Hiking is a sport of endurance, it requires a lot of stamina and energy to plan a perfect and successful hike.
There are plenty of things that you can do pre-hike to make it successful, like getting up early, prepping up the essentials, and looking up safe routes. With this, you also need to think of how you can stay energized during hiking.
If you’re a coffee-lover, this can be the best deal for you. You can stay energized with coffee but many energy-boosting beverages have been proven more sound for hiking.
But hey, you don’t need to carry all of your equipment for coffee, you can use Instant coffee. It’s one of the best options for best coffees for hiking, some of my favorites are Starbucks Via, Alpine Start, and Voila coffee.
Let’s get started with which can be the best coffees for hiking:
Should You Drink Coffee For Hiking?
The answer to this question is subjective. Some say that it’s good to drink coffee before hiking because it increases your energy levels, others say that coffee can dehydrate you and make you feel jittery.
Caffeine can pump up your energy for hiking, it can improve your endurance and on-spot performance.
Caffeine is a stimulant that works by blocking the adenosine receptors from attaching and making you feel energized and alert.
However, there is a slight difference between the caffeine content of an instant coffee packet and ground coffee:
| Instant Coffee per 8oz | Ground Coffee per 8oz |
| 59 mg | 70-140 mg |
It is best preferred to take your coffee 4 to 5 hours before since caffeine shows its peak performance at 3 to 4 hours, this way you will have a greater impact on your energy levels.
However, too much caffeine can be proven to be not good on track since it’s dehydrating, this means it’s a mild diuretic that probably forces you to urinate more, and trusts me you wouldn’t want that on a hike, it can also alter your heart rhythm since you’ll be constantly on your feet due to exhaustion.
How Do You Make Coffee While Hiking?
Well, instant coffee is one option for when you’re traveling and don’t have all the access to make your coffee.
There are plenty of ways you can make your coffee:
- Single-serve paper pours coffee filter- Fill the single-serve paper filter halfway with ground coffee. Slowly pour heated water into the coffee filter, and presto! You have a delicious cup of coffee.
- GSI UltraLight java drips– Fill the mesh basket with ground coffee and clip the device to the side of your coffee cup. Then you may pour hot water over the grounds slowly and have a blast.
- MSR coffee or tea filter – Place the ground coffee in the mesh container and slowly pour hot water over it. If you want a stronger drink, either remove the filter immediately or leave it in the cup (but not too long or you will get a bitter taste).
- GSI Outdoor coffee rocket maker – Fill the stainless steel filter in the blue base unit with ground coffee, then attach the water hopper on top. Set the entire device atop your coffee cup. Pour the hot water into the hopper slowly.
- Wolecok collapsible pour-over coffee dripper – Expand the collapsible device and place a standard paper coffee filter inside. Pour the hot water over the coffee after adding the desired amount of ground coffee. Because you can’t see how much water you’ve already poured into this filter, you have to be careful not to overfill your coffee cup.
- GSI outdoors Collapsible Java drips – Insert a standard paper coffee filter into the coffee maker after expanding the collapsible device. Pour the desired amount of ground coffee into the basket, followed by a slow pour of hot water over the coffee. Because you can’t see through the semi-transparent filter base, you have to be careful when pouring water into this filter. It’s easy to add too much water and overflow your coffee cup if you’re not careful.
These are some of the carry easy tools that you can pack with your hiking bag. These can get you to make yourself a good coffee and relax a bit at your favorite spot.
What’s The Best Coffee For Hiking?
Instant coffee has been making rounds on the internet for quite a long time, it is much more convenient and easy to prepare.
Some benefits of instant coffee are that it contains antioxidants, has relatively less caffeine than coffee, it contains more acrylamide, enhances brain function, and boosts metabolism.
Here are some of my best picks of coffee for hiking:
Voila Instant Coffee
Voila can be your go-to for all overnight outdoor trips, and it’s a personal favorite for both flavor and overall brand aesthetic. The brand, which was founded in 2016, rotates its beans seasonally to keep things as fresh as possible. Their new jar option is great for car camping, but for backpacking, opt for packets to avoid bringing glass into the backcountry. It costs around $14 per 8 pack.
Alpine start
Alpine Start is a very good camp coffee that is specifically marketed to outdoor enthusiasts, hence the clever name. It is medium roasted with high-altitude Colombian Arabica coffee. Their star product, good old instant coffee, is available in jars as well as individual packets. If coffee isn’t your thing, try their Mushroom infused instant matcha, it costs around $9 per 8 pack which is not a bad deal. Here’s where you can get your hands on Alpine.
Equator Coffee
The Equator, a San Francisco institution, is well known for its expertly roasted coffees, and its instant offering lives up to the hype. Excellent flavor with a strong kick. The Equator is another favorite of mine, especially for specialty coffee. However, it is a little expensive since it costs $15 for 5 packs.
Supr Coffee
Supr is yet another new brand that specializes in specialty instant coffees. While their regular instant coffee sticks are certainly worth a try, their CBD instant coffee is an intriguing, and perhaps counterintuitive, option. But who wouldn’t want a buzz without the jitters? It costs around $15 per 10 packs which to me sounds like a nice deal.
Starbucks Via
Starbucks Via lacks in taste, but it makes up for in convenience and affordability. It’s arguably burnt and not particularly tasty, but it’s also extremely dependable, available everywhere from gas stations and supermarkets to actual Starbucks cafes, and, of course, contains caffeine, so it’ll suffice in a pinch. While it’s thinner and more muted than a Starbucks cup, it has far more depth than most instant coffees. Unlike many instant coffees, its aftertaste holds together fairly well and fades quickly. It costs $7 per 8 packets.
All Awake Coffee
All Awake is for you if you get attached to your pour-over ceremony every morning. These single-serving pour-over coffee kits are not instant, but they are convenient. A little heavy for backpacking, but great for an elevated coffee experience while car camping or traveling in general. It’s about $13 per 5 packs.
Mount Hagen
Mount Hagen is a freeze-dried instant coffee. It does a good job of imitating the taste of classic diner coffee. Based on the packaging, they may have been aiming for something more exotic, but we thought this one delivered a mellow, well-balanced cup of coffee with a smooth aftertaste.
What Makes Instant Coffee Good For Hiking?
Following are the reasons why instant coffee is good for hiking:
- It is easy to make, easy to carry, and leaves a little trash.
- Instant coffee is extremely lightweight
- It has a super long shelf life
- It can also be made with cold water
Can Coffee Increase Stamina?
Yes! Research has shown that caffeine stimulates the brain and central nervous system, this can improve muscular strength and endurance performance.
In the short term, caffeine can give you a quick boost which can make you feel alert and energized, however, athletes should refrain from consuming a high dose of caffeine since it can be dehydrating and cause some health side effects.
Here is a video for a better understanding of how caffeine can improve endurance:
Summary
Overall, coffee is not as good an option as energy drinks are. However, being a coffee lover you want to be able to have access to coffee all the time.
Instant coffee is considered one of the best options for best coffees for hiking, some of my favorites are Starbucks via, Alpine start and voila coffee.
Coffee does boost your mechanism and help you perform better physically and mentally. This way you can stay recharged and on your feet to complete your hiking.
With this, I hope you found this blog useful, I’ll be back with some exciting new topics.
If you’re looking for the best deals on great coffee, definitely check out Volcanica coffee where you’ll find a wide range of the highest quality coffee. (Affiliate link)
Volcanica carry over 150 different coffees including single origin, estate, peaberry, decaf and flavored coffees from all around the world.
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