Went to Yosemite this Thanksgiving and stayed at the Evergreen Lodge. Had some decent dinners there including Kobe Beef, and Venison Tenderloin. But when I wanted to finish with a decent cup of coffee to go with dessert, there was none to be had. Strange considering the restaurant paid such close attention to the ingredients of their food. They also have an espresso machine in the company store but watching the "clerk" pull miserable watery shots I didn't bother.

In the end I swore to never leave home without, at a minimum, a pound of my favorite Moschetti Espresso Dolce or Mistral, a crummy whirly gig grinder and a single filter holder and filters.

I got home yesterday, cranked on Miss Silvia and put on a pot of hot water to have the first decent coffee in four days.

This leads me to the question of what do folks take with them traveling to insure a decent cup of joe, or espresso?

Steveoh

Good question!
A lot depends on the length of trip I am going on and how light I wish to travel. Also whether vacation or necessary evil. Think, also, of whether the equipment will be subject to freezing temperatures! Take into consideration Airport Check in procedures. I have not flown recently and I hope someone will chime in here!
Great roasted and rested beans are a given!
Overnight:
PeDe or Zass hand grinder and Moka pot which may be replaced by a "Clever®" filter drip top and use of the motel coffee water heater. I have a very small butane heater also for cheap motels! I have also carried these in the car when visiting.

A couple nights:
Hand Grinder and Peppina

Over that:
Vario and Cremina

And... if it a relatively local two or three day social and seminar occasion with pot luck food, I have been known to bring the SJ and the Astra or Conti and many pounds of rested roast.
So.. I think that your travel kit will be what you wish to tote and which will fit your needs.
Here is a long time posting of various schemes to make travel caffeine fixes possible:
Vacation Kit click here
Happy Travels!
-Richard

My camping kit is an Aeropress with a Kyocera ceramic hand grinder, and old fashioned fireplace popcorn popper I found at a thrift store for roasting coffee (and popcorn) and cups, etc. and of course home roast.

For traveling I deduct the popcorn popper and add an immersion heater but I haven't really broken it in as such yet (built a kit for a road warrior transition that vaporized). Most of my traveling is camping these days.

I really love the Clever Coffee Dripper, but I think the AeroPress is just much faster and easier to clean up.

I've considered getting a Handpresso Domepod or Mypressi Twist, but haven't pulled the trigger on this yet, but I did find a GSI single cup camping espresso maker (Moka pot) at a thrift store for a couple bucks I just picked up that I'll try out soon.

-Chris

Big French Press, Mini-Grip bag of coffee, Armin Handgrinder, a chopstick and a set of scales. Will be adding two cupping spoons for the dunk-and-scoop method when they get here, until now I've relied on the availability of borrow-/steal-able tea spoons.

Just got back from 3 night stay at an Inn, and the on to four nights at the mother in laws home.

Traveling by car.

Took the Olympia Cremina with me - pretty easy to do, unscrewed the handle.

Kyocera hand grinder, small digital scale.

Worked great. All fits in a cardboard box.

Beats the hell of of trying to hunt decent coffee, disappointment with what you can find.

Granted, takes a little effort. Not nearly as much as effort as it takes to find something decent.

Couldn't do it flying. Nothing to it, by car.

I, too, just got back from a trip. Absolutely no good coffee to be found near Gatlinburg. When I travel for more than 1 night I take a small Chemex, a Bodum hand grinder, a small Bodum kettle to boil the water and some home roasted beans. It all fits well in an overnite bag.

It keeps both my wife and me happy until we can get home. Espresso drinks though...we fast.

Barry B

This past summer we brought the Hario NCA 5, Zass Knee Mill & our Oster hot water kettle along on our vacation road trip. The plan for next year is to bring the Microcasa as well as a vac pot & a B Vario in place of the Zass.

Started with a Krups burr grinder and a 963 steamtoy.
Replaced them with Silvia and Rocky. (Once did a Silvia/Major pairing in DC...)
Replaced those with a Gaggia Factory and either the DeVe, the Zass, or for larger quantities, and unknown handgrinder.

I'll take the Aeropress if the only way to heat water is with fire. Or maybe the Bailetti.

Stuggi wrote:Big French Press, Mini-Grip bag of coffee, Armin Handgrinder, a chopstick and a set of scales. Will be adding two cupping spoons for the dunk-and-scoop method when they get here, until now I've relied on the availability of borrow-/steal-able tea spoons.

Oh, I forgot the most important part, my fold-away Bunsen burner and gas tank. It takes less space then the other equipment, and I get my choice of heating vessel, lately it has been a 1 liter Erlenmeyer flask.

Some of the more dedicated membership will pack travel kits. Most of my recent travel has been to locations that provide electricity, but limited countertop space, so that relegates me to packing a 1L FP, Maestro+ and enough homeroast to last, usually on the order of 12 oz./350g. I'm this close to lever-hunting, though . Having a good local roaster near your destination makes things MUCH easier, of course.

Being a frequent visitor to the St. Louis area, I was especially saddened when Barry closed his shop (on the IL side of the river). It was the closest thing to a guarantee of good coffee in the area - I almost literally wept when I walked in the first time and was pulled a double of his espresso blend.

*sniffles* must be gettin' dusty in here...

-s.