Every travel site has discussions of in-room coffee makers, etc. I need in room coffee first thing in morning. Ive yet to find room service, or a little one cup brewer that suffices. I like very dark roast brew. Not about the money... Id order room service if I could get a decent cup. I travel light, carryon only if 4-nights or less. Ordered but returned a collapsible kettle. I travel with one of those old immersion heaters, and a collapsible pour over. Bring coffee. Find, or buy cheap mug... leave the mug behind at departure Anyone have other tricks? Know a way to get genuinely strong, hot brew delivered? Know a hotel that will send a coffee maker to room?
A few years ago on a five night stay we stopped by Fry's in Vegas and bought a full sized coffee maker for ten dollars. We brought our own coffee and this worked great and then just left the maker at the end of our stay.
If you have privilege (card level) or $$$ some hotels will provide a coffee maker to the room. 7* used to get Keurig in their rooms at Cromwell if requested. there have been several threads about who does and who doesn't, and what types. There are coil heaters that you can plug in and make hot water if you want to make a cup of instant, or with a little ingenuity, you can make a cup of drip.
When I stay at hotels without an in-room coffee maker, I'll bring a few cans of Monster or Red Bull so I can get my caffeine fix within 5 minutes of rising. That buys me enough time to get downstairs and buy a proper cup of coffee.
A portable French press combined with an immersion heater will get your coffee as strong as you like. I usually travel with two or three immersion heaters since my wife likes tea as well in the morning. I'll usually boil 2 cups of water in the disposable room cups because the immersion heaters work best when they reach near the bottom of the cup. The Stanley has the added benefit of keeping the water hot where as some lesser insulated presses let it get too cool while steeping.
This. I do this, but I stop at Walmart ($10.84 for a 12 cup coffee maker). A full pot of my favorite coffee every day. I bring up a glass of milk at night to put in the fridge (or on ice) for the morning.
I bought online a 1 cup keurig knockoff for $19. It doesn't take up much room and I bring a box of k cups. Drinking it black makes it even simpler.
If you're picky about your coffee, I'd suggest avoiding the in-room coffee machine approach, as they're usually not very good. I remember reading something about how a Clark County ordinance prohibits traditional coffee pots in hotel rooms, so the only ones you'll find in Vegas are the "pod" or "filter basket" single cup serving types. Off the top of my head, a few hotels (and room types) that have in-room coffee for sure... - Main Street Station - Plaza (Luxe rooms) - Four Queens - El Cortez (Keurig) - Sam's Town - Gold Coast If you absolutely need GOOD coffee in the morning, I think that the most reliable thing to do would be the "buy a coffee maker and leave it behind" approach. Figure that will cost you $20-ish for a coffee maker, coffee, filters, and a mug or some cups. Divide that by four nights, it's the same cost as buying Starbucks every morning. One other suggestion, what about buying bottled/canned iced coffee and putting it in the fridge or on ice? That's something I've started doing at home as I don't always have the energy to make coffee in the morning, so I keep some bottled iced coffee in the fridge and I can get my fix without having to wait for anything.
I always take an immersion heater. Some of Starbucks instants aren't too terrible, so I've used those. The little basket in my single cupper at home fits in the top of my take along coffee mug, so I've used that too. I also ordered a bunch of empty tea bags, which I've tried coffee in. It works okay. I don't think any of these methods are ideal, but I rate them drinkable. When I'm on vacation I gotta have my coffee and snacks in bed in the morning. I use my Brita to filter the water or use bottled. Can't make coffee with that stuff straight out of the tap.
I've always wondered how often do they clean/replace those coffee makers in the hotel rooms, especially Keureg machine which have a lot of nooks and crannies inside that can become pretty gross over time. LOL That's one reason why I don't use the coffee makers in the room. It's definitely safer to bring your own coffeemaker or just walk down to the nearest Starbucks. Years ago, I use to carry one of those immersion heaters to make tea in my room, but nowadays I just head down to Starbucks or wherever I decide to have breakfast for my morning coffee.
I travel with just carry on luggage and manage to fit in a .5 liter electric water kettle (Bodum)...and bring a package of Cafe Bustelo instant espresso ...it's nice to have some coffee and pastry without having to leave the room in the AM..
I use to think "How can my Dad drink coffee black?!?! It's so bitter!", but then again, I see people drinking tea with lemon, sugar, and cream (which I could never do). In my Dad's case, when you don't have much money, you drink it black. In my case, I drink tea black (without any additives), because that is what I drank before I drank coffee, and that's how it was served in my house. Sorry, didn't mean to digress the post. Made my contribution earlier.
I too love my coffee. I’ve used the Starbucks Italian roast VIA instant with a hotpot to heat the water. Lately though, I just get a latte at Eataly and I’m good. If I really needed that dark roast black coffee, I’d travel with pour over brewer, filters, hotpot and a container of freshly ground extra dark roast. My current fave is Black Rifle Coffee Co’s Murdered Out. So delish.
My Black and Decker one cupper has served me well for years. Fits in a carry on, and I always have cups and coffee packs along. I will usually indulge in 2-3 cups while getting ready for the day. One of my fave Vegas parts of the day.
I think about this problem because I travel for work sometimes, but they're mostly 2 day trips and I pack very light. But for a longer trip, such as 6 nights in Vegas, the Aero Press would work. I use one at work right at my desk. I think it's great and you can tailor it to your taste. At work I have a kettle, but that immersion heater would work. The problem with the immersion heater and the Aero Press is you need a cup for the coffee, and a cup for heating. So maybe the portable kettle would make more sense. I have about a week to figure this out, lol. Great thread!
I have a small kettle and instant coffee. Takes about as much space in my luggage as a pair of shoes.
Sounds like you've already tried the Collapsible kettle. I bring one of those with some of the Starbucks via Instant, which I find fairly decent for instant coffee.