Best Portable Coffee Makers (Review & Buying Guide) 2021

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Ewan McGregor as Grimes in 2001's 'Black Hawk Down' (Sony Pictures)

The one indisputable thing that I believe holds true in this insane, upside-down, merry-go-round-on-fire world is that coffee is life. If we must flick on the boob tube and watch the world burn, it’s important to do so well-caffeinated. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming, ubiquitous wildfires, and natural disasters, it’s important to engage in some self-care. For me, it begins with recognizing what I can change in the world and what I cannot, quality sleep, daily exercise, meaningful connections with family and friends, and coffee. And the one thing all of us learned from the movie Black Hawk Down, where everything fell to shit in Somalia, was, in the immortal words of Ewan McGregor’s character Grimes, “It’s all in the grind, Sizemore. Can’t be too fine, can’t be too coarse. This, my friend, is a science.” And it is. Serenity is all about balance and intentionality — and that especially applies to a cup of coffee.

Every morning, after I finish my daily run through the woods, Tabata/HIIT workout, or bike ride, I walk in the kitchen, put my Le Creuset kettle on to boil, reach for my VSSL Java Coffee Grinder, and begin my daily ritual. Depending on what I feel like drinking, I’ll reach for my AeroPress Go for Americanos, my Bodum Caffettiera if I need a lot of coffee in a hurry and I’m feeling lazy, or my Wacaco Picopresso on the days I want an espresso and have the time to go through the 23 steps it takes to make it — and it’s worth it every time.

We know from research that caffeine, the most commonly consumed psychoactive drug in the world, actually makes you smarter. When we consume coffee, caffeine enters our bloodstream and ends up in our brains. Once there, caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine and unleashes norepinephrine and dopamine (love that stuff) which increases the firing of neurons and improves brain function in terms of mood, energy levels, memory, reaction time, and more. It helps the human body burn fat, contains needed essential nutrients like magnesium and niacin, and might protect us from Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s. And damn, it just feels good. Ok, you didn’t come here to watch me geek out about neuroscience. You’re wondering what portable coffee maker you should buy.

Over the past few months, I’ve braved near-lethal doses of caffeine (yes, too much is bad) to test these products so you don’t have to. For this roundup, I took a look at:

Top Pick

AeroPress Go

Best Premium

Wacaco Picopresso

Most Reliable

Stanley Classic Travel Mug French Press

Best All-in-One

Cafflano Klassic

Best Disposable

Bodum Chambord Cafetiere French Press

Honorable Mention

ESPRO P0 Ultralight Coffee Press

Honorable Mention

Delter Coffee Press

Bonus: Best Portable Coffee Grinder

VSSL Java coffee grinder

Why you should trust us

The reviewers here at Task & Purpose test the products we review at home and in the field. We have years of experience living and working with the tools we recommend. We don’t get paid by the manufacturers and have editorial independence. Our editor leaves it to us to recommend and prints what we write. All of this enables us to provide you, our valued readers, with our unvarnished, honest opinions on the recommendations we make.

Types of coffee makers

Coffee makers generally come in four types based on the brewing process they use. There are brewers that use pressure, brewers that use steeping, brewers that use filtration or dripping, and brewers that boil.

Pressure brewers: The four most common devices that brew under pressure are countertop espresso machines, countertop automatic coffee machines, the more portable Moka Pot, and AeroPress. These devices use fine- to medium-ground coffee and brew fast — between one and five minutes from start to finish. And new for 2021 is the Wacaco Picopresso which is the first truly portable and compact hand-powered espresso machine.

Steeping brewers: The four most common steeping brewers are the French press, the Siphon (which looks like something out of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory), the coffee bag (yuck!), and the soft brew. These methods use a more chunky medium to medium-fine grind (except the coffee bag which uses ultra-fine), and take a bit longer to extract the flavor from the coffee — about four to eight minutes.

Filtration brewers: The five most common filter brewers are the auto-drip (like Mr. Coffee), the Chemex pour-over, the Vietnamese drip filter, the percolator, and the cold drip (which again looks like some freaky chemistry set). These methods use medium- to coarse-ground coffee and take about four to 10 minutes to brew — or 10 to 24 hours for the cold drip.

Boiling brewers: There are two essential types of boiling brewers, the Ibrik (Turkish pot), and the Cowboy method — which is just throwing grounds in a pot, boiling it, and waiting for the grounds to settle. These are fairly quick methods that use very fine (Turkish) or super chunky (Cowboy) grinds and produce coffee in one to six minutes.

Key features of portable coffee makers

Specific to portable coffee makers, I look for several things:

Compact design: You don’t want them taking up a lot of room in your travel bag.
Lightweight: You don’t want to haul around a boat anchor. Every gram adds up.
Easy to use: I’m often making coffee in the dark before long days on the trail, so it’s important that they’re simple and ergonomic so you don’t spill your brew and have to start all over again.
Easy to clean: In most places I go, there’s no sink, so I need to be able to clean them with a splash or two of water.
Rugged: They have to be able to withstand life in a backpack or at the bottom of a sea bag.
Efficient: I look for coffee makers that are fast.
Performance: If it doesn’t make a quality cup of Joe, what’s the point?!? Get one that brews the styles of coffee you love.

Portable coffee maker pricing

In my survey of portable coffee makers, I realized they generally come in three categories:

Value: About $32 or less, like the AeroPress or Delter
Mid-range: $32 to $70, like the Cafflano Klassic
Premium: $70 and above, like the $129 Wacaco Picopresso

How we chose our top picks

All of the portable coffee makers recommended in this review were field-tested by me, your trusty Task & Purpose gear reviewer. We take our time to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of gear and also check out the reviews of other experts just to make sure we’re not missing anything.

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Joe Plenzler is a Marine Corps veteran who served from 1995 to 2015. He is a backcountry expert, long-distance backpacker, rock climber, kayaker, cyclist, wannabe mountaineer, and the world’s OK-est guitar player. He is currently section-hiking the Appalachian Trail with his partner, Kate Germano. He supports his outdoor addiction by working as a human communication consultant, teaching at the College of Southern Maryland, and helping start-up companies with their public relations and marketing efforts.