Think you can’t leave the city and feed your urge for good coffee? Think again.
WORDS Grant Hanan & Linda Bloffwitch | IMAGES & VIDEO My Aussie Travel Guide
It doesn’t matter where we are, if there’s one thing that we choose never to skimp on it’s having a good cup of coffee. I wouldn’t exactly say that we’re coffee snobs of sorts (well, maybe a little), but we figure if we’re only going to have a couple of cups per day, then they’ve got to be good. It’s true that coffee pods, sachets and other types of coffee products are popular, but in our case, it’s the smell and taste of freshly brewed coffee that gets us going.
So to satisfy our coffee needs when away from home, simply travelling with coffee beans, a grinder and a coffee press means it doesn’t matter where we are, because together they could fulfil our coffee desire at any time.
We came across the Japanese-made hand grinder by Porlex, which simply oozed quality the minute we opened the box. Being light and compact, its design lends itself to appeal to a range of travellers who love freshly brewed coffee.
While they say that looks can be deceiving, this was definitely not the case with this grinder. The unit is made of high quality stainless steel and weighs approximately 250 grams. Its winding handle also tucks neatly into a rubber hand grip when not in use for easy storage.
Inside, the grinder’s hopper holds 20 grams of beans which are ground by high quality ceramic burrs, and all the grinder’s components can be washed when the unit is pulled apart.
We found the unit’s good looks were easily backed up by its performance. It took between 2-2½ minutes to grind a full hopper of beans which was enough for both of us to have a cup of coffee. We also liked the idea of being able to adjust the grind to the way we like it.
So what did we use to brew our coffee? Sticking with the lightweight and compact travelling theme, we used Snow Peak’s Titanium Café Press. It’s one of the lightest we’ve come across, weighing in at only 200 grams. Having previously travelled with a glass press and being worried about breaking it, this is where the Snow Peak’s strong titanium construction took any breakage concerns away and made it a perfect travelling companion.
The press stands less than 150mm high, so storage was a breeze, and the unit easily pulls apart for washing. Water measurements are available on the outside of the press, where you’ll also find a double handle which provided an extra level of safety when pouring. While you can heat the water directly using the café press, we chose to place near boiling water into the unit to brew the coffee. A small carry bag is also included.
With the Porlex Coffee Grinder and the Snow Peak Titanium Café Press, we’ve pretty well got our coffee recharging batteries covered, and between them they give us the daily kick-start that we need.
PRICING
Snow Peak Café Titanium Press RRP$64
Porlex Coffee Grinder RRP$65
