If you haven’t started your holidays yet, you will soon… so here is a small guide to choose the perfect holiday coffee machine companion!
In this article we’ll take into account ease of use, compactness and fragility.
The idea of writing this Guide came after the vacation I took last year: a journey to discover Lanzarote and Fuerteventura aboard a camper van.
The kitchen, as you can imagine, was missing and we often stopped to sleep in completely rural areas, where the first bar available for breakfast was even 30 minutes away by car. Luckily I was prepared, with my coffee gear in the suitcase.
After this experience I discovered that many Italians have coffee in their luggage.
So here are my tips for a “travel coffee”.
Moka pot
Surely the best known and loved instrument in Italian homes.
But is it the right one to take on vacation?
If you have a kitchen, yes!
In fact it is a compact instrument, so it will not take up too much space in your suitcase. It is strong, thus also avoiding the possibility of breaking during the jolts of travel.
The moka pot gest a nice 8 out of 10.
It falls short of full marks for one reason only: you need fire. In fact, it is not enough to obtain hot or even tepid water, fire is needed to keep the steam under pressure and allow the extracted coffee to escape into the upper tank.
If you want to know how to best use it, watch the video:
Or click here to find out everything you need to know about the moka:
Now let’s move on to filter coffees to see four other practical, comfortable, resistant and above all, always incredible results!
French Press
This tool gets a nice 10/10!
While it’s not my favorite for my personal taste, it’s objectively unbeatable.
It is very simple to use: just pour water and ground coffee into the container and wait for the infusion to finish.
How could you go wrong?
It’s plastic, so it won’t break in your suitcase.
It is available in different formats: from 150 ml up to 1.5 L.
You can use hot water, if you have a source of heat available, but also cold water, extending the infusion times a bit.
Finally satisfies everyone!
This same tool can be used to prepare coffee, tea and any infused drink in general, and it also allows you to froth the milk for an excellent cappuccino, with both hot and cold milk.
In short… it has all the credentials to be an excellent travel companion on any occasion and situation.
Watch the video per understand how to use it to prepare coffee:
Hoop
It’s time to introduce you to a brand new tool just created in Italy: Hoop.
This too has compact dimensions, is resistant and above all very simple to use.
Insert the filter, screw the central cylinder, pour in the ground coffee and then the water. The extracted coffee is then collected directly in the cup.
However, the vote for this tool is 8/10.
This is because the result is better with hot water, so we need a heat source.
Here the video to see how to prepare coffee with Hoop:
Clever
I will be very brief on this instrument, because the characteristics are practically identical to Hoop.
Comfortable, compact, resistant, simple to use and the coffee is collected directly in the cup.
The difference is that the result is excellent even with cold water, simply by increasing the dose of coffee a little, while leaving the quantity of water unchanged.
That’s why the score is 9/10.
Not reaching 10 full, unlike the French Press, only due to the fact that the filters are not reusable and therefore you have to carry around a few more spare ones.
And as for the others, here is the video to learn how to make the most of it:
Aeropress
Aeropress And finally we come to my favorite coffee maker: the Aeropress!
I don’t know why but it always hits me. Making coffee with this tool is a different art every time.
This is why it is the method that always follows me in my suitcase.
I have wonderful memories related to my last trip: in fact, I woke up with the van on the beach, I took out the table, the aeropress, the coffee and the cup. I started the preparation with an ocean view. A peaceful and relaxed ritual.
Maybe I’m exaggerating, but as you can guess from my words, I’m really in love with it.
Despite this it takes an 8/10.
Because even this tool performs better with hot water, requiring a heat source. For example, I had a camping stove.
Then, disposable compostable filters are needed for extraction.
However, it also has many pros: in addition to its beauty, it offers an intense, aromatic coffee, rich in aromas and practically without bitterness.
The doses can be made by eye with the help of the numbers placed on the instrument which indicate the number of cups. It is also compact, resistant, adaptable and simple to use.
Watch the video if you want to find out how to prepare it:
Now all you have to do is choose your favorite and put it in your suitcase, combined with an amazing coffee, intense and fragrant.