Last summer on the road with Worldview Academy, coffee deprivation took its toll. Resolved never to go through that nightmare again, I set out to concoct the perfect coffee solution for my weeks on the road. First, let's consider the problem. It's simple enough to interrupt a road trip with a stop for coffee, but when you're staying in a college dorm for a week for what is essentially a summer camp, things can get tough; especially if you're in a small town without a Starbucks. So I was looking for a simple, portable solution where all I had to supply was ground coffee, water and an electrical outlet.

How about an electric moka pot?

Moka pots are small aluminum coffee makers that brew on the stovetop. Remember that scene in Greencard where Gerard Depardieu pulls an odd-looking metal cylinder from his bag, unscrews it, spoons coffee in and then plops it on Andie MacDowell's stove? That was a moka pot. But what do you do when you're sans a stovetop? Bialetti makes an electric version of the classic (at right), and judging from the Amazon reviews it appears to be popular with cubicle-dwellers who've decided to pass on the break room's instant coffee. To test this option, I bought an inexpensive moka pot and brewed some coffee. It was fine, but not up to the standard of the French Press to which I was accustomed. Still, it was a very portable solution.

Stovetop espresso without the stovetop, but aluminum construction far from ideal.

bodum is a coffee drinker's best friend, as water kettles like this prove.

How do you boil water without a stove?

Since I kept comparing results to the French Press, I decided that maybe a portable press was the way to go. The 12-cup Bodum Chambord we used at home was too big to carry around, but there was something to be learned from how we did things in the kitchen: we used an electric kettle by Bodum to boil water. While the electric moka pot heats the water and brews the coffee, a French Press is really just a beaker with a plunger, so there's no question of it heating its own water.

Searching at Amazon, I found a smaller version of the kettle we use in the kitchen (at left); it's the perfect size for travel use. Coupled with a French Press, it would be a bulkier solution than the moka pot, but it would also be more versatile, allowing me to heat water for making tea (or boiling Kool Aid, for that matter, if the urge struck me).

how about a mini-chambord to the rescue?

So forget about the travel press and step up to the 3-cup Chambord (right). It holds the same amount of water as its plastic cousin, but looks and works better.

Which combination will I travel with this summer? You know, it's hard to say. I appreciate the small size of the moka pot, but I like the coffee from the press better. Either option offers a portable, relatively simple path to caffeinated nirvana, though, so it was well worth the time to think it through.

12 ounces in chambord style.