I’m not a big coffee drinker at home, but one of the luxuries for me while traveling is breathing in the strong comforting smell of coffee in the morning and enjoying a rich cup creamy with milk and sugar before setting off on my adventures. Sometimes, however, the coffee leaves a bit to be desired and isn’t the treat I looked forward to. My friend who produces Coffee Break–a blog about coffee (duh!)–gives some great tips on how to ensure you always have that much-needed morning drink (even if you like it at night after a loely dinner!)
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One of the tiny frustrations of traveling is getting your morning coffee the way that you like it. While coffee - and excellent coffee at that - is often easily available once you leave your hotel room, your options before you head out the door are often limited to what you can make with a 4 cup coffee maker and a foil packet of ground coffee. If you want to laze around your suite for a few hours in the morning, or just like to have a cup of coffee while you’re getting ready for your day, you’re doomed to drinking whatever the food service packages for your hotel - unless you think ahead and plan for your morning coffee. Whether you’re off on a hiking trek or a luxury vacation, here are some ways to make sure that you have your morning coffee the way you like it when you want it.
Bring your own coffee maker–One way to make sure that you can get a decent cup of coffee in your hotel room is to bring along your own coffee maker. One of the best that I’ve seen is the Zelco Brisk Brew, which will brew up one eight ounce cup of coffee in about 3-5 minutes. The whole kaboodle, including the cup, packs up in about the space of a single shoe, and can be switched between 110v and 220v current so that you can use it in the US or overseas. Pack up a bag of your favorite coffee in an airtight container, or pick some up at the local supermarket or coffee roaster to keep in your room and there you go.
Espresso without the Electricity–Staying somewhere without electricity - like say, a tent or campsite? If you can heat water, you can make espresso. There are a couple of very neat little gadgets on the market for making your espresso on the go. Check out the Handpresso, one of the fanciest little non-electric gadgets I’ve seen anywhere. You pump up the air pressure like you would a bicycle pump, add hot water, and squeeze to make two shots of steaming espresso. The other option - far cheaper, if that matters - is the Aeropress from Aerobie. The Aeropress is easily one of the oddest looking coffee makers you’ll ever see. It consists of a long, transparent tube, a filter and a plunger. You put the filter on the tube, drop in a few teaspoons of ground coffee, add hot water and then push the plunger down to force the coffee out into your cup.
Bodum to Go–Bodum French coffee presses are among the most highly touted coffee brewers all over the world. Did you know they make a couple of great travel versions? My favorite is the Bodum travel mug, which brews your coffee right in your thermal coffee mug. It’s a great choice if you want to be assured of your favorite coffee on the road. Just pack along your favorite ground coffee. All you’ll need to brew a fresh cup whenever you want it is a cup of hot water from the local drive through - or boiled over a campfire.
Campfire Coffee–Off on a hiking trek? My favorite way to make coffee on the trail is with a cup top coffee cone and filter. I picked mine up about twenty years ago for $1.99, and they don’t cost much more than that now. At home, I put the coffee into the cone filter and pour boiling water through. On the road, though, I boil the coffee over the fire, then filter it through the paper filter in a cup-top cone from Melitta. You can easily do the same thing with a colador (a Puerto Rican coffee sock) or even a square of flour cloth.
Don’t Forget the Coffee–Of course, the coolest travel coffee gadget in the world won’t make a decent cup of coffee if you don’t start with good coffee. If you’re stuck with what the hotel provides, chances are you’ll want to use two packets to make a pot. Most of those “one pot” foil packets are tuned to standard American tastes - far too little coffee to make a decent pot. A better option is to bring your coffee along with you. For a short trip, grind it ahead and pack it up in an airtight, opaque container. The best option of all, especially if you’ll be on the road for more than a few days, is to find a decent coffee house at your destination and buy enough fresh roasted, fresh ground coffee to get you through your morning coffee needs while you’re away.
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Great information from someone who knows a lot about coffee…be sure to check out her blog and help her find a new coffee mug (you could win a prize)!
Located in Northern Italy, Lake Garda (known as Lago di Garda in Italian and Gardasee in German) is a popular vacation destination that attracts thousands of visitors each year, particularly in the warm summer months of May through August.
For many people (such as myself), travel is a passion.