\n<\/p>\n
N<\/span>othing makes me feel more settled than making a cup of coffee in the morning. Without it, my whole day feels slightly off. For years, that was just something I accepted about traveling or camping \u2013 there might<\/em> be coffee, but it wouldn\u2019t quite ground me. It would be a compromise. A little off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why I\u2019ve spent the past few years perfecting my travel coffee setup: so I can make rich, comforting, homey coffee anywhere in the world, without <\/em>trying to wedge an espresso machine into my carry-on. Here are the inexpensive tools that make it possible.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jaina Rodr\u00edguez-Grey<\/p>\n This is the star of the show. The humble Aeropress is a remarkably versatile, durable little device that\u2019s seen me through conferences, multi-state moves, and even a stretch of couch surfing between friends\u2019 places. At its core, it\u2019s just a simple plastic cylinder with a plunger. Add your coffee grounds, pour in hot water, give it a stir, and then plunge it like a giant syringe.<\/p>\n I made one key upgrade, though: instead of the standard cap and paper filters, I use the Fellow Prismo, a high-pressure cap with a reusable metal filter. This swap both eliminates the need for paper filters, and aerates the coffee as you press, giving it a touch of crema and a boost in both flavor and aroma.<\/p>\n Aeropress Original<\/strong> $39.99 at Amazon<\/p>\n Fellow Prismo<\/strong><\/p>\n $24.95 at Fellow <\/span> Photograph: Caffe Vita<\/p>\n When I\u2019m staying in a hotel, I\u2019ll usually track down a local cafe and pick up a bag of beans. Most spots are happy to grind them for you, and it\u2019s worth it: those commercial-grade burr grinders give you an incredibly even grind, which makes a big difference in flavor.<\/p>\n Plus, it\u2019s a great way to connect with the local coffee scene. You\u2019re not just getting a caffeine fix \u2014 you\u2019re tasting your travels, supporting a small business, and maybe discovering a roast you\u2019ll end up ordering again once you\u2019re back home. On trips to Seattle, I used to drop in to Caffe Vita for a bag of its rich and velvety Queen City blend, and Kuma Coffee for Momma Bear, a half-caf blend that makes my afternoons wonderfully buzzy without ruining my sleep schedule.<\/p>\n Queen City coffee<\/strong> Momma Bear coffee<\/strong> <\/span> Photograph: Jaina Rodr\u00edguez-Grey<\/p>\n Going to a cafe isn\u2019t always an option though, especially if you\u2019re miles deep in the wilderness. For those times, you\u2019ll want to rely on either pre-ground or whole beans in an airtight container. I\u2019ve had success using a small mason jar with an airtight lid. Durable, washable, reusable.<\/p>\n Some travel containers like the Fellow Atmos offer a vacuum-seal feature, but I\u2019ve tested my mason jar against dozens of vacuum sealed containers, and honestly I can\u2019t taste a difference unless I let the coffee sit for three to four days, unopened. As long as you open your mason jar every couple days, you shouldn\u2019t get any flavor issues. So for our purposes here, I just find a mason jar to be the easiest, cheapest, and most versatile pick by far.<\/p>\n Ball 8 oz<\/strong> mason jars, 12-pack $11.39 at Target<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Hario Skerton<\/p>\n If you\u2019re traveling with whole beans and want that fresh-ground flavor every time, you\u2019ll need a grinder that\u2019s compact and reliable. I recommend the Hario Skerton Plus<\/strong>. It\u2019s the perfect size to pair with an Aeropress, and its ceramic burrs grind consistently without overheating your beans. It fits in your hand, packs easily and gets the job done, whether you\u2019re camping or posted up in a hotel room.<\/p>\n Hario Skerton Plus Hand Grinder $48.00 at Haro Skerton<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jaina Rodr\u00edguez-Grey<\/p>\n If you\u2019ll have access to power, the Fellow Stagg EKG<\/strong> is my go-to travel kettle. It\u2019s sleek, quick-heating, and insulated well enough to keep your water hot for close to an hour. The gooseneck spout gives you precise control for brewing, and the compact body fits into a carry-on without issue. I often pack my Aeropress inside the kettle itself, then stash the whole bundle in my suitcase.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had mine for nearly five years. It\u2019s a little scuffed from all the travel, but still runs perfectly \u2013 and I use it literally every day.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in the woods, the Filter US editor Nick Mokey recommends the Camp Chef Stryker 200, which runs on either compact isobutane canisters, or the ubiquitous green propane cylinders you can find at any gas station. It\u2019s also crazy fast, boiling enough water for two cups of coffee in under two minutes.<\/p>\n Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle $165.00 at Digs<\/p>\n CampChef Stryker 200 $78.99 at Walmart<\/p>\n Jaina Rodr\u00edguez-Grey is a freelance journalist and coffee obsessive whose work has appeared in Wired, Vice, Westlaw and beyond. She\u2019s covered everything from civil litigation to video games and sex tech. When she\u2019s not testing espresso machines or coffee grinders, she\u2019s either making her way through Seattle\u2019s cafe scene \u2013 or remembering (finally) to update her newsletter<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nothing makes me feel more settled than making a cup of coffee in the morning. Without it, my whole day feels slightly off. For years, that was just something I accepted about traveling or camping \u2013 there might be coffee, but it wouldn\u2019t quite ground me. It would be a compromise. A little off. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5022,13372,13373,13374,3448],"class_list":{"0":"post-21822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-brew","9":"tag-cafequality","10":"tag-campsite","11":"tag-carryon","12":"tag-coffee"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Aeropress + Fellow Prismo<\/h2>\n
$34.98 at Walmart<\/p>\n
$24.95 at Amazon<\/p>\nLocal coffee beans<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/strong>$20 at Queen City<\/p>\n
<\/strong>$19.50 at Kuma Coffee<\/p>\nCoffee storage<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/strong>$11.39 at Walmart<\/p>\nHario Skerton Plus Hand Grinder<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/strong>$48.00 at Zoka Coffee<\/p>\nFellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/strong>$165.00 at Crate & Barrel<\/p>\n
<\/strong>$76.99 at Acme Tools<\/p>\n\n