An espresso machine in your backpack? Minipresso says yes
The Minipresso is a hand-pumped coffee gadget that's supposed to provide you with traditional machine-quality coffee in a portable package.
While there's something to be said -- a lot to be said, really -- for cowboy coffee, a fine espresso is a wonder unto itself. And the Minipresso looks like it's the solution to how to get espresso on the go that we never knew we needed: compact like a vacuum flask, yet able to deliver a freshly made, hot cup of joe.
"Doesn't matter if you're going away for few hours or a fortnight, space and weight are major factors when you select your travel equipment," the description reads. "Minipresso has been designed to be the smallest, lightest and most versatile handheld espresso machine. It's also the first of its kind to integrate an espresso cup."
Its secret is a semi-automatic piston, which you pump by hand. Packed inside the flask's casing are a water reservoir; a filter at one end, where you place either a Caffitaly capsule or coffee grounds using a special adapter; a pump; and a cup, which fits as a cap on the top of the flask.
To extract espresso-machine-quality coffee, maker Wacaco says, you pump the piston by hand a few times to build up extraction pressure. Then you continue to pump to extract the coffee -- in the video, it has a lovely crema on top. For a ristretto, you pump 13 times; for an espresso, 18 times; and for a double espresso, 28 times.
The standard size is 6.95 inches (17.6cm) tall, weighing just 0.8 pound (363g), with a tank that can hold 2.35 ounces (69.5ml) of water, and is available to preorder for just $39, which converts to about £25 or AU$45 -- Wacaco ships internationally. The Minipresso is supposed to be shipped in early 2015, and at some point in the future, the company plans to release a 4.6-ounce (136ml) tank that can be used with your existing Minipresso.