Hiking With Tea
Anyone have experience with making tea in the wild, either on hiking trips or while camping?
If I’m day hiking, I usually cold brew in my Libre Glass and take that with me, but I was thinking about something like the set below for overnight hikes or while camping at the state parks here in PA.
http://www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-Personal-Java-Press/dp/B001LF3I3Y/ref=sr_1_22?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1399939919&sr=1-22
Has anyone tried this set or have something durable that they like better? How do you transport loose leaf teas without crushing them?
I haven’t tried that, but it doesn’t look like it is much more than one of the travel press mugs with an extra cup. I don’t think it would be much different than having an extra thermos with hot water for refilling your Libre. For traveling with tea I have a toiletry/make up type bag that I put my bags of tea in. Some do get a little smushed. I also have some smaller tins from a David’s advent calendar that I can refill, but you only get 2-3 servings of tea into them, which would be perfect for a day trip. Any small tin would do. One of the mini Altoids tins, or any other mint sold in a tin would work.
The set I posted is about 20 oz, so I thought it might be better for making tea for 2, as long as there’s an extra mug. I think you’re right and the libre would work, but I was a little concerned about the glass and durability , along with the smaller volume.
Now that you mention the tins, I recall that I have seen some small tins with a screw top at the craft store here. I think they’d be perfect. I have altoids tins, but I would worry about finer teas leaking out. I guess if I brought my whole leaf teas, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I usually use prefilled bags. But if I don’t mind the mess, I use a tupperware (http://www.ziploc.com/Products/Pages/TwistLocContainers.aspx) and bring a smallish metal basket. Teas go in small baggies (premeasured for the mug, reusable) in there. I use the container with a cozy for food or tea.
There’s a 2-cup and a 4-cup container. Size would depend on your preferences.
I also try to remember a 16oz travel mug, but last time I forgot it and this worked OK.
I buy small tins at world market for storing loose leaf tea on the go. . As for brewing keep it simple. A tea infuser for your mug works great. You can brew it twice to fill a larger container if you like. Toss the wet leaves into a food container for steeping later.
Green ball oolongs are great for travel. the dried tea holds up well if you need to pack in a vacuum bag to save weight.
For tea infusers the tuffy tea infuser is collapsible. and works reasonablely well.
just remember tea has been.made for thousands of years in all conditions. it must work out ok or we would not still be drinking it!
I take iced tea in my cooler in mason jars when I go camping (usually green tea), and I like to take pre-filled disposable/compostable bags of whatever I want to drink hot (making sure they can all be brewed at boiling, so usually blacks and guayusa)
These are all great ideas! I think I’ll end up varying the method based on the type of trip. I just know I don’t want to be without my tea while chillin’ in the great outdoors!
I guess that, if nothing else, I can just bring a mug and whole leaf tea and drink it grandpa style. :)
Hm, I wonder if this thingy would boil faster than two hours if used in a sunnier country than the UK? £35 solar kettle http://bit.ly/11rdCHm
That is really cool! It reminds me of the Gosun solar oven, which is a similar design that costs quite a bit more. I love the tray and larger size of the Gosun, but prefer the protective cover, lower price and thermometer of the one in your link.
Login or sign up to leave a comment.