Coffee enjoyed by a campfire or on a hike always tastes good. Or in other words: when you're outdoors, the taste of the coffee doesn't matter that much, because factors other than the taste of the coffee also affect the taste experience!
But since you're reading an article from the website of the roastery that was voted the best in Finland three times, we of course believe that when it comes to coffee, it's worth buying the best quality possible, because that way your camping coffee experience will be even better - why settle for anything less than the best?
The sense of taste is influenced by several factors. The time of day, surrounding smells, fresh air, feelings of thirst or hunger, company, and general stress are the most common reasons for different taste experiences.
Let's delve deeper into the different areas:
1. Fresh and bright outdoor air enhances the taste experience
Let's first look at the characteristics that a professional coffee tasting requires. International tasting laboratory guidelines state that the room should have, among other things, sufficient humidity and light. There must also be enough space, approximately 1.5 square meters per person. The room should also accommodate a maximum of six people at a time.
You should also be quiet when tasting, because talking and fidgeting cause stress, and stress reduces the ability to sense flavors.
This brings us to thinking about a cup of coffee enjoyed in a lean-to or in nature. We can almost talk about laboratory conditions! There is usually enough space outdoors: enough square meters per person.
The humidity outside in the summer is about 65-75%, so the humidity is suitable and the nose does not get blocked easily. Indeed, the sense of smell is strongly related to the sense of taste. Some of the taste sensations arise as odors that have passed through the nasopharynx to the olfactory epithelium. If the nose is blocked, you can hardly smell or taste anything. Dry indoor air can cause a runny nose.
In the forest, people often get quiet and close to nature, which can sometimes be heard by birds chirping at a slightly too loud volume.
Spending time in the forest generally also reduces stress, so the mind is clearer and the senses are open.
2. A rest break always cheers you up – even outdoors
Breaks are refreshing, everyone knows that.
(It should be mentioned, by the way, that no law has written a coffee break, contrary to what is often claimed when talking about Finnish coffee culture. Collective agreements may have written about breaks under the name of coffee breaks, but working hours legislation only talks about rest. And coffee breaks are also talked about elsewhere than in Finnish workplaces.)
But to the point. On a trip, “work” can be getting to the destination, i.e. the break point. So “free time” is making coffee and sitting around. So a break simply feels relaxed, and the images associated with relaxed things are usually nice. Like having coffee.
3. Hunger and thirst, aka classic taste enhancers
When you're outdoors, you use up energy and lose fluids, so you'll soon feel hungry or thirsty - faster if you're moving than if you're sitting still in an office. Coffee is about 1.5 percent coffee and 98.5 percent water, so it also acts as a thirst quencher.
And no, caffeine doesn't speed up your metabolism so much that coffee would only have a dehydrating effect on your body. You're still drinking so much water that coffee actually hydrates and invigorates you at the same time.
There are so many things that affect hunger that we don't want to comment on it based on a quick Google search. Coffee can affect the secretion of certain hormones, and these hormones in turn affect hunger, but we're just a coffee roaster, not researchers, so this is it.
4. Everything is more enjoyable in good company - including drinking coffee
A follow-up study shows that whether a person eats alone or with others affects their well-being.
Everyone who has worked remotely probably knows this from their own experience: humans are social animals. Having lunch, dinner or a drink together – coffee, beer or lemonade – is an important part of enjoying life. At the same time, you can share thoughts and observations about nature, the world or the taste of coffee.
Sure, many people hike alone, but for the majority, outdoor activities and hiking are a form of socializing, which also includes a coffee or meal break.
5. Hands-on tinkering and making things with your hands is fun
In nature, coffee is usually made with completely different equipment than indoors. Water is carried or taken from a stream/well, it is heated with fire or gas, and the coffee is brewed in a pan, Aeropress or by hand extraction.
Any kind of manual labor and doing concrete things – like successfully lighting a campfire – adds joy and happiness to life, so the end result, a cup of coffee, feels like a great effort. And as we know, anything that requires effort feels significant.
So something as simple as making coffee can feel like an accomplishment.
+1. What kind of coffee should you carry into the forest?
Lehmus Roastery recommends Hiking Coffee for hikes, cabins or outdoors, which is our favorite dark roast coffee. It comes from smallholder coffee farms in the Jaén region of Peru and has a soft, full-bodied and chocolatey taste.
The aroma of coffee is pleasantly strong, so it works well with chocolate or other strong-tasting snacks, but on the other hand, it is also an experience in itself.
Other good options are the really dark Lauritsala andSammonlahti , and on the other end, the light-roasted, berry-fruity Myllysaari .
And you can find an easy and optimal way to make pot coffee in our article here .
(Text: Arttu Muukkonen, photos: Kim Öhman, Kuutti Haapanen, Arttu Muukkonen)