Travel Coffee Makers: Best Portable Coffee Makers (For Nomads)

Finding a good cup of coffee can be a struggle when travelling. If you need your coffee just the way you like it, why not make it yourself? There are plenty of convenient ways to make your morning coffee on the road.

With so many options, choosing the best travel coffee maker might seem difficult. Bear with me and you’ll be sure to find the perfect one!

The Importance Of Choosing The Right Travel Coffee Maker

You only want the best when choosing a coffee maker for your home… And the same rule applies to your road trip coffee maker. To make sure you’re getting a coffee maker that suits your needs, ask yourself a few questions first. Be honest. 

What Type Of Coffee Do I Prefer?

If you could only choose one type of coffee to have for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

Your coffee preference is the starting point of your search for the perfect portable coffee maker.

How Much Space Do I Have?

Lack of space is a common reality among travellers, especially frequent flyers. Even the most hardcore coffee lovers would prioritize a change of clothes over Kalita Wave accessories.

Weight is also something to consider. If you’re looking for something to take with you on flights or camping trips, you want to make sure it’s light enough to carry.

Power Or Powerless?

Are you an urban traveller, or will you be making coffee on a campsite under the open skies? Some coffee makers, like these drip coffee machines, require electricity; others don’t. Are you going to take a camper van? If that's the case, here are some nice RV coffee makers to choose from. Or if you don't mind a weaker cup of joe, then a battery-powered gear like the Makita cordless coffee maker can help you with that.

What Else Will I Need?

How many accessories are required to produce a satisfying cup of coffee using your brewing method? Coffee filters, coffee beans, grinders, measuring cups and the like add weight and cost. Do you want something simpler, or does everything have to be just like at home? The coffee maker will be just one part of your travel coffee kit.

What You Need To Brew Coffee On The Go

Given the large range of portable coffee makers on the market, you might also need some other coffee gear. Whatever coffee maker you choose, you’ll need at least three very basic things. Let’s consider them:

A Way To Grind Coffee Beans

Many coffee drinkers prefer grinding their coffee beans right before brewing, and that’s doable on the go, as well. No, you don’t need to bring an electric grinder with you, a hand grinder works best for portability. With a light hand grinder like the Hario Mini Mill, you don’t need to settle for stale grounds just because you’re travelling.

Of course, pre-ground beans can also be a practical option. However, it is important to make sure you’re storing your grounds properly. 

Boiled Water

Although most travel coffee makers require no electricity, you need a way to boil water. For urban travellers, light travel kettles on Amazon are a practical option. On more outdoorsy adventures, you can boil water on an open fire as long as you have a vessel.

A Travel Mug

Once you’ve brewed your coffee, you need a way to keep it nice and hot! A good travel mug is an essential part of any traveller’s coffee kit. There are plenty to choose from, but these are the current favourites.

Make sure to watch our amazing video on brewing coffee while traveling:

The 7 Best Travel Coffee Makers Of 2023

Now that you’ve narrowed down your preferences, it should be straightforward enough to find a portable coffee maker you’ll be happy with. To make the choice even easier, I’ve compiled a list of the best options on the market.

Since its creation in 2005, the AeroPress has become one of the most popular brewers. What’s especially great: it’s well suited for using both at home and when travelling. It also makes an amazing single-serve coffee maker (more of those here).

The AeroPress is versatile. It’s fast, taking about a minute to brew (1). You can also use the inverted AeroPress method, which is slightly slower but produces a better cup, according to many connoisseurs. Although it’s easy to tweak the strength of your AeroPress brew according to your preferences, it’s especially well suited for making strong, espresso-like coffee. You can even make cold brew with it.

The AeroPress also scores high in portability, as it weighs very little and is quick to clean. It is often sold together with a tote bag on Amazon, so it’s instantly ready to travel the world with you.

Read our review of the Aeropress coffee maker here.

WHAT ELSE YOU’LL NEED: Aeropress microfilters (but you can get these from most coffee shops).

Pour over brewers are inherently great for travel. They’re small, light, and durable. They’re easy to use and don’t require electricity. So it makes perfect sense to combine one with a travel mug for the ultimate on-the-go brew kit. That’s what you’ll get with this set from Cahlis.

