Review – KFLOW Portable Travel Coffee Maker
I have made coffee in some wild and beautiful places… from a tiny tent at the top of an Austrian Alp, to the cabin of a sailing boat in the middle of a storm swept English Channel.
Coffee has become an integral ingredient in my adventures—as important as the lubricant on my chain of my bike or the map in my pocket.
Coffee outside always seems to taste better. When possible, freshly brewed coffee is also still my strong preference (although I am a great advocate and user of thermally insulated flasks to take coffee with you that you have brewed at home). The KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker came to my attention as a tool for outdoor coffee brews; it is a compact pump-action coffee maker, which could easily be transported in a pannier or bike bag.
A quick read of my post Brewing in the Wild – Adventure Coffee Tips will give you an idea of my normal coffee brewing techniques for back-of-beyond adventures; the KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker could be a sixth addition…
The KFLOW unit, whilst incredibly compact (smaller than a standard 500 ml water bottle) offers an impressive level of design: with a separate coffee chamber, water chamber, pump, and two integrated plastic coffee cups.
To use the unit, you tamp coffee down into the coffee capsule and screw it onto the base of the pump unit. You then fill the water chamber and screw on the seal-tight lid. Placing the unit inside the sheave/stand, and with a plastic cup underneath, you then pump the system to create a pressure of 15 bar (max) that forces the water through the coffee grounds and creates a rich espresso-like brew.
A full water chamber and full coffee chamber produces the equivalent of a large double espresso, with a good crema and retaining a good temperature.
I enquired with KFLOW about the choice of materials for the Portable Coffee Maker because I am a little plastic averse, and they came back to say that BPA/phthalates-free plastic was used because of its insulating properties and robustness—fair enough. Thankfully, there does not seem to be any plastic taste contaminating the brewed coffee.
The KFLOW design is impressive both in its compactness and its ability to deliver great tasting coffee with minimal additional apparatus; all you need take with you is the boiling water, as you could house the coffee for your brew within the coffee capsule ready to go, if you only want to make one coffee.
Overall, the KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker is a great option for those wanting an espresso style coffee in the wild. It is good value, well-made, and once you have practiced the technique a little it will give you a strong brew time and time again.
Coffee has become an integral ingredient in my adventures—as important as the lubricant on my chain of my bike or the map in my pocket.
Coffee outside always seems to taste better. When possible, freshly brewed coffee is also still my strong preference (although I am a great advocate and user of thermally insulated flasks to take coffee with you that you have brewed at home). The KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker came to my attention as a tool for outdoor coffee brews; it is a compact pump-action coffee maker, which could easily be transported in a pannier or bike bag.
A quick read of my post Brewing in the Wild – Adventure Coffee Tips will give you an idea of my normal coffee brewing techniques for back-of-beyond adventures; the KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker could be a sixth addition…
The KFLOW unit, whilst incredibly compact (smaller than a standard 500 ml water bottle) offers an impressive level of design: with a separate coffee chamber, water chamber, pump, and two integrated plastic coffee cups.
To use the unit, you tamp coffee down into the coffee capsule and screw it onto the base of the pump unit. You then fill the water chamber and screw on the seal-tight lid. Placing the unit inside the sheave/stand, and with a plastic cup underneath, you then pump the system to create a pressure of 15 bar (max) that forces the water through the coffee grounds and creates a rich espresso-like brew.
A full water chamber and full coffee chamber produces the equivalent of a large double espresso, with a good crema and retaining a good temperature.
I enquired with KFLOW about the choice of materials for the Portable Coffee Maker because I am a little plastic averse, and they came back to say that BPA/phthalates-free plastic was used because of its insulating properties and robustness—fair enough. Thankfully, there does not seem to be any plastic taste contaminating the brewed coffee.
The KFLOW design is impressive both in its compactness and its ability to deliver great tasting coffee with minimal additional apparatus; all you need take with you is the boiling water, as you could house the coffee for your brew within the coffee capsule ready to go, if you only want to make one coffee.
Overall, the KFLOW Portable Coffee Maker is a great option for those wanting an espresso style coffee in the wild. It is good value, well-made, and once you have practiced the technique a little it will give you a strong brew time and time again.
Thank you! This is what i need. It looks great.
ReplyDeleteGood information i read it well i would recommend it all
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