Advice

How to make a good coffee on a road trip? Our solutions for vanlife

On a road trip, camping, or vanlife, savouring a good coffee in the morning facing a sunrise or after a long day on the road is a real pleasure.

But how to prepare your coffee in a very small space, without an equipped kitchen and without a traditional machine that works with a 220 V electrical outlet? Between the limited space, access to hot water, and the absence of an electrical outlet, you don't necessarily prepare your coffee like at home.

Good news: there are many nomadic solutions to enjoy a quality coffee while traveling, adapted to all tastes and all space and energy constraints.

In this blog post, we present the different ways to make coffee on a road trip, and how to choose the ideal portable coffee machine that suits you best.

If your pleasure is a short and intense espresso, the Wacaco portable coffee machines have serious arguments: they are compact, light and stylish, they allow you to prepare an espresso rich in aromas wherever you go.

There are 2 types of portable espresso machines:

• The manual espresso machine, like the Minipresso GR2 for ground coffee or the Minipresso NS2 for compatible Nespresso capsules, or even, the Nanopresso, compatible with ground coffee and capsules. To use it, simply add hot water, your ground coffee or your Nespresso capsule depending on the model, then operate the pump to extract a creamy espresso. The machine does not need electricity to extract the coffee.

Our advice: However, think about the stove, the kettle or the thermos for hot water: it's the detail that changes everything when you stop far from everything. 

• The electric espresso machine, like the Pixapresso, offers you an even simpler coffee break: add water and ground coffee (or a compatible capsule), then let it heat the water and prepare your espresso. Enough to enjoy a good coffee facing the landscape, without even lighting the stove! Rechargeable via USB-C, it allows you to prepare up to 5 espressos with cold water on one charge, or 200 extractions if you use already hot water. Just remember to recharge it before getting back on the road.

Our advice: if you mostly drink an espresso alone, a Wacaco coffee machine is a very practical option. If the whole family is waiting for their coffee at the same time, preparing the cups one after another will take more time. 

Do you know the brand Wacaco? 

Wacaco was born from a simple idea: to be able to enjoy a good espresso everywhere. 

Its first machine, the Minipresso, paved the way for a range designed for travel: compact coffee machines like the Nanopresso and the Picopresso, the electric Pixapresso which also heats the water, as well as coffee makers, grinders and accessories. Practical products, designed with care to find their place in a van or a backpack and accompany your coffee breaks, trip after trip.

See Wacaco models on Casambu

The piston coffee maker is a classic method and very appreciated by filter coffee lovers with a strong taste. Its operation is simple: you add ground coffee, hot water, let it steep for a few minutes, then press the piston very gently to separate the coffee grounds. The coffee is ready!

In short, with a piston coffee maker, there is not much to watch out for. The Groenenberg piston coffee maker in stainless steel allow you to serve several small cups in a single preparation. The result is round and generous, with more body than a paper filter coffee.

Its stainless steel format is well suited to travel life, even if it takes up more space than a small espresso machine.

Our advice: choose a fairly coarse grind to limit the residue in the cup and plan a little water to rinse the filter after use. It's a beautiful solution if you like mornings that stretch out and coffees to share.

At Casambu, the Groenenberg piston coffee makers adapt to your way of traveling:

• a 35 cl format for coffee alone,
• 60 cl to share with two,
• or 1 L to prolong breakfast with several.

In stainless steel or with a matte coating in black, forest green or beige, they easily find their place in the van kitchen.And what a pleasure to serve coffee while everyone settles outside!

See Groenenberg piston coffee makers

Do you prefer to travel even lighter?

The portable coffee machine Prestina from Wacaco takes the spirit of the piston coffee maker in a portable format. Add ground coffee and hot water, let steep, then press gently: the coffee flows directly into the cup placed underneath. Compact and without electricity, it fits as well in a van drawer as in a backpack.

Do you know the Groenenberg brand? 

Located in the Hunsrück, in Germany, Grønenberg wants to make small daily rituals into real moments of pleasure. The brand offers piston coffee makers, Moka, manual grinders and isothermal containers of very high quality and with a sober design, designed to last. 

There is also this familiar moment: the stove lights up, the coffee starts to rise and its smell gently fills the van. For many, it's already vacation...

The Italian coffee maker, also called Moka, is a great classic. Working on a gas stove or an induction plate, it offers a rich and intense coffee, close to espresso. You just need to pour the water in the lower part, add the ground coffee in the filter, assemble the coffee maker and heat it. It produces a concentrated and intense coffee, with the typical taste of Moka.

It is not exactly an espresso extracted under pressure, but coffee lovers of strong coffee often find what they like in it.

In stainless steel, the Groenenberg Italian coffee makers follow you from the van gas stove to the induction plate at home. It's up to you to choose between the format of 4 or 6 small espresso cups, depending on the number of people around the table.

Our advice : The 200 ml model is advertised for 4 small espresso cups: if you serve large mugs, count fewer portions.

See Groenenberg Italian coffee makers

• The manual coffee grinder: 

Grinding the beans just before preparation can make a real difference in terms of aromas. On a trip, a manual grinder avoids adding another device to recharge. 

The Groenenberg stainless steel grinder and the Exagrind coffee grinder from the Wacaco brand allow you to adapt the fineness of the grind to your coffee maker: finer for espresso, coarser for the piston. 

• A beautiful cup to prolong the pleasure:

Morning coffee tastes even better when you take the time to drink it in a cup you love.

At Casambu, there is something for every moment of the trip, from breakfast in front of the van to the break on the road:

1. Enamel cups are light, solid and full of charm with their colors and illustrations. We can already imagine them by the stove… and we want to take them out again once we get home.
2. Double-walled cups keep coffee hot longer while remaining pleasant to hold in your hands. Perfect when you like to make breakfast last.
3. Isothermal mugs accompany you when you get back on the road or go for a walk. Depending on the model, they keep your drink hot or cold for several hours.

Our advice: You prepared more coffee than expected? Pour it into an isothermal bottle to enjoy it at the next break.

Everyone has their coffee, everyone has their road An espresso prepared with a Wacaco, a coffee to share around the piston coffee maker or the good smell of a Moka on the stove: every traveler has their little ritual. Choose your portable coffee maker according to the available space, your way of heating the water and the coffee you like. Then, all that remains is to find the most beautiful place to put your cup. Want to take this pleasure on the road? Discover our selection of portable coffee machines and find the one that will accompany your next awakenings in a van, a motorhome or at the campsite.