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Outside Magazine March 2002

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Review
The Barista Wore Crampons
Wilderness Coffeemakers
By Christopher Solomon

Think back for a moment to the menu of your last backpacking trip: stew-in-a-sack, energy bars the consistency of fiberboard, and, worst of all, lukewarm cowboy coffee that had you filtering grounds like a baleen whale straining krill. To help on this last crucial point, we rounded up a half-dozen devices that produce a top-notch cup of backcountry joe and asked two Seattleites who know a few things about coffee and mountains to take 'em for a test brew. Jen Donnette is a backcountry skier and former coffee taster for a certain multinational Seattle java concern, and Mike Burns is a former guide for Mountain Madness. Though they returned wild-eyed and quivering, we managed to record their judgments.

GSI OUTDOORS LEXAN JAVA PRESS
THE DEVICE: Fashioned from nearly indestructible Lexan, this slender, idiot-proof French press can handle the abuse of a multistate through-hike.
THE BARISTA TEST: A testers' favorite, it rewards with hot java as black as the ace of spades in three to four minutes, with a minimal sludge quotient.
THE BITTER TRUTH: coffee this good makes you want more than one cup, but the next size up (33 oz.) is too big to pack.
VITALS: Capacity: 10 fl. oz. Weight: 5.1 oz. $16; 800-704-4474, www.gsioutdoors.com

MSR MUGMATE COFFEE/TEA FILTER
THE DEVICE: The simplest of the lot: Dump in some Peet's, pour water, and voila—a steaming cup of civility. In a pinch, the colander strains floaters from sketchy water.
THE BARISTA TEST: A clean, quick drip from a filter with a stout buzz-to-weight ratio. The well-knit screen means no fur on the tongue to ruin summit morning on Rainier.
THE BITTER TRUTH: Make more than one cup at a time, Jen warns, and the second cup is weak. Your tentmate is on his own.
VITALS: Weight: 1 oz. $13; 800-877-9677, www.msrcorp.com

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