THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL COFFEE SET-UP
BY TREMOR CHRIST
As a person who spends more than 10 months a year on the road, many people ask me how I manage my deep coffee addiction whilst changing hotel rooms every few days. In simple, the answer is through a lot of testing and changing and figuring out what does and doesn't work.
At first I began with an Aeropress Go and would go to local coffee shops, buy beans and ask the barista if they could grind them for me. This worked to a certain extent, although beans lose their magic quite quickly after being ground, and I found myself missing the taste of freshly ground beans.
The next step in my coffee journey was to purchase the
Timemore C3 EXP PRO for my Birthday. I waited patiently as the package transfered from China to my apartment in Chiang Mai, and in the meantime headed to the local coffee supply store and bought a cheap scale for 150 Baht ($4). My grinder arrived and I dove headfirst into videos on how to dial in the grind size for Aeropress, figuring out the perfect number and then rushing off to buy beans from local roasters I love.
Grinding fresh beans was a game-changer and my Aeropress game got better and better. I loved the size of the Timemore hand-grinder but I suffer from a form of arthritis and found it problematic doing light-roast beans three to four times a day.
Luckily for me I managed to get in touch with them due to my coffee content, and they were amazing enough to send me their
Millab E01 electric grinder. This was something I had been eyeing up for a long time after watching reviews by
Patrick from APRIL and
Asser Christensen.
I would say my perfect coffee set up started the day I received the Millab, and below is my current set up:
GRINDER: MILLAB 01
This grinder has changed the way I brew coffee on the go. To be able to charge it by USB-C and have consistently great coffee every morning, and yet it fits in my small daypack, has made my life substantially better. It also grinds more than 100 portions of 15g coffee without needing a charge. I literally use it three times a day and have brewed with it on beach bungalow balconies, deep in the forest and even overlooking volcano lakes in Indonesia.
What is love is the style and the size, but also it's relatively quiet so I don't disturb my neighbours in hotels. The battery lasts forever, I only need to charge it maybe once per month.
Another highlight of having a small grinder like the Millab is that when I'm travelling I tend to want to try many different roasters and beans, and this way you can individually dose the machine every day so you can grind one portion, dust it off and change beans if you want.
SCALES: BOOKOO
I purchased some scales from a well known brand and started my coffee journey with them, but after a while I began to run into issues with responsivity and also with the build quality. I watched a video by
Lance Hedrick about a new brand named
BOOKOO, and was intrigued by the amazing looking scales. I reached out to them if they were interested in collaboration, and they kindly said yes!
I received the scales in the beginning of January 2025 and have not been let down. They are super responsive, stylish and feel ultra solid. Quite possibly the perfect scales for travel although I have not had a chance to try Timemore's mini scale which I hear from a friend are really great also.
The app also helps people if they want to use the Bookoo for espresso, and if you want to turn off the beeping sound. An absolutely magic little scale! Highly recommended.
POUR-OVER: TETRA DRIP
Having an Aeropress is great for many situations, but as a person who loves a large cup of coffee to start the day, and prefers light-roast filter coffee, I read an article about the
Munieq Tetra Drip. A V60 style brewer that literally breaks down to fit in a tiny leather sleeve (pictured above). With my birthday coming up I splashed some cash and ordered it from
Kurasu in Kyoto.
A few days later it arrived, and I have basically been using it every day for 5 months. The design is amazing, its so portable and light, the only issue is it does take a bit of time to learn how to pour consistently due to the triangular shape, but once you get the hang of it you can get a pretty flat bed on your pour-over. I would say it's the best travel companion for filter coffee enthusiasts who value space and weight.
It works with any Hario V60 02 style paper, which almost any supermarket carry.
BREWER: AEROPRESS GO
The quintessential coffee brewer in terms of weight, space and quality of brew. An easy option to throw in your bag and make a dynamite cup of coffee anywhere you have access to hot water. I also use the main cup to brew into from my Tetra Drip, and the lid is phenomenal for dosing coffee out and pouring beans into the grinder.
An all-round must have gadget, although I am eyeing up the Go+ due to it's slightly larger capacity. We'll see..
ACCESSORIES: HUSKEE CUP
This cup made from coffee husks is great for travel. It's small enough to stow away in a side-pocket, and the heat retention is good. Also the ridges mean you can drink coffee without burning your fingers and I love the whole impact on the environment by using materials that are normally thrown away!
Kudos to
Huskee for doing that.
Using the Millab with the Bookoo travel scales, my Aeropress Go and also a Tetra Drip V60 style dripper I bought from Kurasu in Kyoto, has made me basically a travelling barista. I cannot believe how convenient the Millab grinder is, and after trying two different scales, the Bookoo is absolutely the best so far.
The only issue I'm left with now is what coffee beans to buy so that I can experiment with grind-size and water temperatures to find the perfect brew.
Happy adventures to all coffee nerds!
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