If you’re a coffee lover, you’ll want to pack the best travel coffee maker for your style of travel. I’ve been searching for the perfect portable coffee machine for many years so let’s look at what’s available for we travelling coffee addicts. Whether you’re camping, short-term renting, RV travelling or popping one of these compact travel coffee makers in your luggage for overseas trips, there’s something here to keep us all caffeinated away from home. We bought them, we tried them, we needed them. This is our take on the best portable coffee makers for travel.
I should just mention, that if you’re travelling in Vietnam, the traditional pour-over coffee maker (called a phin) there is a good choice. You can find them cheaply in markets. You can see an example in our post on Vietnamese salt coffee.
Freshly roast beans, prepared at home. We take our coffee seriously so we need a decent portable travel coffee maker to travel with.
Various styles of travel coffee maker exist from simple portable filters to 1-cup coffee machines and French presses, but prices seem to vary little, expect to pay less than £30, $50, for whatever coffee machine you choose.
The Aerobie AeroPress Go is the current popular buy, we use one, the coffee is great, but there are other alternatives. We mention a good one.
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. At the same time it could help you cut your plastic consumption, that’s something we all need to think about.
This totally depends on your destination, your style of travel, your accommodation, and on you. Do you need a quality freshly brewed coffee or are you happy to make yourself a cup of instant coffee?
I’m more than happy with instant coffee rather than none, or worse still, Asian-style coffee which comes with sugar and creamer pre-mixed. I simply can’t drink it, and in some countries, there will be days when there’s nothing else available.
Western-style hotels and most hostels should have a kettle or boiling water available. Some hotels will not.
Sometimes it’s enough to simply take instant coffee from home, sometimes you will need a coffee maker, travel kettle, plus a mug. Don’t forget your international adapter plugs, buy a world-friendly one here.
I could give you a list of countries where you need a travel coffee maker and those where you don’t. Ask in the comments, give me your destination and I’ll tell you if you need a travel coffee maker or not.
I would certainly recommend you pack a travel coffee maker for India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Jordan. We still struggle to find coffee easily in these countries, still, in 2024. In Japan our hotel rooms often came with just green tea, no instant coffee.
Best Pour-Over Coffee Maker for Travel
I have to admit, I love a pour-over coffee maker. I have this glass Bodum pour-over at home (above right) and we’ve also taken it way with us in our camper van. It’s perfect to make a single great-tasting cup of coffee for me early in the morning while I enjoy the dawn peace.
However, I don’t think I’d want to put a glass pour-over in my luggage.
But no problem, travel-worthy single-cup pour-over coffee systems also exist.
Take a look at the three models above, you can click the images to see them on Amazon. You could simply purchase the collapsible filter above, or a unit like the one top left, that creates your pour-over in its own insulated travel coffee mug.
The Best Travel Coffee Maker-Our Choice
At home, in rentals, hotels, tents, RVs and hostels. Travel coffee makers work. You will find the perfect model for your needs. The Aeropress, right, is the traveller’s friend and widely considered to be the best travel coffee maker of its time, but the Kohipress may take that crown. Little pots like our red one make great coffee if you have stove access.
Aeropress is Our Favourite Portable Coffee Maker for Travel
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.
You will particularly need a portable coffee machine if you’re travelling in certain parts of Asia where good coffee is hard to find.
The little red metal coffee pot on the left in the photo is our “at home” coffee solution. It makes amazing coffee but needs a stovetop. 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. It can be bought with 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.
The Aeropress was absolutely the best travel coffee maker of its time but the Kohipress (cick to see) or Wacaco Mini Espresso Machine (uses coffee capsules) are strong contenders. All are competitively priced and are nice products.
An Aeropress is 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.
Below we rounded up some other options for making coffee as you travel, for camping, RV life, at the beach or anywhere you need a compact coffee machine.
A Travel Kettle For Instant Coffee or Tea
The old-school travel kettle has come a long way lately. Take a look at the cool modern designs above in collapsible food-grade silicone, or this swish model from the desirable brand, Bodum. If you’re fine with instant coffee (or tea) and your destination lacks a kettle, one of these little travel kettles could be your best friend. Alternatively, one cup water heater elements also do the job. We find that most countries give you a kettle in your hotel room, but when they don’t it’s an issue.
A more modern version of a plug-in travel coffee maker, a self-contained machine ideal for hotel rooms. 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.
The Kohipress Portable French Press and Insulated Travel Mug
This one is a winner, you could travel with it, obviously, or even use it in your office or on your commute. It’s a great looking machine at a reasonable price.
The method is similar to that of the Aeropress, but once plunged, your Kohipress becomes its own insulated travel mug. There is no messing about with metal filters as the Kohipress has its own metal mesh filter.
