Camp Café au Lait
Strong dark roast cut half and half with reconstituted milk powder. Two mugs from one pot.
- calories
- 150
- weight
- 1.3 oz
- cal / oz
- 115
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 480 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Coarse ground dark roast coffee | 1/2 oz | about 2 tbsp; chicory blend if you want the New Orleans version |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 8 oz | for the coffee |
| Whole milk powder | 4 tbsp | whole, not nonfat, or it tastes thin |
| Water | 8 oz | for the milk |
| Sugar | to taste | optional |
Method
- Boil 8 oz of water. Pour it over the grounds in a filter cone or press set over your mug and let it drip through. Set the mug aside.
- Wipe the pot and add the second 8 oz of water. Warm it until steam comes off the surface, then pull it off the heat. Do not let it boil once the milk powder is in.
- Whisk the milk powder into the hot water until no lumps float. A fork works. Cold water first, then hot, if lumps keep beating you.
- Pour the coffee into a mug, then the hot milk on top in about equal amounts. Sugar last.
A café au lait is just half coffee, half hot milk, which is easy at home and awkward in camp because milk is the part you cannot carry. Whole milk powder fixes it. Reconstituted at four tablespoons to a cup it has enough fat to soften a dark roast the way real milk does, and it weighs nothing.
Heat matters more than technique here. Milk powder scorches and skins over if you push it to a boil, so warm the water first, then stir the powder in off the flame. The coffee gets brewed separately because grounds and milk in the same pot make a mess you have to carry out.
Packing
Coffee and milk powder go in separate small bags. Pre-measure the milk powder by the mug so you are not eyeballing it in the cold.
Variations
- Powdered coconut, soy, or oat milk in place of the dairy powder makes it vegan and hides less of the bitterness.
- Skip the drip step and use instant espresso powder. One less thing to pack out.
- A pinch of cinnamon or a spoon of cocoa in the milk turns it into a dessert drink.
https://cornercoffeestore.com/cafe-au-lait-recipe