Travel coffee, October 2026
The best portable coffee makers for travel.
Camping, a surf trip up the coast or a week away. These are the portable coffee makers we'd pack for each one, all easy to buy in Australia, with the grind each one likes and what else to bring.
Nine brewers, three kinds of trip. Prices are approximate RRP, GST in. Need beans? We'll grind them for your brewer.
Your trip
Where are you taking it?
Two questions and we'll point you at a brewer, the grind to get and what else to throw in the bag.
Every brewer here is on the page below with its price, so you can pick another if you'd rather.
The brewers
Nine brewers. Three trips.
Sorted by the trip each one suits best. Plenty of them cross over, so read the next band too.
A stove, a few of you and no rush. Weight barely matters. Tough does.
Your trip
YETI
Rambler French Press, 34oz
$160 approx. RRP
- 1 litre
- Double wall steel
- Stops brewing when pressed
Brews for two or three. Press the plunger and the filter shuts the grounds away, so the second cup isn't bitter by the time you get to it. Steel, insulated and hard to dent in the back of the car.
Bialetti
Moka Express, 3 cup
$65 approx. RRP
- About 130ml
- Gas and camp stoves
- No filters
Short, strong coffee straight off the camp stove. No papers to run out of and nothing to break. Fill the basket loosely and don't tamp. It won't work on induction.
Stanley
Classic Stay Hot French Press, 1.4L
$130 approx. RRP
- 1.4 litres
- Double wall steel
- 1.75kg
The big one. Enough for the whole campsite in one brew, and the vacuum walls keep the second round hot. It's heavy, so it's a car camping jug, not a hiking one.
The van, the ute or the car park at first light. Quick to brew, quick to rinse, fine with sand.
Your trip
AeroPress
Go Plus
$190 approx. RRP
- Brews into its tumbler
- Double wall steel
- 560g packed
Press straight into its insulated tumbler, screw the lid on and paddle out. One big coffee or two small ones, and the filters live in the base.
AeroPress
Original
$80 approx. RRP
- 250ml
- 266g
- Paper filters
The one that started it. Tough, light and rinsed clean with a splash of water, so it can live in the glovebox for years. Brew it strong and top it up with hot water for two.
Hario
V60 02, plastic
$12 approx. RRP
- 1 to 4 cups
- Paper filters
- Weighs next to nothing
The lightest way to a clean, bright cup, and the cheapest thing here. Bring a kettle with a thin spout and a stack of 02 papers, and pour slowly.
A carry-on, a hotel kettle, or a holiday house with a sad pod machine.
Your trip
AeroPress
Go
$90 approx. RRP
- Packs into its own mug
- Needs only a kettle
- Paper filters
Everything, filters included, packs into its own mug, so it takes up about a pair of socks' worth of room in the bag. Hotel kettle, two minutes, a proper coffee.
AeroPress
XL
$150 approx. RRP
- Two big cups
- Brews into a carafe
- XL filters
For the holiday house. Two generous cups in one press, straight into its carafe, so nobody waits for the second round.
Espro
Ultralight Travel Press
$85 approx. RRP
- 475ml
- Double wall
- 224g
Brew, press and drink from the same cup on the way out the door. Two fine mesh filters keep the grit out of the last mouthful.
How we picked them
We chose nine portable coffee makers that are easy to buy in Australia right now and suit the way people here travel: camping out of the car, surf trips up and down the coast, and holidays with a carry-on. Each one sits under the trip it suits best, with the grind it likes. The tags are only a guide. The right brewer is the one you'll actually pack.
Written by the Brother of Mine team in Port Kennedy, WA. We've roasted coffee here since 2017.
Prices are approximate recommended retail including GST, from Australian retailers in October 2026, rounded. They move and they go on sale often, so shop around. We don't sell these brewers. We do sell the coffee that goes in them.
The rest of the kit
Pack these too.
Beans, ground for it
Ground coffee is at its best for a week or two once the bag is open, which is about a trip. We grind ours for AeroPress, plunger or espresso, so it suits your brewer the day it lands.
Hot water
A camp stove and a billy, a kettle with a thin spout for pour over, or the hotel kettle. Just off the boil suits every brewer here. The moka pot goes on the flame itself.
A hand grinder, maybe
Want it fresher still? A good hand grinder costs about $100 to $250 and does a cup in under a minute. Set it coarse for a plunger, medium for an AeroPress, fine for a moka pot.
Keep it cool
Roll the bag down tight and keep it out of the sun and off the dash. A hot car flattens good coffee in a day.
Good to know
Travel coffee, answered.
For two or three of you, the YETI Rambler French Press. It holds a litre, keeps it hot, and the filter shuts the grounds away when you press, so the second cup isn't bitter. On your own, a 3 cup Bialetti Moka Express on the camp stove. For the whole campsite, the 1.4 litre Stanley.
The AeroPress Go. The press, the filters and the stirrer pack into its own mug, it's hard to break and it only needs a kettle. If you fly a lot, it's the one we'd pack.
Medium for an AeroPress or a V60, coarse for a French press like the YETI, Stanley or Espro, and fine for a moka pot. We grind People Everyday for AeroPress, plunger and espresso, so order the one that matches your brewer.
Yes. Every brewer here only needs hot water, and the moka pot goes straight on the flame. A small gas stove and a billy, or a thermos of water just off the boil, is all it takes.
About 15 to 18 grams a cup. A 250g bag makes 14 to 16 cups, so one bag does one person for a week, or two of you for a long weekend.
For the trip
Beans for the road.
People Everyday, our beach blend. Our flagship since 2017, smooth and easy black or with milk, and ground for whichever brewer you're packing.
Flat rate shipping $9.95 Australia-wide. Free over $90.
Going away often? Subscribe and save 20%, or see all three blends.
New to your brewer? . Brewing at home too? See the home machine guide.