Last minute shopping suggestions: neat stainless coffee maker plus a few alternative coffee-brewing prezzy ideas.
Between now and Christmas, we're going to be bringing you some last minute gift inspiration either for your outdoorsy mates or for yourself – you know, the 'what would you like for Christmas' scenario.
To kick things off, here's the oddly appealing Kaffee Kocher, a self-contained, stainless steel coffee maker from German brand Esbit. And let's be honest, you've got to love that name.
Stainless Alien Lifeform
It looks strangely alien in a rounded, shiny, utlitarian, stainless steel chic sort of way, but what's really neat about it is that it's genuinely self-contained in that you don't need a stove to use it.
The actual coffee-maker bit is a modern take on the classic stove-top moka pot espresso rig so you just pack in some coffee and add water to the base, but the neat bit is that nestling inside the pot is a neat little burner stand.
Located the tapered base of the Kaffeekocher in the stand, pop a couple of solid fuel tablets – Esbit also produces the British army-type solid-fuel stoves – in the supplied burner box into it, light up and you're away. Five minutes later, fresh gurgling coffee emerges into your mug.
And when you've finished, pack it away and stow it in the supplied mesh stuff sac. It's neat, unusual, makes coffee and, because it's self contained, you can either pack it on its own for mid-hike caffeine hit or, alternatively, use it while your main stove is, oh, I dunno, brewing porridge.
How's the coffee? Not bad, though we need to experiment with tamping pressure and fineness of grind...
The Esbit Kaffeekocher retails for £40 and is imported to the UK by Dalesman – www.dalesman.biz
Alternative Coffee Solutions
We also like the look of the Handpresso portable espresso gizmo, a neat, hand-held device that uses bicycle pump-style pressurised air to drive a charge of hot water through either easy to find ESE pods or even ground coffee.
It's not cheap, online prices start at about £70, but a mate of ours has one and it makes surprisingly good, convenient, wilderness espresso shots.
If you're a Jetboil owner and don't own one yet, you'll be needing the Jetboil Coffee Press to bring French press functionality to your PCS mug. And a little bird tells us it'll also work with some other brand mugs, like the Alpkit Myti for example.
Last but not least, Primus fans needn't feel left out. The Swedish brand produces the LiTech Coffee Press Kit which teams a custom press with a lightweight mug.
