Portable coffee makers are a game-changer for travelers, allowing you to enjoy a great cup anywhere, anytime. When brewing coffee on the road, you need convenience, transportability, and quality. A variety of products are available to suit different preferences and budgets. Some coffee travel tools can brew espresso, while others are capable of making drip coffee, cold brew, or simply keep your beverage hot in a travel coffee mug. These products were designed with travelers in mind, offering an easy-breezy way to make your favorite cup, without compromising.
Photo: antoniodiaz/Shutterstock
Coffee Travel Tools to Have Good Coffee No Matter Where You Go
We hope you love the travel coffee makers we recommend! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to book a stay. Listed prices are accurate as of the time of publication.
- Travel coffee press
- Portable espresso maker
- Stovetop coffee maker
- Coffee press travel mug
- Travel coffee mug
- Single cup travel coffee dripper
Travel coffee press
BruTrek OVRLNDR travel coffee French press
The BruTrek OVRLNDR travel coffee French press is a well-crafted, innovative product that delivers a great-tasting cup of coffee whether you’re at home or on an adventure. It has a sturdy design built to withstand the rigors of being knocked around in your backpack or luggage. It’s also compact enough for travel yet large enough to hold a substantial amount of coffee (24 oz). The press features Bru-Stop technology, which creates a barrier between the coffee grounds and the brewed coffee once fully pressed down. The feature prevents over-extraction and bitterness, ensuring a smooth, flavorful cup.
Price: $50.00
Aeropress coffee press kit
Photo: AeroPress
The Aeropress is a traveler’s best friend. Its compact, versatile, and easy-to-use design, coupled with its ability to produce high-quality coffee, makes it an ideal choice for coffee lovers on the go. In minutes, you can brew hot coffee, espresso, or cold brew. That means you can enjoy different styles without carrying separate devices.
There’s a reason why this kit continues to top the charts. It’s not just compact and lightweight. The Aeropress is durable, making it ideal for travel. The kit also comes with a filter cap, scoop, stirrer, and paper micro-filters, all essential components for brewing a delicious cup of coffee on the go.
Price: $39.95
Portable espresso maker
Wacaco Nanopresso
Imagine the envy of your fellow campers when you pull out this hand-powered, pocket-sized espresso maker. The Nanopresso is the top product for those who love their espresso. It is ideal for the outdoors, but also if you’re staying in a hotel with poor coffee-making facilities. There’s no battery or power needed. The machine operates by a hand-powered piston pump that forces hot water through a compacted bed of ground coffee. And despite its compact size, the Nanopresso can brew a super tasty espresso with impressive crema.
Price: $69.90
GSI Outdoors espresso set
Another great option with rave reviews for reliability is the GSI MiniEspresso. This efficient stovetop espresso maker is ideal for those who prefer a morning cup small and strong. Ideal for campers carrying a portable stove, the nifty contraption can brew a double shot in just 90 seconds. It also comes with a handy double-wall stainless steel cup.
Price: $39.95
MiiR Moka Pot
MiiR isn’t reinventing the wheel with this Moka Pot. Rather, it’s perfecting it. The pot works seamlessly, and the brand behind it is representative of the new generation of climate-conscious shoppers. MiiR is certified Climate Neutral, a certified B Corporation, and a 1 percent for the Planet member. The pot is made with non-corrosive stainless steel and post-consumer recycled components and works well at home or when camping or #vanlifing. It heats up quickly on a JetBoil or other campstoves (or a campfire) and makes about four single-shot espresso servings, and due to its efficient percolation, you can make two rounds in less than 20 minutes at a campsite, once the flame is going. The pot comes apart and cleans easily, including getting the coffee grounds out. You can feel good about supporting this brand. And you should — a dollar spent with MiiR is a dollar going in the right direction.
Tim Wenger
Matador Network, Transactional Content Editor
Price: $59.95
Stovetop coffee maker
Bialetti Moka Espress
Photo: Bialetti
I’ve been a die-hard fan of Bialetti for over a decade. And that’s how long I’ve used my Moka Espress on a daily basis. I don’t leave home without it and even keep a second at my parent’s house to save me from instant coffee hell. Bialetti is famed for durability and Italian craftsmanship. The design is simple. It has three main components: the bottom chamber for water, the middle chamber for ground coffee, and the top chamber where the brewed coffee ends up. The only small drawback for travel is that you need to clean it out properly to avoid any residue coffee dripping into your luggage.
Price: $38.28
MSR WindBurner windproof camping and backpacking stove system
Photo: MSR
The MSR WindBurner is a versatile, efficient, and reliable stove system ideal for those who like to pack light and want to brew coffee in the great outdoors. As a boiler, you can also use it for whipping up quick meals. The key feature of the MSR WindBurner is its windproof radiant burner and pressure regulator. These components allow the stove to maintain performance even in windy and cold weather, resulting in faster boil times and more efficient fuel usage than conventional stoves. Overall, the MSR WindBurner is a great all-rounder. My fiancé and I have used ours in very challenging weather conditions in Scotland, and it’s never let us down.
Price: $139.92
Coffee press travel mug
Trinity Zero portable coffee press
The Trinity Zero is a fantastic portable coffee press. It’s not only a beautifully designed piece of equipment, but it delivers on its promise of a delicious, rich cup of coffee. It uses a unique pressure method to extract flavor from the coffee grounds. While it may take a bit of practice to perfect your brew, and the price point is slightly high, the end result is well worth it. And it looks neat, too.