This affordable all-in-one brewer has three parts: a 590 ml double-wall stainless steel mug, a leak-proof lid, and a stainless steel mesh filter cone. The filter is sized to fit perfectly in the opening of the mug for brewing. If you prefer a cleaner cup, you can add a paper filter, but it isn’t necessary. Adding coffee grounds directly to the fine metal filter yields a full-bodied and sediment-free cup.

The vacuum-insulated mug is a great product all on its own. It will keep your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold for hours. The leak-proof lid is double-locking to avoid unwanted spills, the silicone sleeve is grippy and comfortable, and the size is perfect for your car’s cupholder.

We all know that the best coffee is made from freshly ground beans. But that’s rarely practical on the go. Unless you have the Cafflano Klassic! The clever Klassic is a mug, pour over dripper, pouring kettle, AND coffee grinder all in one compact package weighing under 500 g. Just add coffee beans and hot water.

The ceramic burr grinder is fully adjustable and has a patented fold-away handle. The interior has marked measurements for 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 g of beans – the next best thing to bringing along a scale. The lid doubles as a pouring kettle, and while it doesn’t look like much, closer inspection of the spout design reveals that it provides precise flow control. The pour over dripper is an etched stainless steel filter delivers a full-bodied cup and skips the need for disposable paper filters. The whole kit packs perfectly into a double-walled insulated tumbler, which doubles as a coffee bean storage container during travel.

If you believe being away from home is no excuse for poor quality coffee, you’ll love the Cafflano Klassic.

The Bodum Travel Press is basically a portable French press. It is constructed from double-walled, insulated stainless steel, scoring high for both durability and heat retention.

You can use the Bodum travel press for both preparing and storing your coffee. First, you just brew the coffee as you would with a regular French press coffee maker (3). After pressing the plunger down, screw on the lid and you’re all set! The lid is slightly leaky though, so don’t keep it in your bag with other stuff.

The Bodum travel press is a neat option for cafetière fans. And you can make cold brew coffee in it. The only downsides are that it’s hard to avoid grounds in your coffee, and it can turn bitter if not drunk soon after brewing.

The Primula is yet another easy way to brew coffee on the go. Just fill the mesh basket with your favourite coffee, add hot water, and wait for a few minutes.

With the Primula, you’re basically brewing coffee as you make tea with a teabag. It produces a consistent cup of coffee – not the most amazing in flavour, but much better than instant.

While you might not be getting as much out of your beans as you would with an Aeropress or a Kalita Wave, it doesn’t get much easier than this.

If you want to make every dollar – and ounce – count, this affordable and ultra-lightweight coffee brewer is the one for you. Designed for back country adventures, the Sea to Summit X-Brew Coffee Dripper weighs just 85 g. 

The X-Brew is a pour over coffee dripper made from BPA-free, food-grade silicone. It includes a removable metal mesh filter, so it’s easy to clean and there is no need to travel with disposable paper filters. The walls of the X-Brew are collapsable, so when you’re done brewing, it flattens to a disk just 10 cm wide and 2 cm tall. 

The base of the cone makes it suitable for brewing into a standard coffee mug or wide-mouth water bottle.

The Primus Coffee Press Add-On is great if you already own Primus camping gear or plan to add a Primus pot to your back country set-up. The add-on consists of a filter plunger and lid, essentially turning your camping pot into a French press. If there is one thing backpackers love, it’s multipurpose devices. The lid even has a hole so you can drink directly from the pot.

If you’re on an adventure where every bit of space and weight in your pack is valuable, owning the Primus Coffee Press Add-On condenses three items (pot, French press, mug) into one! It weighs only 40 grams, and you can use it to make coffee or tea.

Make sure you own the appropriate piece of Primus gear before you buy. This add-on fits with the Primus Eta Express, Eta Power Pot 1L, and LiTech Trek Kettle 1L.

THE VERDICT: What's The Best Travel Coffee Maker?

Best Overall – The AeroPress scores high for its versatility – you can use it to make strong, espresso-like coffee and a more mellow cup.

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It has clearly been designed with portability in mind and is convenient to carry, use and clean. It is also an affordable and durable choice.

Best For Filter Coffee – For filter coffee, the Kalita Wave wins purely for the excellent quality of coffee it can produce. However, it is obviously not the most portable option. If you travel light, the AeroPress is still the best option.