe (boiled coffee)
• No precise measurements are made. 
• Course ground coffee is added to cold water in the pot until it peaks in the middle (so that a lemming can run across without getting wet). 
• Coffee if brought to a boil, taken off the fire for a moment, brought to a boil again and repeated three to five times. 
• The grounds are allowed to settle before pouring 
Trail Coffee – Mark Young 
● Measure and bring water to a boil
● Take water off the heat
● Add 2 tablespoons per cup/250ml of water and stir
● Let steep/extract for 4 minutes
● Settle ground with preferred method