When you want to have espresso on the go, the first name in portable espresso is Handpresso. Yeah, you can have it anywhere.
What kind of coffee can it brew?
So the handpresso comes with portafilter adapters for brewing from ground coffee or ESE pods. Brewing is simple just pump it up until the pressure indicator is in the green zone. In my tests it took about 15 seconds to do about 35 pumps to get the needle into the green zone. After that fill with hot water to cover the 3 water level indicators. And then you’re ready to brew from either ground coffee using the domepod or an ESE pod over the adapter.
Attach the portafilter, turn the handpresso over your cup and press the start button to begin the extraction.
When your cup is filled as wished, press the button back up to release any excess pressure and that’s it.
Espresso
So how is the espresso? Well, for ground coffee I used whole latte love’s own Malabar Gold. It’s a coffee I know very well and I have to say the Handpresso produced a decent shot. Not quite as nice the doubles I pull from prosumer level machines using the Malabar Gold, but the basic characteristics of the coffee presented well.
ESE Pods
I used a 100% arabica medium roast from Illy. Now honestly I don’t often use ESE pods and as expected shots from pods are not at the same level as those from fresh ground whole beans. But if you are willing to give a little on quality, brewing from pods is incredibly convenient and the results from the handpresso are on par with those from lower cost entry-level machines brewing from ESE pods in a pressurized filter basket.
What about that insulated flask?
As mentioned, I did some testing with the insulated flask to see how long it would keep water hot enough for brewing. So I pre-heated some flasks and then filled with water just off a boil. As it turned out, the flasks kept the water above 194 degrees for about an hour. That’s the lower end of the espresso brewing range. At 2 hours the temperature was about 183 degrees in the flask. So for best results I’d suggest brewing within an hour of filling the insulated flask.
Things to be aware of
Now if you use ground coffee a couple things you should be aware of. First, and I’m not sure if this by design or a happy accident but the pump end of the handpresso is a good size for tamping ground coffee in the domepod. And second, you may want to consider the domepod case accessory which comes with and holds 3 filled Domepods ready to brew when you are.
That’s the Handpresso Wild Hybrid Outdoor Set. It’s available in 3 colors: black, silver and white and you can get it now at wholelattelove.com. It’s perfect for the espresso lover who can’t be without their favorite beverage. Have any questions? Use the comments below and I’ll get you the answers. Thanks for reading, and come back soon for more of the good stuff on everything coffee brought to you by Whole Latte Love.