Ever wished you could take your awesome espresso maker to your friend’s house for a casual brunch party? Well, mypressi has heard your call and come up with a portable espresso maker, the design of which is so sleek and creative, it was included as a demo at the Wired “store” this past holiday season. The mypressi TWIST Portable Espresso Maker doesn’t yet have a rival for a combination of taste and convenience.
We all loved the espresso from this machine, which, granted, may have been due in part to our wonderful coffee choice. One of our Truly Obscure writers absolutely loves Americanos — espresso and water — as a lower caffeine replacement for coffee that is smoother and less astringent. Personally, I think espresso makers are the easiest way to make iced coffee — two shots of espresso, ice, milk, voila! — so I tend to think of espresso makers as a summer thing. It seems like a great gimmick to bring to brunches, but unfortunately some types of picnics are probably still beyond its grasp as extremely hot water (204 degrees or above) is required to let the espresso steep properly. But if you have a campfire or one of the simple water heaters we’ve reviewed, knock yourself out.
The mypressi TWIST also comes with a variety of attachments to switch out for a slightly different flavor and consistency. Three different ‘baskets’ and two different ‘showerheads’ can be combined for coarse grinds or fine, double shots or single, and also enable you to use pods for super-portability and easy clean-up. Regardless of attachments, thanks to the detachable parts everything is fairly easy to rinse— a good thing, because it is not dishwasher safe.
Generally, espresso makers need to utilize compression technology of some sort. mypressi TWIST makes use of very small gas cartridges containing N2O, the same stuff used in whipping cream. The cartridges allow this item to be completely battery and electricity independent, requiring no external power. Four cartridges come with the machine and they service 4 double shots or 8 single ones per cartridge. Additional cartridges can be purchased in packs of 24 for $15.99 on their site , which, if you calculate the maximum number of shots per cartridge, is about 12 shots of espresso for every dollar you spend on gas cartridges. Not too bad.
Generally, the advantages of the machine lie not so much in portability— after all it’s difficult for me to imagine dragging an espresso maker to parties— but in its compact size. It’s very easy to put away and drag out as needed. In a cramped kitchen, certainly an occasionally-used espresso maker doesn’t need to take up countertop space between the toaster and the rice cooker. So, you get to have an espresso maker around without feeling bad about not using it everyday.
Other advantages? Well, theft is unlikely. Not only is someone unlikely to know what it is, they’re even less likely to know how to open and use it without the manual. Well, unless they’re MacGyver.
Also, it may replace the ice pick as the defensive weapon of choice in the kitchen. It’s a little unwieldy, slightly unbalanced, and not even all that heavy, but we still think it could pack a serious swing against a ninja.
The mypressi TWIST is available for $169 on their site and also available from Amazon.