Making Good Coffee in your Suitcase
My daily routine has included coffee since I was about six years old. For many years now I make a pot first thing in the morning, take a travel mug off to work, and not infrequently have a cup in the evening after dinner. These days I spend a fair amount of time in hotels and like to preserve as much of my daily routine as possible. Hotels don’t seem to always have an in-room coffee pot (especially the hotels I frequent in Europe for some reason), room service isn’t cost effective or practical, and I don’t like to have to find and visit a Starbucks every morning or evening.
Solution? I’ve put together my own travel coffee kit. It had to be small so I could pack it in my suitcase, easy to use anywhere, and still produce a drinkable cup of coffee. It turned out to be easier than I thought.
Component #1: The Pot — This was a matter of good luck. I love hardware stores (but that’s another story) and during my January visit to Helsinki discovered a great hardware store just around the corner from my hotel. It’s called Clas Ohlson - a chain based in the UK with stores there as well as Sweden, Norway and Finland. While browsing the two floors of hardware store wonderfulness in Helsinki I found a great 0.5L electric kettle (a.k.a. “hot pot”) for only 6 euros. It’s fully automatic so turns itself off when the water is hot, is dual voltage for use world wide, has a tight sealing hinged lid, and is both sturdy and lightweight.
Component #2: The Mug — My idea for the mug was something that would fit inside the pot. That meant fairly small to start with and probably a folding handle. I also wanted something lightweight and sturdy. All that added up to a camping cup so off I went to REI. I first looked at some titanium mugs with folding handles but they were at least $30 and the insulated ones with a lid were over $40. While there, though, I discovered the REI Doppio, which is a stainless steel, insulated, has a lid, and is designed to not have a handle so it fit perfectly in the pot. And it was $9.50. It only holds 6 ounces so isn’t huge but that turned out not to be a problem (read on)…
Component #3: The Coffee — This was the clincher. I know from past travels and camping expeditions that instant or freeze dried coffee is not palatable. Starbucks, however, recently introduced their VIA instant coffee which is a cut above instant coffee and comes in a variety of blends so you can mix and match (and even get decaf if you like). I tried VIA when it came out and, although not as good as the Peet’s I brew every morning at home, it’s much better than typical hotel coffee. VIA comes in individual cup packets, and you can get a 3 pack or a 12 pack at any Starbucks anywhere.
Component #4: Mini Moo’s — Clearly I’m not going to go to all this trouble to make good travel coffee and ruin it with “non-dairy coffee creamer” which tastes horrible and contains enough phosphate to be a laundry detergent. The solution for travel cream is Land O’Lakes Mini Moo’s, which are individually sized containers of half-and-half (milk and cream) which don’t have to be refrigerated. A box of 192 Mini Moo’s is available at Smart & Final for $10.
On the Road: Packing is easy. Four individual Mini Moo’s fit inside the REI mug, which then goes in a Ziplock bag (just in case something leaks), which then fits inside the pot. The assortment of Via packets travels in the 12-pack box, inside its own Ziplock bag. More Mini Moo’s could go in that bag too. The whole collection takes up about as much space in my suitcase as one dress shoe. It travels quite well, even with rough handling from international baggage gorillas.
Brewing is fast and simple. About 0.3L of water in the pot makes two cups, each using one VIA packet (so the small size of the REI mug isn’t a problem). The REI mug with lid keeps the coffee hot for quite a while. I’m out less than $20 for the pot and mug, plus less than $1 a cup for the coffee and cream. Yum!
