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My Travel Coffee Setup
This is exactly what I carry. Fits in my backpack. Makes real espresso anywhere
Field Record: Chiang Mai, Thailand · Apr 2026
I arrived at a hostel after a long night bus from Bangkok. The place was surrounded by mountains — genuinely beautiful. The hostel coffee was instant powder in a paper cup. I unpacked the WACACO Picopresso, ground 250g of beans I’d carried from Bangkok, and had real espresso on the terrace before 7am. The mountains looked better with a proper coffee in hand. That morning is why this kit stays in my bag.
Here is Actual Test
Brew espresso coffee with Wacaco Nanopresso, here are brief process and tips for your best espresso coffee anywhere
Brew a full double shot espresso enough caffeine to kick your day
The wide 52mm commercial coffee basket holds 20g coffee comes with tamper and fennel. Thanks for this funnel, so you can tamp evenly like pro.
Excellent Brewing System
18 bars of pressure a hand powered brew espresso system give you clear and rich, syrupy, and balanced flavour espresso coffee that will surprise you.
Portability
Only 349g 10.5cm tall, 7.8cm wide, it fits in the palm of your hand, perfect for traveling and camping
- 1: Today I’m testing the WACACO Picopresso
- 2: It is a hand powered espresso device that holds 18-20 g of coffee, 18 bars of pressure
- 3: Put the hot water in the water tank pumping 10 times for warm the system
- 4: I use Lavazza ground coffee for this machine today( grinding is matter for hand powered machine, if it’s too fine, very hard to pump and the espresso taste will be not clear(I actually forgot to bring my own grinder)
- 5: Put Coffee in coffee basket using fennel, and tamping
- 6: Set the portafilter to the water tunk
- 7: put the hot water in the water tank, and close lid on
- 8: Count 8-10 strokes, and wait 10 seconds for the pre-infusion.(similar to drip coffee, brewing process)
- 9: Start pumping into the cup and stop again once you have reached an output ratio of 1:2 (18g of grind for 36g of espresso).
- 10: Taste the brewed espresso. I was so amazed it’s a clear and deep flavour espresso coffee that’s coming out from this machine.
- 11: You can see crafting quality by drinking espresso from this machine
- 12: WACACO Picopresso has tamper with fennel so you can evenly tamp like a professional barista do
What Actually Works — and What Doesn’t
Works
- 8 bar of pressure, producing a rich, café-quality espresso.
- Compact, weighing around 300g, it is designed for hiking, camping, and travel.
- No power required — works in tents, hostels, anywhere
Doesn’t Work
- Takes 4 minutes — not for people in a rush
- Needs hot water source — hostel kettle or camping stove
- Cannot froth milk, manual pumping required.
- Cleanup takes 2 minutes — small but worth knowing
Who is this set up for?
This portable espresso machine gives you real café-grade espresso and
portability. And this is for person who care about real espresso
This Set Up for;
- You have already used other espresso machine and want to try better one.
- You are looking for portable cafe-grade espresso machine
- You like brewing espresso coffee even it takes time
- You are a barista and want to drink real espresso anywhere
Not for you if;
- You’re not big fun of espresso coffee
- You’re counting every gram — this adds 300g+
- You don’t like the hand pump mechanism.
- You’re looking for an easy brewing system
Real café-grade espresso at 6am in the mountains. No queue. No bad coffee. Just the view and a cup that actually tastes like something. That’s what this kit gives you. Not luxury — just your standard, maintained.
The WACACO Picopresso
The ultimate tool for the coffee pro,specialty enthusiast who demand high-quality espresso wherever they go.
