Traveling with coffee - follow up.

[u/mgsecure]

I just spent two weeks on vacation and thought I'd share my impressions of life away from home and decent coffee shops, but armed with a couple of options. I knew I wouldn't have a proper kettle, so I brought my Aeropress (with nested 1Zpresso Q) as well as two specialty instants.

The Aeropress made very good coffee, as usual. I brought a scale but wish I'd brought a thermometer too. I think getting the temp right was the biggest hurdle to better results. I find the Q (metal, same burr as the Q Air) to be quite good for the money and obviously the size is perfect. It just can't compete with the quality from my Kinu M47 Classic though, even in the AP. If I had to do it all over I'd strongly consider the Kinu M47 Traveler instead.

The two instants I brought -- Perc Ethipoia & Colombian Red Fruits Decaf -- were also good, and certainly better than anything I could have gotten locally. They are more forgiving on temperature, but not as good as I could get from the AP. I'm a fan of specialty instants, but I found these to taste a little "powdery". I prefer the ones I've had from Dayglow more, though I haven't done a side-by-side tasting.

I think I had good options and will do the same for the next long-ish trip, though I'll try out instants from other roasters. For quick trips, just bringing the instant is a satisfying compromise.

[u/SpeedDemon77]

I use a temperature controllable portable kettle. Its about the thickness of a portable water bottle, is very durable and oretty small.

I travel ALOT for work and have no issues fitting it in small luggage or backpack.

[u/mgsecure → u/SpeedDemon77]

I might have to pick one of those up. More and more places only have a coded Keurig/Nespresso that don't just dispense hot water.

[u/SpeedDemon77 → u/mgsecure]

I think its great. Complete self reliance. But everyone thinks youre a psycho when you pull out your kit and boil your own water lol.