Best Travel Coffee Equipment in 2023

If there’s one thing I hate more than the lousy coffee you get at the airport, it’s the lousy coffee you get at the hotel you’re staying at. I am spoiled by the delicious coffee I make at home, and I’m constantly reminded of that fact whenever I travel.

I decided a few years ago that I was going to put together an emergency coffee bug-out bag that I can take with me when I’m on vacation or traveling for work. My on-the-go coffee kit had to be light, sturdy, and, most importantly, capable of making coffee that’s almost as good as my at-home setup. That’s a pretty tall order, but I think I succeeded. Here’s what I settled on.

Best Coffee Equipment for Traveling

A travel coffee setup is going to have to make a few concessions to be practical, but that doesn’t mean it can’t perform well. Here are the guiding principles I used to build my travel coffee kit:

• Lightweight: I don’t want to be lugging more things around the airport than I already have to, so everything should fit in a small bag and weigh a reasonable amount — let’s say less than three pounds.
• Durable: No matter how careful I am, I’m always bumping and jostling stuff while I’m traveling, so any equipment I choose should be able to withstand some minor bumps along the way.
• Affordable: On a similar note, I don’t want to risk carrying expensive equipment with me on the road. Expensive gear has a way of disappearing, even if you only take your eye off it for a second. I don’t want to have to worry too much about leaving my coffee stuff in my hotel room while I’m out.
• Convenient: Even though I’m taking great pains to set up a travel coffee system, that doesn’t mean I want to spend my precious vacation time toiling away crafting the perfect brew every morning. That means I’m prioritizing ease of use more than I would for a home setup.

Ok, I think that about covers it. Let’s check out the gear!

Best Travel Coffee Grinder – Porlex Mini Stainless Steel

The Porlex Mini Stainless Steel coffee grinder checks all of my boxes, making it the obvious top choice for me. It’s stainless steel and extremely well-made, so you don’t have to worry about damaging it unless you’re going out of your way to do so — and even then, I’m not sure you’d be able to make a dent.

Its removable handle makes it easy to pack the 2-inch by 6-inch cylindrical body into a small bag. The entire grinder — handle and all — weighs just under a half pound, so it’s not a burden to lug around with you.

Ok, but does it have a consistent grind? Yes, mostly. The Porlex Mini has a ceramic conical burr set, which is surprisingly consistent as long as you stay in the middle of its adjustable range. Speaking of its range, it can handle pour-over and Aeropress grinds well but struggles with super coarse French Press grind sizes, and don’t even think about using it for espresso.

One drawback to the Porlex Mini is its price, which is cheap compared to high-end manual grinders but pretty expensive for a travel coffee setup. Still, the grinder was always going to be the most expensive part of the setup, so I’m willing to splurge a bit, considering how perfect the Porlex Mini is in all other regards.

I should note that the Porlex Mini’s capacity is only 20 g, so you’ll have to grind in multiple batches if you want to make a larger cup or if you’re grinding for more than one person.

Overall, the Porlex Mini is the perfect travel grinder. It’s small, lightweight, can take a beating, and grinds consistently enough for a solid cup.

Best Travel Scale for Coffee –  Weightman Espresso Scale with Timer

I’m not sure what an “espresso scale” is supposed to be, but ignoring that, the Weightman is the best scale I’ve found to take with you on the go.

The Weightman weighs in at 5.5 ounces and measures a compact 4.8″L x 2.7″W x 0.7″H, making it the smallest scale I’ve ever used.

Despite its diminutive stature, the Weightman is pretty powerful. This tiny scale has 0.1-gram resolution and can handle loads up to 1,000 grams. It also has a convenient built-in timer that makes it easy to keep track of your brew time.

You can also change the display to use ounces instead of grams if you’re into that sort of thing.

The Weightman takes two AAA batteries, which isn’t great but also isn’t a big enough drawback to make me want to look for a different scale. I would prefer a scale that took a watch battery instead, but it’s not a big deal.

My final word on this scale is that it’s affordable, durable, and light enough to be easy to throw into a pack. Enough said.

Best Travel Coffee Maker – Aeropress Original Coffee and Espresso Maker

So far, there has only been one obvious choice for me in each category, but this is where things get tough. I’m going to break my self-imposed “one thing per category” rule and give you a runner-up at the end of this section. But first, the Aeropress.

