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Wacaco Nanopresso review
The Wacaco Nanopresso is one of the most portable espresso machines on the market. It is a unique and well-designed kit that will provide you with a great cup of coffee in the morning. We bet you’ll have the best espresso at the campsite. A perfect piece of gear for an adventurous lifestyle. But is it as good as they say, or are there some drawbacks? Let’s find out!
For us, a good day of exploration starts with a high-quality cup of coffee. It’s the black liquid that gets our day going. With our overlander lifestyle, we take on a new adventure, whilst still processing the previous. There’s no certainty in this lifestyle, every day will present new challenges.
Luckily for us, the one constant in life is a good cup of coffee in the morning. Our Nanopresso provides us with comfort, whilst kickstarting our day at the same time.
What is the Nanopresso?
The Nanopresso is a hand-powered portable espresso maker. The innovative Wacaco Company designed the press, one of the newest generations of travel coffee makers on the market. The patented pumping system creates a stable 18 bars of pressure, resulting in a great extraction and tasteful coffee. With this, it’s competing with top-of-the-line barista espresso machines and will outcompete most household machines with ease.
Thanks to the well-engineered design it will turn 8 grams of ground into a nice brew with a dense crema layer. According to Wacaco, the device works best with an extra fine grind. However, you have to stay away from the finest grinds cause these will get in between the rubbers, as we’ve learned the hard way.
Looking at simplicity (and things that can break) it has more parts than the famous mokkapot or French press, but still works pretty straightforward, as can be seen in the video below. Also, the whole Nanopresso can be easily taken apart for a deep clean, which is a big win for us. During our travels, we live off-the-grid and don’t have access to washing facilities or a kitchen that often. A quick rinse must be sufficient enough.
When living on the road space and weight are also something to take into consideration. Wacaco kept this in mind when designing the press and has managed to keep the weight down to 336 grams and kept the length at 15,6 cm. It’s easy to pack and hold in your hand.
Wacaco Nanopresso specifications
- On-the-go espresso maker
- Works with coffee grounds
- Up to 18 bars of pressure
- Compact and versatile
- Water capacity: 80 ml
- Ground capacity: 8 gram (16 grams with the Barista Kit addition)
- Size: 15,6 x 7,1 x 6,2 cm
- Weight: 336 grams
Pros
- The Nanopresso body is very solid and can withstand a fall.
- It’s lightweight and small. Great for storing it in the vehicle or when taking it on a backpacking trip.
- The pump is sturdy and firm.
- It provides a good cup of coffee with a nice and dense crema layer.
- It gives a true espresso coffee, comparable to high-end coffees from your local barista.
- It’s easy to use and your coffee is ready in less than a minute.
- The product is fairly easy to clean. Taking it apart for a deep clean is easy, but most times a rinse will do just fine.
Cons
- You do need an external source of hot water, as with most camping coffee products. You can bring the Wacaco Nanovessel to bring hot water with you to the outdoors, which is a nice addition.
- Once cleaned the drying process can take quite a long time. You can’t really dry it with a towel due to the construction. Sometimes we just store it a bit damp, which probably is no problem if you use it later in the day or the next morning.
- You’ll get real espresso shots. That’s great, but it’s just not a lot of coffee. You can double it by buying the Barista Kit.
- If the grind is too fine it will get in between the plastic parts and the rubber, causing leakage. This won’t cause permanent damage, it’s just annoying.
Would we buy it again?
Depending on what coffee you like, it will definitely be a great addition to your coffee arsenal. If you love espresso as much as we do it’s a great piece of kit and the quality of the product is top-notch. With the Wacaco Nanopresso, it’s easier to get constant quality than with a mokkapot for example. That’s why we really like it, operating is easy and the coffee is tasteful.
We’ve been using this product full-time for more than 18 months now. We take it anywhere in any environment. With all the vibrations and bumps that come with overland travel, it’s been fairly abused, although we do keep it in the official case. The Wacaco Nanopresso meets our requirements and has withstood the test of time. It truly is a high-quality product. If you’re into espresso and love to travel we advise you to buy one as well, you won’t be disappointed!
Our approach for gear reviews
As long-term overlanders we fully understand the need for high-quality and reliable gear. We know that if gear isn’t up to standard it can hinder your adventures, resulting in discomfort or a dangerous situation.
We write our reviews after extensive testing and with you – an adventurous overlander – in mind. We hope you appreciate our information, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Barista Kit addition
As you can see in the pictures we’ve added the Barista Kit to our coffee arsenal. Thanks to this addition we can get stronger espressos, bigger espressos, and just more of the good stuff. The standard Nanopresso is great, but we consider the Barista Kit a necessary addition if you love espressos or are with two or more people.
Check out these product shots
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