Every adventure deserves the “best cup” to accompany it! A portable coffee machine that extracts automatically in 3 minutes

Why does coffee taste so much better when enjoyed outdoors? As long as you have beans or capsules and water, you can brew it right there. I'm intrigued by the portable coffee equipment brand "NICOH," which has intensified its expansion in Japan.

Instant noodles take the same time as "on-the-spot espresso"

First, what catches my attention is the "NK-H01A Portable Electric Espresso Machine." By filling it with water and pressing a button, it heats the water and brews espresso right in the unit. With 40ml of room temperature water, it takes about 3 minutes to reach the extraction temperature. When we think of portable, we often assume it requires pre-heated water, but with this one, you can easily start with just water.

Product name: NK-H01A Portable Electric Espresso Machine
Price: 34,800 yen
Color: Gray
Maximum pressure: 20 bar
Water tank capacity: 80ml
Weight: 990g.

The extraction pressure is up to 20 bar. In addition to about 14g of ground coffee, it is also compatible with NESPRESSO original capsules. The unit size is 73×73×236mm, and the weight is 990g. It's not as light as a thermos, but considering that it has a heating mechanism and pump for brewing espresso, it feels compact in this size.

Ground coffee? Capsules? Both, right?

Product name: / NK-H02 Portable Electric Espresso Machine
Price: / 27,800 yen
Color: / White, Black
Weight: / Approximately 860g.

Even if you can take it out, if it can only use dedicated capsules, the choices become limited. Both the NK-H01A and "NK-H02" are compatible with ground coffee and NESPRESSO original capsules. Today, I will grind my favorite beans and take them with me. On days when I want to reduce my baggage, I will just take the capsules. It can be changed according to where you are going and your luggage.

The H01A comes with a dedicated stand, tamper, dosing ring, and even an aluminum alloy case that can store them all together. Instead of just carrying a coffee machine, it feels like taking a whole small coffee set with you. If you keep it in your car, there is also the joy of having a cup as soon as you arrive at your destination.

Just having hot water is enough

Product name: / NK-B07 Portable Electric Mill Coffee Maker
Price: / 14,800 yen
Color: / White, Gray
Hopper capacity: / Approximately 25g
Weight: / 840g.

If you want to enjoy your usual hand drip instead of espresso even outdoors, the "NK-B07 Portable Electric Mill Coffee Maker" is the way to go. It has a grinder on top, and once the beans are ground, they go directly into the filter below. The hopper capacity is about 25g, and the grind size can be adjusted in stages. It also features a double-layer stainless steel filter, so there is no need to prepare paper filters every time.

Combining the grinding and dripping into one unit, it weighs 840g. You will need to prepare hot water separately, but with the beans and the NK-B07, you can enjoy freshly brewed coffee anywhere as long as you have hot water. It's nice to grind the beans at home, but grinding them with the push of a button just before drinking is a true coffee lover's habit.

The joy of brewing your own coffee

If you already have a dripper and coffee gear, adding just an electric grinder is also an option. The three models "NK-M08", "NK-M09", and "NK-M11" are all rechargeable. The M08 and M11 use a conical stainless steel 5-blade design, while the M09 features a 6-blade design. Among them, the M11 supports USB Type-C charging and can be used approximately 30 times per full charge with 15g of coffee beans per use.

Product Name / NK-M08 Portable Electric Coffee Grinder
Price / 11,800 yen
Color / Gray, Rose Gold.

Product Name / NK-M09 Portable Electric Coffee Grinder
Price / 13,800 yen
Color / Brown, Black.

Product Name / NK-M11 Portable Electric Coffee Grinder
Price / 9,800 yen
Color / Gray.

Are you leaving everything up to the espresso? Are you consolidating everything from grinding to dripping into one machine? Or are you just adding an electric grinder to your usual tools?

Looking at the six models from NICOH, I felt that they were developed as tools to pursue the enjoyment of brewing coffee for oneself, not just for drinking coffee outside. Once you've decided on your destination, the next question is, what will you drink there? You start to think about it as a whole set.