How to Make Cowboy Coffee

Brewing the Coffee

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Fill a metal or enamel camping kettle with water. When your fire burns down, move the hot coals to one side of the fire pit and place a camp grill over the coals. Put the lid on the kettle and place the kettle on the grill over the hot coals to boil the water. You can also boil the water on a gas, wood, or electric stove if you don’t have a campfire. To make a larger batch of coffee, increase the coffee and water quantities equally.

Remove the water from the heat and cool it for a minute. When the water reaches a rolling boil, carefully remove the kettle from the grill. Protect your hands with oven mitts or a silicone glove, or use tongs to move the hot kettle. Set the kettle aside on the ground and let the water cool for 30 to 60 seconds. It’s important to cool the water before adding the coffee, otherwise the boiling water will make the coffee bitter. The ideal temperature for brewing coffee is between 195 and 205 °F (91 and 96 °C), which is slightly below boiling.

Stir in the coffee and return the kettle to the heat. Pour the coffee grounds into the hot water and stir the mixture for 15 seconds to saturate the grounds. Use 5 tablespoons (26 g) for a slightly weaker coffee, or the full 6 tablespoons (32 g) for a stronger brew. Leave the lid off and put the kettle back on the grill. You can use finely ground coffee instead, but coarsely ground beans will stand up to the heat better, producing a less bitter cup of coffee.

Bring the coffee to a simmer. Watch the coffee carefully, because you don’t want the water to fully boil. Instead, you want to bring the water to a simmer, which is about 195 °F (91 °C). You can tell the water is simmering when bubbles regularly break the surface of the water, but the water isn't yet at a full rolling boil.

Remove the kettle from the heat and steep the coffee for 2 minutes. When the coffee is simmering, carefully take the kettle off the grill. Put on the lid and set the coffee aside to brew for a couple of minutes.

Stir the coffee and steep for another 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove the lid from the kettle and stir the coffee for another 15 seconds. Replace the lid and set the kettle aside to let the coffee brew for an additional 2 minutes.

Settling the Grounds

Let the coffee sit for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the lid to allow fresh air into the kettle. As the air cools the grounds, they will naturally sink to the bottom of the kettle. Settling the grounds is an important part of the process when making cowboy coffee, because the grounds don’t get filtered out. Allowing the grounds to sink naturally is the easiest way to get the grounds to settle without having to add anything extra to the coffee.

Add some cold water instead to settle the grounds faster. If you can't wait to drink your coffee, pour 2.5 tablespoons (37 ml) of cold water into the kettle with the coffee. When the cold water hits the grounds, it will chill them and force them to sink to the bottom. Don’t add too much cold water, or you'll make the coffee warm instead of hot.

Add crushed egg shells to settle the grounds and remove bitterness. A third way to settle the grounds is by adding crushed eggshells to the coffee. After you hard-boil an egg, let the shell dry and then use a pestle and mortar or spice grinder to crush the eggshell into a coarse powder. Sprinkle a pinch of the powder into your coffee and stir to combine the eggshell and grounds. The eggshell will help the grounds stick together and force them to sink to the bottom of the kettle. Because eggshells are slightly alkaline, they will also help offset the acidity in the coffee, making it less bitter. Eggshells can be a good source of calcium. As long as they eggs were treated for salmonella or hardboiled, then you don’t have to worry about food-borne illnesses.

Serving and Drinking Cowboy Coffee

Don’t pour the last few drops of coffee from the pot. You should leave the last few tablespoons (several ml) of coffee in the bottom of the kettle when you make cowboy coffee. All the grains will be concentrated in the last few drops, so it’s best to discard the last of the coffee rather than drinking it. For traditional cowboy coffee, the grounds don’t get strained from the coffee.

Pour the coffee slowly. When the coffee has finished brewing and the grounds have settled to the bottom, it’s time to enjoy your coffee. Slowly pour the coffee into a mug or cup. If you pour too quickly, you'll stir up the grounds and end up with a grainy cup of coffee.

Add milk and sugar, to taste. Most people prefer to drink cowboy coffee black, but you can add sweeteners, cream, or milk if you like. Start with a teaspoon (5 g) of sugar at a time, and add more if necessary. Similarly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of milk or cream at a time, and add more accordingly until you're happy with the flavor.

Add a pinch of salt to reduce bitterness. Some people find cowboy coffee to be bitter, especially if it was left to boil on the fire for too long. You can cut some of the bitterness and smooth out the flavors with salt. Pour ⅛ teaspoon (0.75 g) of salt into your coffee cup and stir before enjoying.