Price: $49.95
GSI insulated French press travel coffee mug
As a frequent camper, I’m a huge fan of the ultralight French Press from GSI Outdoors.
I actually don’t mind instant coffee — but if I can have something better, I’ll take it. And the GSI makes great coffee; I’ve even used it at home when our power goes out. It’s also ideal for couples or groups camping together when you don’t want to make each cup of coffee individually, especially as that can require carrying quite a few individual packets. And since it only weighs 10 ounces (just over half a pound), it doesn’t add much to your bag weight, especially since you only need one for the whole group.
Another big perk to the French press is the insulated cover. It keeps your coffee warm for quite some time after it’s made, which comes in handy when you have friends waking up and crawling out of their tents at different times. It also means you aren’t constantly boiling water one cup at a time.
Of course, the most obvious perk is that you don’t have to settle for pre-packaged coffee. You can bring your own preferred beans from home (just make sure to grind them ahead of time), ensuring you can have on the trail the same high-end coffee you’d make at home. And for coffee snobs, that can be the difference between a good morning or a great morning out on the trail.
For under $40, I genuinely think the GSI French Press is a great gift for any coffee-loving campers — or just anyone who doesn’t want to settle for cold, watered-down instant coffee when they wake up in the great outdoors.
Suzie Dundas
Matador Network, Outdoor and Assigning Editor
Price: $39.95
ESPRO P0 Ultralight
Photo: ESPRO
This is an everyday press suitable for all kinds of travel, especially commutes and road trips. The P0 Ultralight is vacuum-insulated and made from stainless steel, so it keeps beverages hot for long periods. It can make up to 12 oz of coffee and holds 16 oz when the filters are removed. There are seven color combinations to choose from including a stylish matte black, brushed stainless steel, and cranberry.
Price: $49.95
Travel coffee mug
Yeti coffee travel mug
Photo: Suzie Dundas
Whenever I travel, I always carry a reusable travel mug, and the Yeti travel coffee mug (sometimes called a tumbler) is a great pick. I always carry it on camping trips as I like my coffee quite hot, and there’s not exactly a microwave in the backcountry if your coffee gets cold. It also is wide enough to work as a bowl for oatmeal or other meals. I generally am big into counting ounces when I backpack, but the Yeti travel coffee mug is worth the wait.
Importantly, it’s also great for travel, especially considering how quickly those cardboard coffee cups they leave in hotel rooms can make your coffee room temperature. I like the tumbler size as it’s small enough to fit under a hotel room coffee maker (taller ones sometimes aren’t), and it’s extremely easy to clean. Many of the mugs have a magnetic slider to open and close the opening (which comes in fun colors), and since it’s magnetic, it’s easy to pop on and off and clean on a daily basis in a hotel sink. I’ve used taller mugs with more complicated opening mechanisms and after a few days, coffee junk can build up, requiring intense scrubbing. Not so with the Yeti mugs.
Other things I like about the mug are that it’s small enough to fit in most purses or bags once you’ve finished your coffee, it comes in a ton of fun colors (and can be customized), is available with a handle, is priced starting at a very reasonable $20 for the handleless Yeti travel mug, and is dishwasher safe. Oh, and it keeps coffee hot for a good four to six hours. Yeti also has a Rambler buy back program to help keep your old gear out of landfills, which makes me feel better about supporting the generally pretty eco-conscious brand.
Suzie Dundas
Matador Network, Outdoor and Assigning Editor
Price: $25.00
Single-cup travel coffee dripper
MiiR Pourigami single-cup travel coffee dripper
The award-winning MiiR Pourigami is hailed as the world’s smallest, most durable, portable travel coffee dripper, capable of fitting in your back pocket. It is constructed from three stainless steel interlocking panels, which are easy to assemble and disassemble. The dripper can brew a 10 oz cup of coffee at a time, making it ideal for personal use and ensuring a fresh cup each time. It’s also super easy to clean and includes a case for easy storage.
Price: $29.95
Hario V60 metal coffee dripper
Photo: Hario
The Hario V60 Metal Coffee Dripper is a cone pour-over brewer that has been meticulously designed to control the flow, timing, and temperature of the water during coffee brewing. This results in a balanced extraction of the coffee flavors. It’s made of lightweight material, which offers excellent thermal conductivity. This feature allows for a quick and efficient warm-up during the brewing process, ensuring that your coffee is brewed at the optimal temperature. This is an excellent selling point considering many other products in this bracket cannot keep the beverage hot enough, especially if you add cream.
Price: $28.50
Sea to Summit X-Brew collapsible camping coffee dripper
The most striking feature of this coffee dripper is its collapsible design. It folds down flat, making it incredibly convenient for backpacking or traveling. Despite its lightweight and compact nature, the X-Brew does not compromise on the brewing capacity. It can brew up to two cups of coffee at a time, which is enough for most camping situations.
It does take a bit of getting used to. There are a couple of tips worth noting. The first is that you need to get the grind spot on. Too fine you’ll get a gunky mess. Too coarse the water will flood through, and you’ll get a weak cup. You also need to pour over the water a little at a time. That said, the mesh filter does a good job. It also fits on most mugs or cups and is excellent value for money. 
Price: $19.95