Caroline Pardilla

The Ultimate Coffee Geek’s Travel Kit Guide: Taking Your Coffee Snobbery on the Road

— by Caroline on Crack

Coffee by Caroline on Crack

Tastes so good when it hits your lips.

With the explosion of high-quality coffee places and roasters all over Los Angeles — Intelligentsia, Handsome Coffee Roasters, LAMILL, Dripp and Brew Coffee Bar — there’s bound to be a growing dependence and, let’s face it, addiction to that fine cup of Joe. For super picky coffee drinkers, workplace K-Cups and the regular drip just won’t do anymore.

Believe me, I understand. I am an admitted coffee snob. Here’s the basic coffee travel kit that I bring everywhere with me, from the office to the road. Affordable and simple, and great for those just starting out.

What I like about this setup is it’s so simple and all I need is hot water but I can pretty much make coffee wherever; and I do. Now if only someone invented a coffee travel bag so I wouldn’t have to lug this stuff around in my reusable Fresh & Easy shopping bag.

Since I was curious about taking my coffee obsession to the next level, I asked renowned coffee geeks 2010 U.S. and World Barista Champion Michael Phillips of Handsome Coffee and Scoops Westside proprietor Matt Kang (Mattatouille) for what traveling java junkies who want to be able to make their black gold anywhere can pack in their coffee travel kit, especially with the holidays coming up. (My mom and pop make horrible coffee. Horrible! Sorry, M&D!)

Coffee at Akasha by Caroline on Crack

Even restaurants, like Akasha, are getting in the pourover act.

The Handsome Coffee Geek Travel Kit

Michael started by telling me what’s in his own coffee travel kit.

“My standard super travel kit that goes on pretty much every flight with me (TSA friendly):

“This allows for a super accurate nerd brew to be made at 3,500 feet and all fits into my Patagonia midsize shoulder bag [could he be talking about this Daily Grind bag? heh] with my laptop, notepad, books and other travel goods.  The thermos fits in the outside pouch designed for water bottles, the Porlux slides into the Aeropress, your towel and filters can cram into the mug, the scale and coffee are on their own.

“This can be budgeted by dropping items in the following order with the following consequences:

  1. Drop scale – you can use the Aeropress reasonably accurately without a scale but as your travel coffee ages and elevations/pressure changes it is difficult to really “nail it.”
  2. Drop mug – you can almost always find a paper cup that will work but you have to be careful (the whole method of the aeropress involves pressing down on the receptacle) and if you’re going to the effort of making a fresh cup, don’t you want to drink it out of something nice?!?
  3. Drop slim bullet thermos – you can get hot water from a flight attendant/airport coffee shop/misc kettle in your travels but the nice pour that these guys have works great with the tiny mouth of the Aeropress.  It is also way more safe when you are stuck in an economy seat on U.S. air to have something so well sealed…
  4. Drop hand grinder – you can totally pre-grind your coffee for travel.  You could also just use Via, you savage…”

And for those going home for the holidays who don’t mind checking luggage, hit the jump for Michael’s more serious setup.

“This is not TSA friendly and takes up a bit more room in the suitcase. But… the electric kettle is a huge win as a surprising number of hotels do not have kettles available for your room.  Also if you are grinding by hand you may not want to go downstairs to the kitchen at a family gathering to very publicly make a super tasty brew of Kenya up. It will destroy both your forearms and the next hour of your life… the tiny Bodum allows for early morning covert bedroom brews.  The AWS scale is a little bigger but goes up to 2,000 grams and is just sweet.

“If you’re big pimpin’ spending G’s and do not care about the room it takes or the mess, throw a Capresso Infinity burr grinder in the mix.  It is probably the smallest acceptable quality electric grinder out there and would elevate your game to brewing for the whole family status.  I’d pair this with the Clever package, replacing the Skerton.”

Coffee Travel Kits for Campers and Rich Folks

Matt, who actually got me started with the basic kit, provided me with a variety of coffee geek travel kit ideas tailored for whatever you’re looking for, whether you want something rugged enough for camping trips or if you have money to spend.

Mammoth coffee by Caroline on Crack

At Mammouth 2011 blogger trip, Matt was in charge of cooking as well as making the pourovers.

Camping Coffee Geek Kit: Something durable that can make more than one cup of coffee for you and your camping buddies.

High-End: If you want to take your coffeemaking to the next (price tier) level.

If you’re wondering what the difference between Aeropress and pourover (using Clever Dripper) is check out these videos:

By the way, if you’d like to get started with a pourover setup or are looking for the perfect gift for your favorite coffee geek,** Thrillist Rewards just happens to currently offer a deal with Handsome Coffee Roasters **where you get the Clever Coffee Dripper and coffee beans delivered to your home for $60 for three months!