If you’ve never used an Aeropress before, go and get one right now. It’s ok, I’ll wait.

The Aeropress looks like something you’d order late at night off of a bad infomercial, but looks can be deceiving. It’s one of the best manual coffee makers you can use. Full stop.

I use my Aeropress at home all the time, but it really comes into its own as part of a travel coffee setup. It’s small and light, measuring just 4.75″L x 4.75″W x 11.75″H and weighing a hair under 11 ounces.

It’s also incredibly durable. The entire thing is made from thick plastic that’s easy to clean and feels like it could easily withstand being backed over by a car. While I haven’t tested that, I’ve dropped it countless times on my hard kitchen floor and it’s no worse for wear.

The Aeropress is perfect for pairing with the Porlex Mini, which slides into the Aeropress like they were designed to fit together. This one piece of synergy is enough to justify pairing an Aeropress with a Porlex Mini for travel use because they take up so little space together that it’s ridiculous.

Now for the best part: the Aeropress is one of the most versatile coffee makers out there, capable of brewing everything from light, crisp African coffee to concentrated faux espresso drinks. It does it all and it does it better than you’ll believe until you try it yourself.

You can make up to almost 300 grams of coffee in one batch with the Aeropress, depending on what coffee-to-water ratio you use, how brave you are, and how many paper towels you have on hand. Its capacity matches the grinding capacity of the Porlex Mini perfectly, another point in favor of including both in your kit.

The Aeropress is the best travel coffee maker, in my opinion, but it only ekes out the Hario V60 by a small margin.

Runner Up – Hario V60

It was such a tough call to choose between the Aeropress and the V60 that I couldn’t resist including the V60 here as the runner-up. The deciding factor was portability. It’s hard to beat the convenience of the Aeropress, especially when you factor in the space you save by storing the Porlex Mini inside it.

I use a V60 at home almost every morning, so I prefer it to Aeropress in a vacuum. However, the last few trips I’ve been on have seen me leaving the V60 at home in favor of the Aeropress. The coffee you can make in the Aeropress is objectively excellent, and there is no shortage of recipes you can try if the traditional method isn’t for you.

With that said, if you are even more of a diehard pour-over fan than I am, you might be better off taking your plastic V60 along with you. It’s way cheaper than an Aeropress, virtually indestructible, and makes better coffee, in my opinion.

Best Travel Coffee Mug – Aeropress Go Travel Coffee Press

I know that’s not a mug, but it does include a mug, so I’m going to count it.

On a serious note, I would probably recommend not bringing a mug with you in most circumstances. Ceramic mugs are the opposite of durable and take up a lot of space, plastic travel mugs make your coffee taste funny, and metal travel mugs are expensive. I was going to leave it at that and not include a mug in my kit, but then Aeropress introduced the Aeropress Go.

Everything I said in the previous section about the Aeropress applies to the Aeropress Go because the coffee-making apparatus is nearly the same in both products. The key difference is that the Aeropress Go comes with a travel mug that attaches to the bottom of the Aeropress. I know, how cool is that?

So, why didn’t I just make the Aeropress Go the best travel coffee maker and call it a day? I’m glad you asked. The problem for me is that the Aeropress Go is just too small to make sense for me. The Aeropress Go tops out at around 240 grams of liquid, which is too small to satisfy my coffee cravings. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but I find I always wind up making a second cup when I use the Aeropress Go, and I’d much rather make one cup and be done with it.

The Aeropress Go’s limited capacity also makes it harder to use for multiple people. If you’re traveling with another coffee addict and each of you wants two Aeropress Go-sized cups, you have to brew four times.

The bottom line is that if you must have a travel mug as part of your setup, I suggest you take a long look in the mirror and decide whether you can live with the Aeropress Go’s 240-gram capacity. If you can, go for it. Otherwise, consider forgoing the mug and using whatever you have on hand at your destination.

One big caveat: If you’re backpacking or camping, ignore everything I just said and get the Aeropress Go. It’s the best coffee maker for backpacking, and it’s not even close.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it; the best travel coffee equipment, in my opinion. These are far from the only options, but they strike the right balance between cost, effectiveness, and convenience for most people.

The whole travel setup I outlined here weighs less than three pounds, including the weight of Aeropress filters and the AAA batteries for the Weightman scale. That leaves plenty of room for a delicious bag of your favorite beans and maybe a lightweight travel mug.