America runs on caffeine.

According to National Coffee Association statistics compiled in 2022, 66% of all Americans drink coffee. Of course, the NCA is a trade organization created to promote coffee and that statistic is more than likely part of a marketing ploy to ensure coffee remains a popular drink. However, if you think about the number of coffee shops and drive-up kiosks focusing on coffee in Rock Springs and Green River alone, that figure doesn’t seem far-fetched. We love a good cup of coffee and there are a lot of options available to us.

Coffee has been an important drink for centuries. The so-called penny universities found in Great Britian during the 17th and 18th centuries were coffeehouses allowing people from almost any walk of life participate in scholarly discussion and led to a better educated populace during a time when traditional education was only within the reach of the wealthy.

The beverage was so popular during the Civil War that as Union blockades prevented coffee beans and other goods from being imported into the South, people started creating coffee substitutes using ingredients like dried sweet potatoes and rye. Other substitutes used during periods when real coffee was unavailable include roasted chicory, acorns, and other grains.

This week, we’re looking at a way to make coffee while you’re on that next camping or hunting trip, supposing you’re not glamping it up in a fifth wheel that has a programmed coffee maker set to brew your pot at 7:30 a.m.

Cowboy Coffee

I struggle to call this an actual recipe and would consider it more a technique. Coffee at its most basic is made from ground coffee beans and water and those are the two ingredients present in this entry I found in “Black Tie and Cowboy Boots: Timeless Traditions from the New West.”

According to the book, this method of making coffee comes from a guide who led pack trips into the Teton Wilderness area during the 1970s. The unnamed guide cited in the book says the secrets to good campfire coffee are to use fresh, cold, good tasting water and to ignore what old cowboy folktales have to say about making coffee. Don’t place eggshells in your coffee pot because you’ll only end up with eggshells in your cup and don’t keep adding new water and coffee to used coffee grounds. Always use fresh water and a clean pot.

What you’ll need:

• 1 gallon of very cold, fresh water
• 1 1/2 cups of regular-grind coffee

Pour 12 to 14 cups of water into a clean gallon-sized campfire coffeepot and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low (or move it to a cooler spot near your campfire) and add the coffee slowly, watching to ensure it doesn’t boil over as it will foam up the coffee starts to boil. Boil the coffee gently for no more than 1 minute, then remove from heat and add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water to the coffeepot to help the settle the coffee grounds. Pour the coffee through a strainer directly into the mugs.