How to choose a travel coffee setup

1. Decide where you will brew

Start with the trip, not the gear. Brewing in a hotel room, an office or a rented flat usually means you have an electric kettle and a mug. Camping or backpacking means you need to bring your own heat and something to drink from.

That one question settles most of the kit. Indoors, you mainly need a brewer and grinder. Outdoors, weight, a kettle that works on your stove or fire, and an insulated cup matter more.

2. Pick a brewer that packs into itself

Choose a brewer that nests its parts inside a mug or case. AeroPress designed the Go this way. The press, filters, stirrer and scoop pack into a microwaveable mug that doubles as the carrying case, and AeroPress gives the packed weight as 11.4 oz (323 g). It brews 8 oz, one cup.

The Go Plus is the step up. AeroPress describes a shatterproof Tritan press that packs inside a double-wall, stainless steel insulated tumbler with a magnetic, splash-resistant lid. It suits someone who wants coffee to stay hot on the trail or at a desk.

Pack more filters than you expect to use. AeroPress suggests 7 to 10 filters for a seven-day trip.

3. Choose a slim hand grinder

Pick a hand grinder small enough to pack beside or inside the brewer. A hand grinder needs no power, so it works anywhere.

Two common choices for this:

• The 1Zpresso Q2 is 1Zpresso's compact grinder. The company lists it at under 500 g and 14.5 x 16 x 4.6 cm, with a 15 to 20 g capacity, 30 clicks per rotation and a folding handle. 1Zpresso files it under pour-over, and reviewers on its page use it as a travel grinder alongside an AeroPress.
• The Porlex Mini II is a smaller, simpler grinder with ceramic burrs. The Coffee Folk measures it at 47 mm wide and 130 mm tall, about 20 g capacity, and says it fits inside an AeroPress. Its review also notes slight burr wobble and that it is not suited to espresso.

The 15 to 20 g capacity of these grinders is enough for one AeroPress or a small pour-over. If you brew for two, expect to grind twice. To compare more options, use the grinder finder with hand-powered and AeroPress preselected.

4. Plan your hot water

Decide how you will heat water before you leave. In a hotel or office, the room kettle is usually enough for an AeroPress.

Outdoors, bring a kettle that works with your heat source. Hario's Outdoor V60 Buono drip kettle is a small stainless gooseneck with a 500 ml practical capacity, and Hario says it is safe on an open fire. Hario also notes it is not for induction. A gooseneck matters more if you plan to brew pour-over on the road.

5. Pack whole beans and a way to measure

Bring whole beans in a small, sealed bag or container, and only as much as the trip needs. Ground coffee stales faster, so grinding fresh keeps the cup closer to what you brew at home. See how to store coffee beans for what keeps beans fresh.

A scale is optional on the road. One simple approach is to weigh each dose into its own small bag at home and skip the scale. If you do pack a scale, the brew calculator gives the water for any dose.

6. Set your grind before you leave

Dial in your travel grinder at home, with the brewer you are taking. Note the setting, so you are not guessing in a hotel room. AeroPress recommends a medium-fine grind as the starting point.

If you already know your setting on your home grinder, the grind converter translates it to a travel grinder's clicks as a starting point.

Can you make cold coffee with a travel setup?

Yes, with an AeroPress. AeroPress describes a quick cold version: combine coffee and cool water in the press, stir for one minute and press. It is useful when hot water is hard to come by.

Is a travel grinder good enough for home use?

For one or two cups of filter coffee, often yes. 1Zpresso files the Q2 under pour-over, and its reviewers use it for AeroPress too. The tradeoff is capacity and effort. A commenter on The Coffee Folk's review counted about 230 handle turns for a full Porlex hopper, which is fine on a trip but slow every morning for a household.