Road Coffee

I travel a lot, and one of my constant concerns is where I can get a good cup of coffee on the road. You would think, considering what I do for a living, that I would be constantly surrounded by great coffee. But it's a perpetual surprise to find myself in situations where it's either bad coffee or no coffee at all.

I think we've all been there when stuck at an airport or, heaven forbid, on the airplane.

But even when fully on the ground, you often find yourself in situations where it's difficult to find good coffee. One of the dirty secrets of people who travel in the coffee industry is that coffee in coffee producing countries is not good. To begin with, all the good stuff gets exported. Local coffee is generally floor-sweepings and rejects. Even in places where there is a strong local coffee culture (and therefore some of the good stuff stays in the local market), like in Ethiopia, there's still no guarantee you'll get a decent cup. It's just like in the USA — there's good and there's bad and you can't always control what you get.

When I travel I always take a small french press, like the kind seen here (I use the fiberglass "unbreakable" one for obvious reasons). It's small, it's elegant, and it's functional.

Also interesting are these travel presses. But I prefer to drink out of a real cup like a civilized person, and anywhere you go in the world, there's always a cup, yes? The travel presses would be good for driving, I suppose, or maybe camping (but really... is it that hard to bring a tin cup?)

If it's a short trip, I will pre-grind some fresh roasted coffee and store it in a ziplock bag. If it's a longer trip, I will take some ground coffee to get me through the first few days, and some whole bean coffee for later. If you look hard enough, you can always find a way to get your coffee ground. If I'm working a coffee job, I impose upon the people I am working with. If not, I hang out at the local café and make a friend on the staff.

If you bring fresh coffee and a way to prepare it, the only consistent problem you will have will be getting water that is hot enough. I learn how to say "really, really hot water" in the local language (in Amharic: "bet'am bet'am mook ooha"), but it still usually takes a while for a hotel staff to get it right. People often think you want water that has been boiled (at some time in the past, for health reasons), rather than water that is literally boiling hot. At the cozy little hotel I have stayed at many times in San Salvador, they know me as "hot water man." What a pleasure it was to have the woman who does the cooking there bring me super hot water as soon as I sat down at the breakfast table last time.

Uusally I do my best to blend in when I travel. But of course making your own coffee at the table is strange, whether you are in Addis Ababa or Alabama. It tends to make one stick out a little.

But there are certain things in life that must not be sacrificed.

Comments

[M]

Glad to know I am not the only one who travels in the coffeelands with a French press and goes through the same calculation about pre-grinding based on the length of my trip. I used to use the lower-end plastic Bodum travel press but two of them broke on me. Now I take the small stainless press, which takes a little more room but withstands a lot more punishment...

Anyway, two recommendations for extraordinary coffee on your travels in the coffeelands: Ben's Coffee in San Salvador and Palo Alto coffee in Cali, both of which are devoted to promoting specific origins for domestic markets and roasting with real precision...We need more like these elsewhere!

M

[Daniel Humphries]

Thanks for the recommendation on Palo Alto in Cali. I will be sure to check it out if I am there.

I've been to Ben's and had a couple of very nice cups of coffee there. However I have some close personal friends at Viva Espresso which is just across the central square of the Gran Via from Ben's. Federico Bolaños does roasting in-house there. Last year they bought a small portion of a Cup of Excellence lot and roasted it in-house for their customers. That was the first time that anyone in a CoE country was serving the coffee for people in that country, that I know of. Plus their baristas have won the El Salvador championship two years in a row. So check out Viva Espresso too!

[mike P]

The Norwegian team in the Nordic barista cup this last year had a great idea. They actually brought an aeropress onto the plane to make coffee on their way to Iceland for the event. Much better than my typical in-flight beverage.

[Daniel Humphries]

An aeroplane aeropress. I like it.

[K]

To M: Just wanna add some correction, Ben's Coffee was the fisrt company in El Salvador selling cup of excellence coffees, in 2007 at the launching with "La Montaña Estate". Until this year 2009, Viva Espresso (before called "Baristi", a copy of Café Barista in Guatemala) was only selling coffee from their own Farm, Santa Petrona. Their barista won the national championship because no member of Ben's Coffee staff went to the event,so their Baristas competed against Esso On the Run Baristas...so well...we must see later when Ben's participate! In my opinion Ben's Coffee is far away better than is neighbour of La Gran Via, but you can go in both place and make your own personal opinion! Enjoy salvadorean coffee, so good!

[Federico]

Funny comment Mr. K because it is misleading and is not based on facts.

Viva Espresso was indeed the 1st coffeshop to purchase a Cup of Excellence coffee the year the coffee won the award. You can find Viva Espresso as an official buyer in this link from the Cup of Excellence website: http://www.cupofexcellence.org/WhatisCOE/ListofBuyers/2008Buyers/tabid/291/Default.aspx
Try finding Ben's Coffee in any year...you won't. This is becuase they have only purchased coffee that won on previous years, meaning they are no longer active COE coffees, just good coffee with awards in their history.

With regards to the Barista Championships that Viva Espresso has won:
Viva Espresso has won 3 barista championships so far: 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2009 Viva Espresso took 1st and 2nd place, Ben's barista was disqualified. In 2010 Viva Espresso's barsitas won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place...Ben's staff ended 4th and 6th.

Besides the above awards, Viva Espresso can add the following awards at those competitions: "Best Espresso" in 2008, 2009, 2010, "Best Cappuccino" in 2008 & 2009, and "Best Signature Drink" in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Viva Espresso has also proved it's barista excellence internationally against the very best of the world. In 2009 a barista from Viva Espresso ranked 9th in the World Barista Championship.

This are facts, not fictional or pretentious comments.

[Federico]

Viva Espressos's barista Alendro Mendez, who won the 2010 salvadoran barista championship, made it to the top 12 baristas in world by reaching the semifinals at the 2010 World Barista Championship in London!!!

Come and enjoy world-class coffee made by award-winning baristas at Viva Espresso.