Flightster

Good coffee while you travel

• by Shannon Albert
• on December 22nd, 2010
• 6 Comments

I’m admittedly late to the coffee game. I didn’t start drinking it regularly until my 30s and now I don’t want to go without a cup or two of good coffee most days of the week. This poses some issues while traveling because we don’t always have access to the kind of coffee we’ve grown to love. Here are some options I’ve discovered that will hopefully help.

Drink Local

There are many types of trips but if you’re going to a new place with a new type of culture then finding a local place can be part of the charm. You get a chance to mingle with locals and possibly discover a great cup of coffee. Worst case scenario, you’re out a couple of dollars. Sites like CoffeeTrip.com make it easier to locate coffee shops where you’re headed. There are also apps you can install on your smartphone that will help you find coffee shops near you. You may also try a service called Vark.com which allows you to ask any question and then they find somebody to send you an answer via email, IM or Twitter.

Bring your own coffee

If you want to be able to make it yourself, you can easily bring your own grounds along with you (be sure to bring your own filters too just in case you’re staying at a hotel that uses pods with pre-filled coffee). Die hards might even bring their own beans and travel with a grinder to make it that much fresher. I’m not that ambitious and may even resort to using the Starbucks Via instant coffee packets that you can mix with hot water or cold milk. For a mocha flavor, adding a bit of chocolate soy milk (which doesn’t have to be refrigerated so it’s very travel-friendly) is a nice on-the-go option.

Bring your own coffee maker

I was lucky enough to receive a French press coffee maker this week as a Christmas gift. Though I’d been looking into how to have good coffee while traveling, I’d never considered a French press because I’m not sure I knew what it did. It looks like I’ve been missing out! Many people pack this handy little device in their luggage so they can have a good cup of coffee without even needing electricity. You’ll need to have access to hot water but campers will often boil it over an open fire to use with their French press.

What about you, my fellow caffeine addicts? What have you done to make sure you get a good cup of coffee while away from home?

Shannon Albert

Shannon loves to share awesome, fun and hopefully useful info that she's collected and to connect with other travel freaks. She loves the planning part of travel as much as the traveling itself. Shannon's background includes working as a web developer and as a digital producer for an advertising agency. She lives in Texas with her husband, 2 kids and dog. New York City is her favorite city. Her blog is shannonalbert.com.