It claims to be leak-proof. I’m liking this design a lot for. Unfortunately this model can only be found in the US and Canada right now, our link will redirect UK and Europe readers to a similar design, otherwise consider the Bodum travel press mug below.
Bodum Travel Coffee French Press Mug
Bodum are a classy, quality brand and if I was buying or receiving a gift, this would be what I’d go for. These portable coffee press mugs come in multiple colours and look just great! With this style you have just one unit to carry and clean, you can brew and drink from the same mug. The stainless steel outer is robust and great for travel. The unit is double-walled and so insulated, making it a perfect on-the-go press and travel mug in one.
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Best travel coffee maker. Which one to choose?
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.
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?
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 campfire, primus stove or hostel kitchen stove.
What’s The Best Travel Coffee Maker For Your Needs?
The best travel coffee maker for you will depend on your tastes, needs, destinations, and style of travel. 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, our pour-over Bodum, or even a simple over-cup Vietnamese-style coffee maker. We hope you found our round-up on travel coffee makers 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 paracetamol, which has been my enforced coffee substitute from time to time. Enjoy your coffee!
Alyson Long is a British medical scientist who jumped ship to chase dreams. A former Chief Biomedical Scientist at London's West Middlesex Hospital she started in website creation and travel writing in 2011.
Alyson is a full-time blogger and travel writer, a published author, and owns several websites. World Travel Family is the biggest.
A lifetime of wanderlust and over 6 years of full-time travel, plus a separate 12 month gap year, has given Alyson and the family some travel expert smarts to share with you on this world travel site.
Today Alyson still travels extensively to update this site and continue her mission to visit every country, but she's often at home on her farm in Australia.
I know this is a 2-year-old post but I was searching around for some unique coffee maker designs and ran into this post. I love the idea of french press coffee mugs because it’s a really fast and easy way to make a quality cup of coffee. I use to work at Starbucks and I’m a be honest, the coffee we mass produced there, didn’t have the rich taste of flavor compared to even a french pressed coffee. I cannot drink coffee unless it was made right. From steaming the milk properly, quing the shots to perfection, and pouring all the content together has to be done right otherwise I just can’t enjoy my cup coffee. I got a portable espresso machine and it’s okay but it’s nowhere near perfect. It’s one of those items that get the job done but could be better. Nice post and thanks for the recommendations!
Absolutely nice article. Carry your means to make coffee with you whenever you travel. Actually, I think this would be a better option for me than just carrying a travel coffee mug. Very informative article.
The last time I traveled without coffee was awful! Thanks for making this post, coffee is an essential ingredient. I have this bad habit of just buying instant coffee which is again awful but easiest to prepare if you have a travel kettle with you and just heat up the water. Aeropress would be nice as well but it’s a bit too big for my travel habits. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I’ve personally tried Aeropress and Minipresso on the road, and they both work great. I’ve also recently discovered that you can make cold brew with an Aeropress! I’d highly recommend checking that out if you’re an iced coffee/cold brew lover (and if you’ll have access to refrigeration during your travels).
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 🙂
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!
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!
Hey,
Thank you for sharing this. It’s really helpful for those who are a traveller as well as coffee lovers.
I know this is a 2-year-old post but I was searching around for some unique coffee maker designs and ran into this post. I love the idea of french press coffee mugs because it’s a really fast and easy way to make a quality cup of coffee. I use to work at Starbucks and I’m a be honest, the coffee we mass produced there, didn’t have the rich taste of flavor compared to even a french pressed coffee. I cannot drink coffee unless it was made right. From steaming the milk properly, quing the shots to perfection, and pouring all the content together has to be done right otherwise I just can’t enjoy my cup coffee. I got a portable espresso machine and it’s okay but it’s nowhere near perfect. It’s one of those items that get the job done but could be better. Nice post and thanks for the recommendations!
Absolutely nice article. Carry your means to make coffee with you whenever you travel. Actually, I think this would be a better option for me than just carrying a travel coffee mug. Very informative article.
The last time I traveled without coffee was awful! Thanks for making this post, coffee is an essential ingredient. I have this bad habit of just buying instant coffee which is again awful but easiest to prepare if you have a travel kettle with you and just heat up the water. Aeropress would be nice as well but it’s a bit too big for my travel habits. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I’ve personally tried Aeropress and Minipresso on the road, and they both work great. I’ve also recently discovered that you can make cold brew with an Aeropress! I’d highly recommend checking that out if you’re an iced coffee/cold brew lover (and if you’ll have access to refrigeration during your travels).
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 🙂
Those beans in the shot are actually fresh, home roasted! Cheers @ Lauren!
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!
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!