Alone with Nature: The Best Coffee Recipes for Picnics

Alone with Nature: The Best Coffee Recipes for Picnics

When you are alone with nature during a picnic, everything becomes more meaningful. You are reborn with the sunrise, birds chirping and fresh air. In such moments, it is very special to feel the peace and serenity that nature offers, as well as to crown this experience with the coffee you put in your thermos. The time spent on a picnic includes moments where you renew and refresh yourself in the lap of nature, as well as moments you share with your loved ones. The best way to make these moments even more unforgettable is a carefully prepared coffee.

Various brewing methods, such as French press, V60, AeroPress and iced pour-over, each with their own unique characteristics and flavor profiles, offer coffees that will enrich your picnic experience. In this article, we will share four great coffee recipes for you to prepare when you go on a picnic. Now, it's time to enjoy nature with these delicious and practical recipes!

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French Press

Recommended rate: 60–70g/litre
Grind size: Medium to medium-fine

1. Grind your coffee just before brewing. Place the French press on your scale and add your ground coffee. Zero the scale.
2. Boil your water and pour the required amount of water over the coffee depending on your brewing temperature. Let the French press sit for 4 minutes.
3. Using a large spoon, gently stir in the crust that forms on top.
4. Using two large spoons, remove the foam and floating coffee grounds. Wait 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your preference and whether you're in a hurry.
5. Place the press mechanism and press down until the filter is at the top of the liquid coffee. Do not push it all the way to the bottom.
6. Pour your coffee gently, trying to minimize sediment. That's it!

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V60

Recommended rate: 60g/litre
Grind size: Medium to medium-fine

1. Place the filter paper on the V60 and rinse it with hot water through the filter. This is to remove the taste from the paper and to warm the teapot. Place the teapot over a mug, thermos or serving jug. Grind your coffee just before brewing. Pour the ground coffee into the centre of the funnel and create a small indentation in the centre with your finger or a spoon.
2. Prepare your water by boiling it. Pour some water over the coffee. Your goal is to wet all the coffee so it swells and releases CO2. This stage is called “blooming.” Aim for 2 grams of water per gram of coffee, but you can use a little more if you need to wet more coffee.
3. As soon as you pour in the water, grab the V60 and shake it in a gentle circular motion. Your goal is to mix the coffee with the water completely. If there are any lumps or large bubbles, shake it a little more. Let the coffee sit for about 45 seconds.
4. Now do your first main pour. This should take about 30 seconds, by which time you should have poured out 60 percent of the total water. Unless you’re brewing a single cup, the V60 should usually be pretty full at this point. Pour in the water in a gentle, circular motion.
5. The next step is to pour in the remaining water, taking 30 seconds. Use a gentle, circular pouring action here as well. Once you’re done pouring, stir in one direction with a spoon, then gently stir in the other direction. This will help prevent the grounds from sticking to the sides of the V60.
6. When your V60 is two-thirds full, take the V60 and shake it gently in a circular motion. This will prevent the coffee from sticking to the walls and will ensure that the settled coffee bed ends up flat. Let the coffee drain completely and discard the paper and grounds. Brewing coffee with the V60 is that easy!

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AeroPress

Recommended rate: 55-60g/litre
Grind size: Medium-fine

1. Place the filter paper in the holder. Don't rinse it as it's just a small piece of paper so it won't make much difference. Place the paper holder in the pot and place it over a mug or serving jug. Place everything on the scales and add the coffee. In this example we'll use 11g of coffee. Zero your scales.
2. Pour the water over the coffee and make sure all the coffee is wet. In this example we will use 200g of water.
3. Place the plunger piece into the infuser, but do not press down. Having the plunger on top creates a partial vacuum, preventing any more liquid from escaping from the bottom of the AeroPress. Wait 2 minutes.
4. Grab both the pot and the plunger and lift it slightly, then gently shake the AeroPress. This will help break up the crust that has formed in the pot and cause most of the coffee to settle to the bottom. Do not shake aggressively or try to create a whirlpool. Just break up the crust. Remove the AeroPress and mug from the scale.
5. Thirty seconds after your swing, you can start pressing. Press gently; you shouldn't use your body weight, just press comfortably with your arm. The pressing should last about 30 seconds (there can be some variability here, but slow is better).
6. Press until the plunger is above the coffee and will not go any further. Then pull back on the plunger a little bit as this will help reduce dripping from the AeroPress. Remove the coffee grounds and clean your AeroPress. Your coffee is ready!

Cold Brew

The basic Iced Pour-over recipe is the same as the V60 technique, but you do need to make a few simple adjustments. Firstly, 40% of your brew will be iced in your mug or pitcher. For example, this means that if you were brewing V60 using 500g of water for 30g of coffee, here you would use 300g of water and 200g of ice.

Since you are using less water, you may want to grind your coffee a little finer. We also recommend increasing the ratio slightly. Using 65-70g of coffee per litre is more suitable for extra dilution when serving over ice.

Other than that, you’ll be following the V60 recipe. Stir and shake gently at the end to help with even extraction. Once the brewing process is complete, most of the ice should have melted. If you find that there’s too much ice left, reduce the amount of ice next time and use a bit more brewing water to keep the total amount of water used the same.

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In conclusion, you should not forget that coffee has a special place in a picnic where you enjoy your time in the presence of nature. Whether it is early in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon or watching the sunset, a coffee prepared with the right brewing methods will make these moments even more unforgettable. We hope that our recipes that appeal to every taste with various brewing techniques such as French Press, V60, AeroPress and iced pour-over will make your time spent in nature even more enjoyable. While enjoying the beauties that nature has to offer, crowning this experience with coffee will give you and your loved ones unforgettable moments.