Travel Espresso Maker

Let it be officially known, I have accepted a job for post-graduation. It will require extensive travel (4 days per week) and it is definitely in the area I have been hoping for. I will be an associate consultant; I have desired to become a consultant since before I began college. Nearly everything I did in college was based on tailor making my resume for a consulting position. Granted, I did not know too much about what I should be doing (case competitions, consulting organizations, etc.) so I was doing more general Supply Chain Management stuff, but I tried. Well, it all paid off, since I will be starting July 5 as an associate consultant!

Anyway, since I will be travelling so much, that means I will be a victim of hotel coffee...yuck! Anyone who truly loves coffee that has been in a hotel knows how truly terrible the coffee is. The stuff in the room is the worst, though the stuff at the continental breakfast is not much better. 

I DO love a good espresso from time to time, however, so I thought, "Hey, didn't I see a travel espresso maker in Sky Mall?" So I did a quick internet search, and I DID see it somewhere, though I don't know if it was Skymall (I'm sure it was, come on, travel espresso makers are pretty much made for Sky Mall)

I found two different models (serious models) and one that looks pretty crappy. The three are:

• The MyPressi Twist
• The HandPresso Wild 16-Bar Hand Pump Espresso Machine
• The AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

The MyPressi and HandPresso both looked very nice and professional, the AeroPress looked cheap, and based on reviews is nothing too special. So I was left with two products to look at: They both have strong reviews, and both produce what looks to be a solid cup of coffee:

           

(Left: HandPresso, Right: MyPressi)

After lots of research, what I found is that the MyPressi is probably a better idea for most people. A lot of people who purchase these espresso makers use them in the office or on the go (car, etc.) and as such just need a quality product. The MyPressi uses a CO2 canister (like paintball guns) and appears to do a great job of creating espresso easily.

The HandPresso uses hand pumping to build up to 16 bars of pressure to extract the coffee (espresso is created by pushing hot water through tightly packed grounds at a high pressure - 231.1 psi). The major issue here, is the travel aspect. I cannot take CO2 canisters on the airplane anywhere anytime, ever. That is the major issue for me, and it will ultimately make the decision for me. 

If I did not have to travel with this, I would probably go with the MyPressi, but anyone who might want to take this with you while traveling will want to get the HandPresso. 

Both of these machines uses ESE coffee pods, though the myPressi can use regular coffee as well, which is an advantage. ESE coffee pods (ESE = Easy serving espresso) can be purchased with the actual coffee in them (here).

Anyway, enjoy the knowledge, and if you love espresso, this is probably worth trying out!