The Best Campfire Coffee Pot to Take Camping

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Coffee is like the elixir of life. That doesn’t change just because you are camping. If anything, camping is the perfect time to enjoy your coffee even more.

What is the best campfire coffee pot to use so you can make that magical brew taste even better?

There are a number of options for your camping coffee pot. Just like there are a number of ways to brew coffee when you are out in nature (roughing it).

In our home kitchen we have lost count of the different ways we can make coffee. Designing the perfect cup-of-joe outside isn’t much different. I think there are 4 ways to make coffee in my camper at least.

Coffee from a campfire coffee pot is one of the best ways to brew coffee.

We love our percolator. It is one of our favorite camping coffee pots. It isn’t just reserved for outdoor coffee though. We have an old fashioned percolator in the camper. In the kitchen at home. I think we even have one in the tool box of the truck.

Yup. We are coffee obsessed.

Let’s get to the good stuff and discuss the different camping coffee pots and decide which is the best.

A Good Coffee Pot

It doesn’t matter if you cook on a camping stove or the open campfire, you will need a good heavy-duty campfire coffee pot.

It will need to be a camp coffee pot that can stand-up to campfire use. Not a coffee drinker? That is okay too. You still need a decent “over the fire coffee pot” to make hot water.

Camping is a perfect way to see just how much water you actually use in a day. You use it for more things than you realize; hot tea, hot chocolate, handwashing, warming washcloths for your face, and dishwashing water.

Things to consider when looking for a coffee pot:

• the type of handle
• does it have a bale so it can hang over the fire
• is it a boiling pot or a percolator
• how will it look covered in black soot
• how much water does it hold

Let’s look at these a little closer.

Handle Type on Your Camp Coffee Pot

What is the handle made from? Will it melt if it is in contact with direct flame? Buying a coffee pot with a metal handle is best.

Make sure you have a decent pair of campfire gloves so you can remove the pot from the heat when it is finished warming.

Most coffee pots are great for using on your propane camp stove. But they are not great for use in the campfire. Plastic handles will melt.

There are ways to place the pot with the handle away from the flames, but it will take longer for your water to boil (or your coffee to brew).

Camping coffee pots with the little metal D ring on the backside are great. The ring makes it easier for the the coffee pot to be tipped and to pour the water for tea, dishwashing, or bathing into your desired container. Same goes for your coffee!

Can You Hang it Over the Fire?

Does the camping coffee pot that you are looking at have a bale? There are times when you are camping that it might be easier to hang your coffee from a hook or your handcrafted tri-pod than it is to put it in the fire.

Maybe you can’t find flat enough rocks. Maybe the wood is burning way to hot and you need more indirect heat.

If you don’t have a bale on the coffee pot it will be harder to use in the campfire.

Does it Boil or Percolate?

Some campfire coffee pots are meant to just boil the water (grounds and all). These are great for cowboy coffee. You can use the old trick of pouring a little cold water in when it finishes brewing to help settle the grounds.

If you don’t want to chew your coffee or mess with finding ways to strain out the grounds then you will want a percolating coffee pot. It should come with a long narrow tube (that the water pushes through as it boils) and a basket to hold the coffee grounds.

Coffee percolators with a metal basket are great for campfire coffee and you don’t need to remember to bring the coffee filters. Just don’t toss the top of the basket away with the grounds (ahem. oops!!). There are replacement baskets available online. Just FYI.

Fire Blackened Pots

It doesn’t really take many uses in a fire for something to become blackened and covered in soot. That is just part of the experience, I’m afraid.

There are tricks for non-enamel cookware. Like adding dishwashing liquid to the outside of the cook surface before you place it over the flames. This helps the black soot wash off easier by adding a protective layer between the surface and the soot that wants to coat it.

At some point, your camping cook pots and campfire coffee pots are going to get black and grimy. Don’t pick a pretty white enamel coffee pot if you aren’t okay with it getting dirty!

How Much Water Does it Hold?

A smaller percolator for campfire coffee might be super cute. However, if you know you will be making coffee or hot water for 3 or more people, choose a bigger coffee pot!

My kids were never huge coffee drinkers. As soon as we were out in the woods with limited coffee, boiling capacity, and cream, they would instantly become coffee fiends.

Making a second pot of coffee when the metal basket in the percolator is hot is NOT fun. Maybe that is how I lost the screen cover. I’ll blame it on the kids.

The point is, buy a coffee pot that will make an adequate amount of coffee. Enough for everyone to have a cup or two before you have to make a 2nd batch.

This also ensures you have a container that will boil enough water for dishes or quick camping baths.