Finally: Camp-Friendly Pour-Over Coffee

As a camper, former barista, and full-blown coffee addict—who recently, in a fit of desperation, dug a bag of instant coffee out of a campground trash can in order to get my morning fix—I was thrilled to hear about an exciting coming attraction: Kuju Coffee‘s camp-ready pour-over coffee.

Kuju Coffee, a start-up founded by a pair of Eagle Scout brothers, Jeff and Justin Wiguna, aims to bring easily packable pour-over coffee to the camping, backpacking, globe-trotting masses. And, on September 19—after months of testing their product, meeting with coffee growers, and testing coffee blends—the Wiguna brothers reached full funding on their Kickstarter campaign to make their product, the Kuju PourOver, a reality.

The Kuju PourOver is a small packet of true blue, freshly grounded coffee beans, packed inside of a pour-over filter and nitrogen-sealed to ensure maximum freshness. The ground coffee inside the PourOver, made out of beans sourced from small Direct Trade farms across the globe, currently comes in two blends, medium and bold.   Weighing in at a breezy .45 ounces (and taking up just 1.75″ x 1.45″ in its packaging), the Kuju PourOver is lighter and easier to pack than a CLIF bar. (And we’re betting that it’s even tastier, too.) The filter itself, with a sexy geometric origami-inspired design, unfolds to fit any drinking container, from the backpacker’s Nalgene to the ubiquitous enamel camp mug. And best of all, since the PourOver is sealed in airtight packaging, the coffee grounds will stay fresh for 6–12 months (long enough to make it all the way up the Pacific Crest Trail, Wild-style!).   Now that their Kickstarter has been funded, the Wiguna brothers can start shipping the (aptly camping-related) rewards to their backers—and prepping to launch an online presale of the Kuju PourOver. If you, like me, need to hear the minute the pre-sale begins, in early 2016, sign up and “Join the KIN” on Kuju’s website. That way, you’ll be notified when the pre-sale goes live. The company will then ship out the PourOvers next spring, just in time for summer camping season. Meanwhile, if you need expert tips on making great coffee outdoors, check out our video on fixing the perfect cup of Joe in the woods. Here’s to (high-quality) wilderness coffee!