Camp Espresso Mocha
Ground espresso pressed at camp, cut with cocoa and powdered milk. One mug, one boil.
- calories
- 210
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 300 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
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Fine-ground espresso coffee | 18 g | grind at home the morning you leave |
|---|---|---|
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | whole, not skim, or it tastes thin |
| Sugar | 2 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Water | 300 ml |
Method
- Boil 300 ml of water. Pull the pot off the heat and let it sit thirty seconds so it stops rolling.
- Load the ground coffee into the hand press basket, level it, and screw it shut.
- Pour about 80 ml of the hot water into the press reservoir, then pump until roughly 40 ml of espresso comes through into your mug. Stop when the flow goes pale.
- Add the cocoa, milk powder, sugar, and salt to the mug. Splash in a little of the remaining hot water and stir it into a paste first, or the cocoa clumps.
- Top with the rest of the hot water and stir. Drink it hot.
- Rinse the press basket immediately. Dried coffee grounds in the screen are a chore later.
The source this came from is a gear roundup, not a recipe, so what carried over is the method: boil water in the pot you already have, then use a hand press to turn a small part of it into real espresso. That splits the job cleanly. The stove does the heating, the press does the pressure, and neither needs power.
Cocoa and milk powder are here because espresso alone at 6 a.m. in the cold is punishing. The pinch of salt cuts the chalky edge cocoa powder gets when it meets hot water, and stirring the dry mix into a paste before topping up is the difference between a drink and a mug with lumps at the bottom. Powdered whole milk stands in for the fresh milk you would use at home; skim versions read as watery.
Packing
Cocoa, milk powder, sugar, and salt get premixed into one small bag per morning. Coffee grounds ride in their own sealed bag so they do not go stale against the sugar. The press packs its own case; wrap the basket in a bandana so it does not rattle.
Variations
- No press: steep the grounds in 300 ml of hot water for four minutes and pour carefully off the sludge.
- Swap the milk powder for powdered coconut milk to make it dairy-free.
- A spoonful of malted milk powder in place of the sugar makes it heavier and closer to a meal.
https://thevanabondtales.com/best-coffee-maker-for-van-life