Pinay Traveller Recommends #6

Today’s theme: coffee to go!

There’s nothing like a good cup of coffee to start off or wrap up a day of travelling. I especially enjoy quaint little coffee shops where you can nurse a cup of brew while watching the world go by.  But there are times when you simply can’t (due to lack of time,  lack of funds or lack of coffee shops).  So for emergency caffeine cravings, I usually bring my own portable coffeemaker in the form of a travel coffee press.

All I need is ground coffee and hot water and I’m good to go. I’m actually very happy with my Bodum but I was thinking, maybe it’s time to upgrade. So I looked around for portable coffee makers and found these…

1. The Handpresso

It’s handy, it’s compact and they say it can give you a pretty good cup of espresso, latte or capuccino!

There’s no need to disassemble, it’s easy to rinse and does not need electricity.  Perfect for travellers!

It also comes in a very cute cool travel case.

Visit Handpresso here.

2.  mypressi.

Using more or less the same concept as Handpresso, mypressi supposedly requires ‘no pumping, priming or compressing’ to make a perfect shot of espresso (and other coffee conctions).

Quoting directly from their website: Wine Spectator said it produced “the best shot of espresso we’ve had from any portable and most counter-top machines”.  Imbibe said it made “surprisingly delicious crema-topped extractions”. Coffeegeek.com (Mark Prince) said “it really is the first portable device I’ve used that makes real espresso”

Visit mypressi here.

3.  esPRESSivo

Finally, there’s esPRESSivo, the portable barista. This unit allows you to ‘press the beans, light up a small flame at the base of the unit to brew your cuppa, and store the surplus’.

From the outside, it looks just like an ordinary thermoflask. But the magic happens inside.

Out of the three, this one seems to be the most complicated.  But the designer has provided a quick description to enlighten us…

Here’s a step-by-step instructional guide:

Visit esPRESSIVO website for more details.

The average price for these three is around US$150-200. Hmmm… pretty pricey for DIY coffee, methinks.  For now, I think I will just stick to my loyal coffee buddy, Bodum (aka Buddum).