10 Best Portable Travel Coffee Makers 2020

You will have heard about the Aeropress. It was one of the very first proper portable machines on the market which made coffee that was actually worth drinking.

So, step up the Aeropress Go. The only annoying thing about the original is that it wasn’t an all-in-one – you needed to take a separate cup with you to drink out of. But the Go is the full whammy, with a sleeve which can be doubled up as a cup.

It can be washed in the top shelf of the dishwasher when finished with, and when not in use, the case will keep it safe. The use of air pressure makes great coffee, and it can be used for work trips, camping or even as your full-time morning coffee maker.

Bodum is a name synonymous with coffee, thanks to their expertise and wide range of products such as vacuum coffee makers, travel flasks and cafetières.

This travel French Press combines the latter two products into one handy on-the-go coffee maker. Pop the coffee in, add boiling water and let it brew before using the filter to separate the liquid from the grounds. The non-stick rubber base and silicone band around the press makes it easy to set down and hold without burning yourself/risking it slipping, and it feels really comfortable to grip as a bonus too.

We really liked that the vacuum aspect of this maker kept the coffee warm for around an hour, which is something a lot of other portable makers struggle with a bit due to lightweight materials. There is a stopper at the close which you can make use of in between sips, which retains the heat but also prevents large spillages when it is in your bag, or you’re dashing for the train.

Drinking or pouring from a travel flask is also something we understand to be a bit hit-and-miss from past experience. You either seem to get a dribble at a time, or it comes out so fast you’re faced with a mouthful of burning coffee. Just turn the lid of this one, and you can adjust the flow speed and force to suit.

If you add milk, this can go into the drinking slot (the shape of which stops it spilling), or pre-plunge. Cleaning is straightforward – a rinse will keep it clean, and deeper washes can be done by hand with a bit of dish soap to keep it looking new and prevent product build-up.

All in all, a super handy bit of kit for all those coffee lovers who don’t have enough time for a sit-down in the morning before they head out for the day.

With a double layered extraction filter, brewing stops as soon as the screen is pressed down, which will please anybody with previous experience of press coffee makers who don’t like the fact it continues to brew once pressed.

While the microfilters work to give you a great brew, Espro has also included a pack of paper filters if you want a more mellow taste, or a slower drip. These are perfect for finer grinds, as they can trap more, but also for a weaker taste as they’ll trap more oils.

The coffee will stay warm for a good while thanks to the stainless steel; we thought it was still perfectly drinkable after 3 hours. It is probably very unlikely you’ll last that long without needing a caffeine fix, though.

Cleaning it all is pretty straightforward – the filter is removable, and it can all be washed by hand. The only thing we would say is that the filter compacts the used coffee grounds right to the bottom of the flask to trap them, so if they are left for a while to dry this can be quite hard to remove. We would recommend cleaning it straight away if possible.

You may be thinking it is a lot of money compared to some of the others we have featured, for seemingly no difference in quality. But there was no sediment creeping through to the coffee, it feels sturdy which should last quite a few years if you take good care of it, and it genuinely doesn’t leak. We couldn’t get it to leak even just a little bit once everything was tightly in place. Obviously, it’s impossible to guarantee this won’t happen to you, but we would say there is little chance.

So it may be expensive, but you can’t deny you’re not getting what you are paying for.

A travel mug which uses a mesh filter as a pour over brewer as opposed to a French Press style operation, this Coffee Gator model is a popular choice for anyone after a portable option which will keep the contents warm.

Vacuum layered and made from military-grade 304 stainless steel, heat is trapped for longer than average. That is the same material they use to manufacture hip replacements and spacecraft, just in case you’re wondering about its efficiency.

There is also copper in between the vacuumed walls, so heat has virtually no way of escaping. The metal filter is also a much cleaner, eco-friendly alternative to paper filters which can’t be reused or cleaned. It also has a little handle on, making it easy to put on and take off without burning your hands or touching any leftover residue.

The pour on method also makes it slightly easier to cater your cup to your exact tastes, using the pouring method and allowing it to drip rather than forcing pressure upon it.

Of course, you don’t need to use the filter. It will keep any drinks warm (or cold) without needing to make them, so in a sense, it is a bit of a 2-in-1 product.

Just with any ‘pour over’ system, it suffers from its complications. Take time to choose the right coffee, get the right temperature and wait for the right amount of time to let it brew. You also have to take the filter out of the cup to drink, which seems unproblematic but you’ll need to keep it somewhere safe and possibly give it a rinse before putting it away – prepare yourself before you board the train.

None of these things would put us off buying such a product though. For the amount of time it keeps the drink hot and how comfortable it is to carry, we will take the slight annoyances.

With the function of a cafetière but in a handy transportable mug, the Zyliss Hot Mug is the perfect little coffee accompaniment for camping trips and picnics.

Just put in the ground coffee, pour on hot water and allow to infuse for a couple of minutes. Then, press down the mesh filter to separate the coffee from the sediment, and it is ready to drink. The lid will keep it warmer for longer, as well as allowing you to be on-the-go while you drink it.

It isn’t just coffee it can make, with any hot drink being possible. Whether it’s a warming cup of tea or a hot chocolate around the campfire, the easy function and storage make it possible.

When you get home, cleaning it all is as easy as popping it in the dishwasher, so you can get on with all the other things that come with having been away.

In theory, it should separate the coffee from the grounds, but a bit always got through when we tried it. It seems to come through a hole at the side of the plunger, which we guess is to relieve pressure when you push but seems a bit if a design flaw.

The filter also doesn’t stop the brewing process once it is pressed, like with some other models. This makes a bitter taste the longer you leave it.

It is available in grey, blue and red so that you can get one for all the family and everyone has their own to drink out of. It is plastic, and the handle doesn’t have the best grip, so this isn’t one for taking on your commute to work. But packing it along with your stuff for a day out at the beach or going on a camping trip is a great idea for no-hassle hot drinks.

Described as the world’s first all-in-one pour-over coffeemaker which provides expert bean-to-cup brewing for coffee lovers. That is a lot to take in, so to put it simply, it can grind your beans, then make your coffee without the need for any extra items.

The ceramic burr grinder will turn your beans into grounds, then the lid of the unit acts as a pouring kettle with a dedicated spout. You just need to boil the water separately. There are bean level markers for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 grams, so you don’t need to take any weights or try and guess the amounts. The water can drip through the grounds using the dedicated stainless steel filter dripper, so there’s no need for paper or cloth filters. The coffee is presented in the insulated tumbler, and it all fits together again to act as a carry mug which you can safely carry around with you.

It weighs just 470g on its own, so isn’t going to be a pain to carry around. It makes such good coffee that you can even use it at home, if you want something which makes the freshest coffee possible yet takes up barely any space.

The Cafflano Klassic was launched through a KickStarter campaign, and it is easy to see why it has so many backers. It is also easy to see why it has won various awards, such as Best Domestic Coffee Equipment (SCAE World of Coffee) and Most Innovative Product (New York Coffee Festival & Autumn Fair). You could say it is a little costly versus the other travel mugs we have on here, but it makes the most decent coffee by far and there will be many people reading this who can’t put a price on decent coffee, even when they are away from home.