Coffee is what makes the wheel spin and keeps the content churning here at Terradrift. We love it. We’re obsessed with it. We’re probably addicted to it. (Maybe you’ve seen our reviews of the Wacaco Nanopresso or five ways to brew coffee outdoors.) We drink it at home, on shoot days, when we travel, on the road, all the dang time. So we’re always on the lookout for innovative devices and methods of making it, i.e. the best mini coffee maker that we can take on the road with us.
‘Cause while we may lower myself to drinking instant coffee when I’m backpacking–listen, it’s way better these days than it used to be, OK?–when I’m road tripping, overlanding, camping, etc., I want good coffee, whether that’s from a french press, pour over, or pocket espresso machine.
Preferably good coffee that I can make in the back of my car at a rest stop or dispersed campsite. But I’ve also been known to bring my own coffee making devices into Airbnbs or hotels rooms.
I mean, those coffee pots are nasty. And Keurigs? Wasteful.
So allow me to introduce you to the Pakt Coffee Kit, a delightfully portable, travel coffee maker that packs up into one convenient little handheld package and contains literally everything you need to brew a great cup of coffee just about anywhere. Well, besides the coffee and the water, but you get what I’m saying.
So let’s break down what’s in this tidy little package, shall we?
Pakt Coffee Kit: What’s in this Portable Coffee Kit?
Like I said, everything you need is Inside this handy storage case. Open it up, and there’s a portable electric kettle. A portable electric kettle! Seriously!
On top of that sits a collapsible dripper funnel with a stainless steel reusable mesh filter. Huzzah for sustainability!
Inside the kettle is where everything else nests: a double-walled insulated travel mug with a lid, plus an air-tight coffee canister to store your beans or ground coffee. There’s even a scoop.
See? I said everything and I meant it.
But let’s make a cup and see how it performs.
Pakt Coffee Kit Review and How-To
First things first: unpack it all, fill the kettle to between the minimum and maximum fill lines, place it on the base, and push the power button. When the water has boiled, it will turn off automatically. You’ll need an outlet for this, obviously, but if you’re on the road, say roadtripping or camping with no electricity, you can plug it into any portable power station with that can handle at least 500w (like the BioLite BaseCharge 600).
While it boils, weigh your coffee (we love the tiny Wacaco Exagram for this), grind your beans if you prefer whole beans (we love our VSSL JAVA portable coffee grinder), And scoop that coffee into the reusable filter, which should obviously be nestled in the pour over device, which clicks together easily with just a little twist.
Pour your boiling water over your grounds into the travel coffee mug, weighing that too if you’re that kind of coffee connoisseur (we are), and when it’s all dripped out, drink up!
Easy peasy. And it makes a dang good cup of coffee. No paper filter required. I mean, this is good enough that Josh has been using it at home to brew his afternoon cup. No joke. And we love the tiny kettle, which is great when you have limited countertop space, too.
Bottom Line
So who is this delightfully compact portable coffee maker for? Well, we think it’s great for home use, but it’s also perfect for camping, road trips, overlanding, holiday visit to in-laws who don’t respect the bean the way you do, you name it. I would even take it into hotels and vacation rentals if the coffee options weren’t up to my standards, which, let’s be honest, they rarely are. It’s even air-travel friendly since there are no batteries!
This is seriously an extremely handy and well-designed piece of portable coffee-making machinery right here. It definitely gets Terradrift’s seal of approval. I think a ton of other people are gonna wanna get their hands on this, too. So check out the Pakt Coffee Kit for yourself here.
But if you’re looking for something a little more streamlined or maybe all you need is the pour over cone itself, check out this review we did of three collapsible pour over funnels. Or check out our post on 5 of the best coffee making methods for camping and backpacking.
Then, stay caffeinated my friends, no matter where you wander on.
Alisha is a freelance outdoor journalist and photographer based in Ogden, UT. She loves backpacking, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and snowboarding (even though she’s terrible at it). She’s also pretty sure she’s addicted to coffee. alishamcdarris.com