Portable espresso makers.

[Blue Hills]

They don't last forever, the handle fell off my last one after only 27 years.

I've burned at least two handles off by forgetting them on a home stove.
They are replaceable. Cheaply and easily. Haven't you replaced yours?

 

[Blue Hills]

It's quite easy to burn the Bailetti's plastic handle. The handle disintegrates and it's then impossible to use without asbestos gloves.

I know this.

Edit: Sorry, @robjh got there first.

See my other post. Easily replaceable. Retire your asbestos gloves. Or reserve them for tapping into news and current affairs.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Aeropress works for me on my travels with a portable ceramic burr grinder :-)

 

[mjr]

And if I absolutely must have coffee, then I'd brew it at home and put it in a Thermos. Those things retain heat like nobody's business.

I would too, but there are limits and it works not well for multiday tours.

 

[stephec]

I've got one - the Conqueco. It's good for me when I'm on the road with work as I can have a good coffee without going into those bodawful ripoff coffee places. Tend to use it in conjunction with a flask of hot water to make a Lungo.

That sounds like me, not knowing where you'll be from day to day.

Do you use pods with it as I've seen some that apparently use ground coffee as well?

Mind you I don't use ground, I've got a bean to cup machine at home so that means buying a grinder as well.

But back to the performance, does it do a proper full on espresso?

 

[stephec]

Aeropress works for me on my travels with a portable ceramic burr grinder :-)

I've looked at those in the past but might not always have hot water available, and somebody told me it can't do espresso strength, it's Americano at best.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

That sounds like me, not knowing where you'll be from day to day.

Do you use pods with it as I've seen some that apparently use ground coffee as well?

Mind you I don't use ground, I've got a bean to cup machine at home so that means buying a grinder as well.

But back to the performance, does it do a proper full on espresso?

Uses pods, but only the aluminium ones and gies a result similar to a Nespresso. I've never used the internal heater - apparently the battery will only heat 2-3 expressos. I add hot water from a flask and either run it twice to get a Lungo or top it off for an Americano.

I offered a coffee-loving colleague a blind test of expresso from the machine and one from Costa - he preferred the machine one and said it's similar to his Aeropress in quality.

 

[fossyant]

why not just buy a bialetti?

Lasts forever - is indestructible - even if you try to incinerate it.

I can confirm the incineration test. Accidentally left mine on the stove for 45 minutes - got distracted by a Teams meeting, only realised the coffee pot was still on half way through the meeting !

 

[fossyant]

Bialetti (£10 from an ebay personal sale) by the Bridgewater Canal Manchester
It's on the left of the pile of junk.
2 cups in no time with a mini stove, a £1 big gas cartridge and a £3.50 chinese adaptor between them.

View attachment 559593

And the kitchen sink in the panniers !

 

[fossyant]

Can we have a 'recommend me a decent flask' thread. Ideally one cup sized, small enough to go in a bottle holder ?

 

[T4tomo]

Bialetti (£10 from an ebay personal sale) by the Bridgewater Canal Manchester
It's on the left of the pile of junk.
2 cups in no time with a mini stove, a £1 big gas cartridge and a £3.50 chinese adaptor between them.

View attachment 559593

defo best way to make coffee. Mine has never left the kitchen though, I just buy one when out, supporting independent cafes thru the hard time!

 

[Fab Foodie]

I've looked at those in the past but might not always have hot water available, and somebody told me it can't do espresso strength, it's Americano at best.

It's not the same extraction admittedly, but depending on the ratio to Coffee/Water you can make a damn-fine very strong short coffee without bitterness. Waaaay beyond Americano.
Bialetti pots are fine but can often lead to bitter coffee.
For me, a benefit of the Aeropress is that it's independant of heat source, all you need is hot water...and I'm usually in plenty of that....

 

[Fab Foodie]

Can we have a 'recommend me a decent flask' thread. Ideally one cup sized, small enough to go in a bottle holder ?

Not quite answering your question, but Wimpers bought me one of these:
https://www.johnlewis.com/tefal-leak-proof-travel-mug-360ml/black/p3244587

And it's too bloody good! If I leave early for Heathrow (3hrs trip in the car say) it's only just cool enough to drink without scalding my tongue by the time I reach the airport, and that's in 'drink' mode with the button pressed to let the heat out. I've not tried it on a bike, but bloody well insulated it is!
So I make a mugful now, then after it's cooled a bit, pour it into the travel mug so I can drink en-route....

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Is it wrong of me that I really prefer Nespresso over most other coffees? I've got a moka pot, cafetiere, drip machine and so on but nothing beats a Lungo coffee out of a Nespresso for me.

I discovered the Spanish version of Americano a couple of years ago. Basically they just let the water keep going through the coffee until it fills a small cup - about 140ml. Much richer than an Americano topped up with hot water but not as overpowering as an expresso. A Nespresso lets me make a fair facsimile of this and the portable machine gives something similar.

 

[mjr]

Can we have a 'recommend me a decent flask' thread. Ideally one cup sized, small enough to go in a bottle holder ?

Have you been banned from starting threads? Anyway, there's a 500ml stainless flask widely available (seen in Morrisons, Wilkinsons and John Lewis in recent years) which fits in a bottle cage pretty well and even better with an old armwarmer around it.

Is it wrong of me that I really prefer Nespresso over most other coffees?

Yep. Flavoured with baby tears: http://www.babymilkaction.org/nestlefree

I discovered the Spanish version of Americano a couple of years ago. Basically they just let the water keep going through the coffee until it fills a small cup - about 140ml.

Do you remember a name? That's a tablespoonful more than a lungo/allongé but less than a caffè crema.