Travel Coffee/Espresso Rigs? - Page 3

Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
clc12rock (original poster)
Posts: 207
Joined: 7 years ago

#21: Post by clc12rock (original poster) »

Just pulled two shots. First had water coming out of the gauge again, but I just didn't have it tight enough. It said you could have 1 thread showing, but I had to tighten it to an almost uncomfortable tightness. First shot was still okay, but 2nd shot was solid. Grind was too fine tho, shot took about a minute. 19g in and 41g out and kept it around 6 bar. Only took me 50 seconds to grind the 19g today, so that's already improving.

I realized a couple of niceties for workflow: you can use the extra glass jar with the Comandante to weigh your beans and then turn the grinder upside down and place the glass jar over it to load the beans into the chamber without them hitting the stabilizer and bouncing everywhere. Once the beans are ground, you can then do the same with the glass jar and the Flair dosing funnel to get the grounds into the portafilter. The Comandante is a little messy, so this helps to keep things clean.

So far, I am really enjoying this setup. Wish I would've pulled the trigger on it a while ago.

jpender
Posts: 3863
Joined: 11 years ago

#22: Post by jpender »

jgood wrote:So true... but assuming no airplane travel a tiny backpacking stove will suffice....
Good point. That's a very solid assumption at the moment.

clc12rock (original poster)
Posts: 207
Joined: 7 years ago

#23: Post by clc12rock (original poster) »

Finally got everything dialed in this morning and pulled two really solid shots today. 19g, 45g out in about 35 seconds at 9bar this AM and just pulled another, 19g in, 40g out in 30 seconds at 6bar.

Also, after a couple of days with the kettles, I think I'm going to keep the Bonavita. The other one has a lot of nice features (variable temp control/holds temp, removable power cord, collapsible, dual voltage) but it takes 9 minutes to get 600mL to a boil. Bonavita only took 3mins30secs for 500mL. I'll probably buy the Voyager once it becomes generally available. I still haven't tried a pourover with the Bonavita, but it seems like it would be tough. Need to track down a cotter pin.

User avatar
bobpaule
Posts: 173
Joined: 17 years ago

#24: Post by bobpaule »

Here is my travel setup for espresso and hot cocoa (pure S American non-alkali processed in hot water only)
AM caffeine and antioxidant load on the road:
1. Flair
2. Knock Aergrind
3. Gourmia GK320 foldable kettle
4. Handpresso unbreakable cups
5. Gator G-MIXERBAG-1515, extremely wide comfortable strap, WW3 proof.
4. Two gummy bear MVI bottles for beans and ground cocoa.
5. Harbuck's Red mug, light and sturdy nice to shake the cocoa instead of making a slurry, plus the aromatic
hydrocarbons dissolving create a balance to the antioxidant effect:)

One year now, still happy with it. Survived soccer and volleyball tournaments, and a COVID-19 deployment.
Thought about the Robocop but too big, I wish they made one with a detachable base.


Never get between a man and his ristretto, ever!

clc12rock (original poster)
Posts: 207
Joined: 7 years ago

#25: Post by clc12rock (original poster) »

Nice setup! I think that Gourmia kettle is similar to the other one I got off Amazon. How long does it take to boil water? Mine took over 9 minutes, while the Bonavita takes less than 4 minutes. I also thought about getting the Robot, but went with the Flair since it deconstructs and already has a travel case. I'm heading to the beach on Saturday, so this will be my first trip with the travel setup. Can't decide if I wanna just bring the Bonavita, might bring my Stagg EKG too.

fliz
Posts: 150
Joined: 7 years ago

#26: Post by fliz »

I ran into exactly this question a few months ago when I decided I was going to move into my travel trailer for a longer term road trip (pre Covid... Those plans are currently shelved)

I sold my countertop gear and got this (in order of workflow):

LWW Commercial bean cellars (2 dozen) (already had these)
dropper bottle for RDT
Helor Flux grinder
IMS 53mm basket and funnel
cheap scale
small brush for cleaning Flux
Keycap puller modified for WDT
53mm distribution tool (amazon cheapo)
53mm non-precision tamper
corner mat
MyPressi Twist
no-name cups
dental tool mirror
stirring spoon
knockbox

Not pictured:
cheap gooseneck kettle (stovetop since this is for a trailer)
roasting equipment
Bellman steamer for milk drinks

Still to be purchased:
apache 3800 knockoff pelican case to store everything except kettle, bellman, cups, scale, and bean cellars
proper storage solution for bean cellars
collapsible electric kettle for non-trailer travel?
proper storage solution for cups (we plan on collecting them from our favorite cafes as we travel)


cebseb
Posts: 567
Joined: 9 years ago

#27: Post by cebseb »

My coffee setup for leisure traveling with the family.


And here is my coffee setup whenever I go solo for climbing trips.


Same grinder used for both, but if I have a Kinu m47 I use sometimes just for giggles.

emradguy
Supporter ♡
Posts: 914
Joined: 10 years ago

#28: Post by emradguy »

My travel espresso setup...

LMWDP #748

clc12rock (original poster)
Posts: 207
Joined: 7 years ago

#29: Post by clc12rock (original poster) »

cebseb wrote:
And here is my coffee setup whenever I go solo for climbing trips.


Same grinder used for both, but if I have a Kinu m47 I use sometimes just for giggles.
Dang, nice setups! Is that like a small boiler on the back of that Robot?

I'm still enjoying my travel setup. Returned that Chinese kettle and kept the Bonavita. The Chinese one just took way too long to get water to a boil. Prolly gonna pull the trigger on the Voyager kettle. I like the Flair, but the socket to screw the two main pieces together is already stripped. I don't remember tightening it all that tight. Kinda lame. Reached out to Flair and Prima and they said it's not covered under warranty and they wouldn't let me exchange it for another one even though I was still within the window for a return/exchange with Prima. They are going to send me a longer screw tho. Honestly the Flair works fine without the screw but I think it did help with stability. I love the Comandante, no issues with that and it works great with the Flair. I found the below scale on Amazon and it fits on the Flair drip tray really well. It has a 300g limit tho, so you can't use it for pourovers. It also doesn't have an autostart for the timer, which would have been a nice feature. But for $20, I can't complain too much.

https://www.amazon.com/WEIGHTMAN-Digita ... B07XQS8JL6

clc12rock (original poster)
Posts: 207
Joined: 7 years ago

#30: Post by clc12rock (original poster) »

Just wanted to chime in here to say that I'm super happy with my travel setup. The Flair and Comandante are both awesome and easy to use. I also really like that scale I linked in the last post and they actually came out with a newer version with 1000g limit, so it can handle pourovers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089JYMRK6/

I just bought it and will use that moving forward. The Bonavita travel kettle is fine for now. Doesn't work great for pourovers. I want to buy the Voyager kettle, but looks like they won't be ready to ship til next May. Might look into the Pakt setup, but it's kinda pricey. Maybe a good Xmas present :wink: