The GSI Outdoors JavaMill Coffee Grinder ($37.50) delivers fresh ground coffee at camp as fine as any floofy coffee shop. All that’s needed for coffee at camp is beans, a mug, and boiling water. All things you’re going to have in your camping cache anyway.
I first opened my eyes to the world of coffee beyond pre-ground Folgers at a kitchy European coffee house (Macy’s) in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was equal parts mind blowing and life changing. But I was a poor college undergrad so expensive and pretentious coffee habits would have to wait.
What I Loved
Fresh Ground Coffee in the Outdoors
When I started getting into backpacking and camping in the 1990’s my coffee fix came from a ziplock baggie of instant Folgers or Nescafe. The 2010’s ushered in the Starbucks Dark Roast Instant packets and those little tea-bag thingies full of ground coffee. But it still wasn’t coffee from fresh ground beans.
The reason fresh ground beans have a superior flavor to pre-ground (or instant) is through a process called Oxidation. In oxidation, air molecules and compounds coalesce to release the flavor and aroma compounds from the coffee beans. The oxidation process kicks in when you grind the beans, making the flavor best when consumed right away–as opposed to pre-ground coffee or instant coffee. That’s why the GSI Outdoors JavaMill Coffee Grinder is without a doubt an amazing invention.
The GSI Outdoors Gourmet PourOver Java Set Package Deal
You could buy the GSI Outdoors Java Mill Coffee Grinder for $37.50. But if prefer drip coffee, you would also have to purchase the Ultralight Java Drip for $9.95. This brings your grand total for coffee making to $47.45. But if you buy the GSI Outdoors Gourmet PourOver Coffee Set for $39.95 you are saving money and adding variety to your coffee routine. This is by far a better deal because the Gourmet Pourover Coffee Set includes the bean grinder, a high-quality silicone drip cone with reusable mesh filter and a snap-on storage lid that pulls double duty of keeping the water hot while it slow-drips into your mug. The bonus of buying as the set means you get the Collapsible Java Drip with its collapsible silicon cone that fits over coffee mugs and packs into tight spaces.
Ease of Use
Fill the grinder of the GSI Outdoors Java Mill Coffee Grinder, turn the crank handle and ground beans descend into the grind chamber. Add the grounds into the Collapsible Java Drip cone and mesh filter and slowly add boiling water. Because this isn’t your kitchen Cuisinart, it takes a few moments for the drip to complete. I always keep the storage lid on top to preserve the heat while it drips. Not to nag, but if you don’t buy the GSI Outdoors Gourmet PourOver Coffee Set, you don’t get this fancy lid and drip cone.
There are course grinds and there are fine grinds. How you like your coffee depends on the grind. For pour-over coffee, fine is best (course is best for French press). Each turn of the T-handle affects the grind consistency
To achieve a fine grind, turn the T-handle all the way to the right until it stops turning. You won’t be able to grind any beans at this setting so just turn it slightly to the left until you hear one click. Then begin your grind. The grounds should be fine at this point. If they aren’t, turn the T-handle ever so slightly to the right. It’s a little fiddly to find the right setting but once you dial it in it’s set.
Packable Size and Weight
If you just go with the GSI Outdoors Java Mill Coffee Grinder you’re looking at a scant .58 pounds. If you splurge the $2 and go with the GSI Outdoors Gourmet Pourover Java Set, the grand total is a mere 15 ¼ ounces, including the handy storage sack. The filter packs down to the size of a half-inch by four-inch disk and the bean grinder is the size of a Katahdin water filter. When you combine it all together it fits easily into a daypack or multi-day pack.
What Could be Better
I would love to see GSI Outdoors add some high-level instructions to the JavaMill Coffee Grinder on how to set the grinder to grind course or fine. It took me several attempts and several cups of coffee to figure this out. In and of itself, this is not always a bad thing. Some of us need more than one cup in the morning. Just don’t make the same mistake I did, which is to try to figure it out before that first cup in the morning. In other words, practice at home!
The good news is once you get it dialed in it stays that way unless you change it and I never once had any coffee grinds in my mug.
Final Thoughts
When wars break out over differing opinions, I feel like there is one thing upon which many of us agree: You can’t start the day without a good cup of coffee and coffee made from fresh beans is best. That goes for camping, too, which is why the GSI Outdoors Gourmet Pourover Java Set is without a doubt the most brilliant piece of camping gear ever.
