Coffee to Go Ideas

Coffee lovers on the go face one major problem — how to get the best coffee when they’re on the road. If good coffee is important to you, you may not want to leave your chance of getting a decent cup of coffee on the road up to chance. Lucky for you, there’s a whole range of coffee makers and coffee accessories that make it possible for you to enjoy the same caliber of coffee wherever you go. Whether you’re holed up in a motel with a substandard coffee maker or hiking the Appalachian trail, these coffee accessories and coffee makers can keep you fueled with high quality java.

Vacuum Food Sealer

Fresh beans give you the best flavor, and vacuum sealing keeps fresh-roasted beans at their peak of flavor. You can take your beans along in their original bag, but sealing one-use portions in vacuum-sealed bags guarantees freshness. It’s even nicer if you happen to roast your own coffee and want to bring along your own home roast. Vacuum sealed bags take up less space in your backpack or suitcase than most other airtight containers, so you save room, too.

Hario MSS-1B Mini Mill Slim Coffee Grinder

Every coffee expert agrees — the single change you can make in your coffee making routine that makes the most difference in the quality of the coffee is grinding your own coffee beans. You don’t have to give up fresh ground coffee when you’re on the road. The Hario Mini Mill Slim coffee grinder is a sleek, sexy manual coffee mill that grinds your coffee the old-fashioned way — using a hand crank. It’s only about 7 inches tall and 2 inches wide at the base, so it packs into a pretty tiny space, making it ideal for those trips when every inch of packing space counts. The grinding handle detaches, making it even easier to pack. To grind, add beans to the top, turn the handle and ground coffee collects in the bottom container. It takes about two minutes to grind enough coffee for 2 cups of coffee in a French press. If you want it finer, turn the little nut at the bottom to adjust the fineness and crank a little longer. No need for electricity, and you’ll never run out of juice in the batteries.

myPressi Twist Handheld Espresso Maker

The myPressi Twist is a nifty, non-electric espresso maker that isn’t quite pocket-sized, but does fit neatly into a purse, briefcase or backpack. It’s not quite as self-sufficient as the Handpresso, which relies completely on muscle power to pump up the pressure for your espresso extraction, but the little NO2 cartridges that power it don’t take up a whole lot of room in your pockets and are fairly easy to find anywhere. You get about eight shots of espresso from each cartridge, so you really don’t have to pack that many either. To brew, fill the little cup with the coffee you just ground in the Hario, pour in water, close it and pull the trigger and you’ll have espresso within about 25 seconds.

Bodum Thermal Plastic Travel Coffee and Tea Press with Tumbler Lid
If you’re a fan of French pressed coffee, you don’t have to leave it at home anymore. There are a number of portable French press travel mugs on the market, including several made by Bodum, the gold standard for French press coffee makers. This one is our favorite for one simple reason – the included tumbler lid gives you a little flexibility. You can make your coffee just as you would in your French press pot at home — fill with water, add coffee grounds, stir, brew and press. You can drink directly out of the cup without pouring the coffee out into another cup, meaning you have one less cup to clean up.

Cremafacile Milk Frother by Biesse

If your morning or evening coffee isn’t complete without a topping of frothed milk, you’ll want to pack along the Cremafacile Milk Frother by Biesse. The no-muss, no-fuss, no-batteries portable milk frother works anywhere, and only takes up a few inches in your gear.

You can pack up all of the above, along with your favorite espresso cups or coffee mug, into a case no bigger than a toiletries case. All together, it weighs less than 3 pounds and guarantees that you’ll have excellent coffee wherever you go.