The Tiny Portable Coffee Maker I Couldn’t Live Without (It Saves My Mornings While Traveling!)

Even though I still get excited about testing new products for work, the initial novelty of the job has pretty much worn off. But my family still thinks it’s the coolest thing, and even when I’m on FaceTime with extended relatives who live in Europe, they never fail to ask me about the latest gadget that’s arrived at my home. This summer, my aunt and I were talking about products, and she mentioned that it would be cool if I were able to test a portable coffee maker. That got me thinking that my grandma, whom I’d be staying with when I traveled to Europe in a few weeks, didn’t have a coffee machine. So I realized a portable coffee maker might be a more urgent need than I’d thought.

My colleagues have reviewed their fair share of coffee makers — including portable models — and some are bulkier than others. I’d need something lightweight to pack in my checked bag, which is why I decided on Corkcicle’s Palmpress. Although I was interested to see how it would perform, I had my reservations about how the coffee would taste. Turns out, I shouldn’t have worried.

Palmpress

Corkcicle

$42.46 (was $49.95)

Buy Now

What Is the Palmpress?

This palm-sized device weighs just 8.6 ounces and can make up to 8 ounces of coffee at a time. The BPA-free silicone design expands into a funnel shape. After twisting off the lid at the top, you simply pour your coffee grounds up to the indicated fill line inside. You follow that with hot water, which also has a dedicated fill line, and screw the lid back on. After letting the coffee brew for at least three minutes, you flip the Palmpress upside-down — a reusable stainless steel filter is built into the lid — and allow the coffee to pour into your cup. The first couple of times I used the device, I failed to flip it upside-down over my cup, and the coffee got on the counter. So you have to be kind of quick during the last step to ensure you don’t make a mess.

Once your coffee is in your mug, you once again take the lid off and rinse out the coffee grounds. The Palmpress is top-rack dishwasher-safe, but I found that hand-washing it was even easier and quicker. The product comes in a trendy sage green color, but I opted for classic black.

Why I Love the Palmpress

Thanks to its compact and lightweight design, traveling with the Palmpress was a breeze. More importantly, it saved me and my parents during our trip abroad while we stayed with my grandma. We eventually ended up buying her a real coffee machine, but for the first couple of weeks the Palmpress was our morning go-to. Only one person can use it at a time to make a single cup, but given that we all woke and drank coffee at different times, this wasn’t a problem. As for how the coffee tasted, I’d say it was no different from the pour-over coffee I sometimes make at home using an electric kettle and glass carafe. And it certainly beat having to brew coffee on the stove!

When my aunt saw the Palmpress, she immediately said she wanted it for herself after we left so she could make coffee at her office job. Although this product is a life-saver for travel, you could also throw it in your purse and take it with you pretty much anywhere, the way she has been doing. No longer will you have to drink crappy coffee on-the-go, spend an inordinate amount of money on cafe drinks, or worry about whether your Airbnb has a quality espresso machine. The Palmpress solves everything.

Buy: Palmpress, $49.95

This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: The Tiny Portable Coffee Maker I Couldn’t Live Without (It Saves My Mornings While Traveling!)

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