If you adore your coffee, you’ll want to pack the best travel coffee maker for your style of travel. I’ve been searching for the perfect machine for many years so let’s look at what’s available for we coffee addicts on the move. Whether you’re camping, short term renting, RV travelling or popping one of these travel coffee makers in your luggage for overseas trips, there’s something here to keep us all caffeinated away from home. Various styles of travel coffee maker exist from simple portable filters to 1 cup coffee machines but prices seem to vary little, expect to pay less than £30, $50 for whatever coffee machine you choose. The Aerobie AeroPress (below) is the current popular buy, we use one, the coffee is great, but there are other alternatives. Whichever way you look at it, your travel coffee maker will save you money on buying coffee out and give you greater freedom to explore on your own terms. Add a robust insulated coffee cup to your travel coffee maker and you have a big bonus for coffee lovers on the move. These small compact devices are easy to carry and would make great gifts.
The Best Travel Coffee Maker For Us, and For You
Lets start with this cute little electric filter machine. I guess this is a little “old school” these days, but it’s certainly a nifty little gadget. It reminds me of the travel kettle my mum would take on holiday so that she’d never be without her PG Tips.
Going In Style Europe Coffee Maker with Adapter Set ( only available in the US)
Going In Style Europe Coffee Maker Quick Cafe Dual Voltage w/ Adapter Set
A more modern version of a plug in travel coffee maker, a self contained machine ideal for hotel rooms, is below. Nobody is going to be throwing one of these in their backpack, but if you care more about coffee that travelling light, this could be an answer.
BLACK+DECKER CM618 Single Serve Coffee Maker, Black
( note, the Black and Decker is only available in the US & Canada, in other countries these links will take you to a similar single serve coffee maker, by Breville)
BLACK+DECKER CM618 Single Serve Coffee Maker, Black
As you can see from the photo above, we use an aeropress coffee maker. We don’t always carry it, but if we’re staying in one place for a while, maybe a rental or AirBnb, we need it. The little red metal coffee pot on the left is our “at home” coffee solution. It makes amazing coffee but needs a stove top. It doesn’t need filters, which is a bonus. One of these could work for you in rentals or hostels or for camping. The Aeropress is certainly a little lighter and easier to carry although maybe less robust ( the aeropress below has a travel pouch) All you need is the coffee, boiling water, filters and a cup. The tiny filters are very portable but still, you need filters. It’s quicker than a traditional cafetiere, taking just seconds to produce great coffee. It takes a fair bit of force to depress the plunger, but if you really want that coffee, no worries. Many say Aeropress makes the best coffee they ever had, I’m not that discerning, but it’s certainly good.
Take a look at the Aeropress in action here, this super cool video shows just how quick and easy it is to use. Of course, you can just make one cup of coffee at a time, you don’t have to fill it.
Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker With Travel Bag
Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker with Tote Bag
Just hover and pin to save this to Pinterest. Thanks!
Espro Travel Press for Coffee (12oz) – Matte Black
This espresso travel press is basically a cafetiere that you can’t break, a genius piece of kit, even to use at home. This probably takes up the least space of the bunch, being just the size of an insulated coffee mug. It’s surprisingly light at 345g, that’s less than the Aeropress.
Espro Travel Press for Coffee (12oz) – Matte Black
Melitta Coffee Maker, Single Cup Pour-Over Brewer with Travel Mug, Red (Pack of 2)
Make filter drip coffee straight into your travel mug. The filter cone is BPA free and the travel mug is sturdy stainless steel. Really, with something like this, you’re barely carrying more than an insulated travel coffee mug. I guess a lot of us carry one of those anyway, so why not carry the filter too?
Melitta Coffee Maker, Single Cup Pour-Over Brewer with Travel Mug, Red (Pack of 2)
The Original Bialetti Moka Express Made in Italy 1-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker with Patented Valve
This little stove top pot is the closest I can find to our old red model. These are great because you don’t need filter papers, just coffee and a heat source, be that a camp fire, primus stove or hostel kitchen stove.
The Original Bialetti Moka Express Made in Italy 1-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker with Patented Valve
There are many more travel coffee makers, single serve machines and pour over coffee devices on the market, I’m adding to this post all the time as my research turns them up. For us, for now, the best travel coffee maker is our aeropress, but it’s not the one we use at home, we use the little percolator pot on the hob This post uses affiliate links, that means that if you buy anything through these links, Amazon gives us a small cut. This costs you nothing and helps keep our website free. Thanks for using them!
We hope you found our round up on best travel coffee maker for your style of travel useful. In certain countries, for instance Malaysia, India or Sri Lanka, it’s incredibly hard to find a good coffee without pre-added powdered milk and sugar. These little beauties get your day off to a much better start than a glass of water and a paracetamol, which was my enforced coffee substitute from time to time. Enjoy your coffee!
Lauren Kennicot says
Hey Alyson, I run a coffee blog and noticed this post, it’s really nice!
I just want to point out if you use fresh coffee beans, you can take your coffee and travel experience to the next level! If you use something like the Porlex JP-30 or the Hunt Brothers Grinder, it’ll fit perfectly in the AeroPress chamber. You should check them out, you can also find out more on my website if you want 🙂
alyson@worldtravelfamily says
Those beans in the shot are actually fresh, home roasted! Cheers @ Lauren!
thequeenoftonga says
My hubby loves his aeropress, but rather than using the paper filters, bought a multi use metal one. It’s lasted 2 years of daily use and was cheaper than a pack of 100 filters!
alyson@worldtravelfamily says
Thanks for the tip! I didn’t know such a thing as a metal coffee filter existed for the aeropress, but it makes sense, our little red coffee percolator has a red filter. Off to find one on Amazon!