I Never Vacation Without This All-in-One Travel Coffee Maker

This lightweight, all-in-one grinder, brewer, and insulated mug works well anywhere. Just add beans and hot water.

In my experience, “all-in-one” devices tend not to do any one thing extremely well. That’s true of the Cafflano Klassic — but it does three things pretty well, which shouldn’t be underrated. Although the coffee doesn’t quite match what I make at home, it handily beats stuff from a sad pod coffee maker in a hotel kitchenette, instant coffee, or the antediluvian ground coffee from a previous tenant and the cheapo drip coffee maker you might find at an Airbnb.

The Cafflano Klassic All-in-One Pour-Over includes a burr grinder, a stainless steel filter, and an insulated tumbler. If you have access to hot water, and if you pack whole-bean coffee (or better yet, buy some from a local shop at your destination), you’re good to go.

It consists of four pieces in total (unless you deconstruct the burr grinder).

Once you unscrew the encasing cup and lid pieces, you’ll find that the cup portion is where most of the action happens. This is where the hand grinder, which deposits coffee grounds directly into an incorporated (but removable) coffee dripper, is located. The cup portion is also steel-lined, so you can use it as an insulated coffee carafe.

Then there’s the lid, which you can use to pour hot water over the ground coffee and even has a small hole in the side for just this purpose.

Personally, I’ve found fresh-ground beans to be the most important element in making a decent cup of coffee.

Over time, having used a pour-over coffee maker, a French press, an automatic drip coffee maker, a percolator (old-school, I know), and an AeroPress, I’ve concluded that fresh-ground beans are the real difference maker — that is, unless I really screw up my measurements and timing. But generally, fresh-ground coffee, brewed immediately, can cover up a multitude of coffee-making sins.

And that’s just what the Cafflano Klassic gives you.

First, drop the beans into the grinder and grind them by hand to your desired consistency (you can adjust the grinder with some fiddling). The grounds drop directly into a steel-mesh filter that holds about a strong cup’s worth. Unscrew the grinder to find your ground coffee heaped in the filter below.

Then, slowly pour hot water from the Cafflano Klassic’s lid or a kettle. I’ve found that a really patient approach works best, even just marginally dampening the grounds initially before I do a full, slow pour. The resulting brewed coffee ends up in the cup portion of the Cafflano Klassic, ready to drink.

Cleaning the Cafflano Klassic is on a par with cleaning almost any coffee filter — it’s not too messy, but you should expect to deal with damp coffee grounds. You can wash the filter, cup, and lid. As for the grinder, I recommend cleaning with a designated brush rather than washing it, because washing burrs is typically not something I’ve seen recommended for other hand grinders.

The Cafflano Klassic is satisfyingly compact at just under 8 inches in height and 3.5 inches in diameter. It’s about the size of a 32-ounce water bottle, so it isn’t tiny, but it is small enough to fit in a carry-on suitcase or hiking backpack without taking up too much space.

Although the Cafflano Klassic can’t buy the beans or boil the water for you, if you supply a little labor, it does everything else. If, like me, you love coffee and you’re confronted with bad options while traveling, it’s the ultimate backup plan.

This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder.