Java Junkies: the best coffee gadgets for travel

Posted by Melanie van Zyl on 22 June 2015

Don’t let far-flung adventures get in the way of your Americano. These portable coffee gadgets give an unadulterated caffeine fix.

Also read: We got the Getaway team together and taste-tested various brands of instant cappuccinos. You can watch the hilarious tried and tested video here.

1. Grower’s Cup

R35, Cape Union Mart

Just add hot water to this two-cup, single-origin Grower’s Cup brew bag. Filled with rich organic Fairtrade coffee, it pours without spills if cut neatly. Buy a variety of flavours – the Bolivia brew is our favourite.

2. Bodum Travel Press

R230, Takealot.com

This Bodum Travel Press has a built-in French press for fresh filter coffee on the go. It plunges evenly, letting no grains through the silicon-sealed filter and fits standard-sized car cup-holders. But adding sugar is awkward as you have stir around the plunger stick.

If you’ve got a bit more to spend, check out this stainless steel Travel Press on Bean There. At R466.83 it’s twice the price, but is sturdier and the stainless steel provides excellent heat retention.

3. Kahawa Coffee Kit

R296, All Terrain Gear

The Kahawa Coffee Kit is a reusable coffee filter that packs down to the size of a birthday card. Push tent pegs, sticks or your knife and fork through the slits on either side of the filter bag and balance it in the cup. Pour hot water over your favourite coffee grind and watch it drain (surprisingly quickly) through the porous plastic filter. Rinse, pack away and repeat.

4. Two-Cup Aluminium Espresso-Maker

R79,99, Checkers

With slick design featuring a non-drip spout and the convenient lightweight travel size, this Two-Cup Aluminium Espresso-Maker is a great-value buy. I suspect its good looks will be tarnished after a bit of time on an open flame, but this coffee gadget works like a dream on a gas cooker and is ideal for hiking. Bit more money to spend? The timeless two-cup Bialetti Moka Express percolator (about R500) is also a great investment.

5. Handpresso Wild Hybrid

R1 595, Handpresso

Lightweight, elegant and compact, this Handpresso Wild Hybrid is for coffee snobs. Pop in an ESE pod (Easy Serving Espresso pod – a lot like a tea bag, but for coffee) or ground beans, push and pull the pump mechanism to build pressure, then add hot water from a flask to make a strong espresso. The pump mechanism can get tiresome (serving a crowd would be laborious) but it’s a must for travellers who can’t stomach instant.

6. Porlex Hand-Grinder

R849, Yuppiechef

Grinding beans by hand is a novelty that wears off fast, but nothing beats that freshly ground aroma. This Porlex Hand-Grinder with its comfortable crank handle is worth the bucks. There is the cheaper GSI Java Mill available for R455, but it’s not as smooth and the Porlex grinder features a ceramic conical burr that can be adjusted for fine or coarse coffee.

7. The Flej

R200, flej.com

The Flej was named Best Gadget at the 2013 Cape Getaway Show (read this article here). At 250ml, it’s the perfect backpack companion and comes with a four-section container to store tea, sugar and coffee, even if the teabags do get a bit squashed.

The insulator cover keeps the cup warm for a short time only because the sipping point can’t be closed, but in a stroke of multitasking genius, you can turn the lid over and drain brewed coffee into the cup through the fabric filter.

You can also clip it onto your backpack post-brew and it even has a mechanism on the bottom to stir your coffee.

Available in pink or camo.

8. AeroPress Coffee maker

R579, yuppiechef.co.za

This gadget ranks highly among Getaway travellers. This light portable coffee maker makes enough for one strong Americano or four Espressos. Fast, small and easy to clean it makes for a great travel companion and it works incredibly well.

Get the best beans

Coffee fundis around the country agree these spots offer the best beans for your brew:

Doubleshot Coffee and Tea in Johannesburg (Tel 011 100 5241)
Rosetta Roastery in Cape Town (Tel 021 447 4099)
Colombo Coffee in Durban (Tel 031 205 3283)