I’m a coffee lover.  I love to start my day with a cuppa joe, savoring the flavor as I check my email inbox, read the overnight news, check my RSS feeds, and plan out the rest of my day.

When I’m traveling, however, I don’t always have that same luxury.  I’m relegated to hotel room coffee, (usually blah tasting) or a nearby coffee shop (often not open in those wee hours of the morning, not to mention the ding it makes it my budget).  But I gotta have my coffee – so it means settling for swill or ponying up the bucks.

I’m giving serious consideration to the Handpresso Wild, a portable espresso machine than is small enough to pack and can be used nearly anywhere.  It wouldn’t take up any room in a suit case.

To use it you do need hot water to start with.  In a hotel room that’s easily acquired by using the coffee maker or some pack an immersion unit (or hot pot).  Once you have the hot water, you pump the handle of the gadget a couple of times to prime the pump, then add water and an espresso pod.  Turn it upside down and push a button – voila!  Espresso.

Here’s a video of how it looks, and it seems pretty simple.

I realize this is for the hard core coffee lovers, and not everyone will bother with the effort, but my mind is running amok with the possibilities.  Make your hotel stay a little more like home by starting the day with a cup of the real thing.  Pack a thermos of hot water and have an espresso on a breakfast picnic.  Take it to the beach for an espresso by the fire to watch the sunset.  You could use it at home as well, and it will take up less room than a big counter machine, but I think it’s real value is in traveling situations.

The unit has come down in price since I first had my eye on it, and it retails online for about $100.  Not cheap, but for a coffee lover with a daily fix, the cost can be recovered quite quickly.  It is available in black and red; a variety of accessories are also available.

Are you a daily coffee drinker?  Does this seem like a splurge or a justifiable treat?

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