Looking to have a Shot of Home, Wherever You Are, here is a solution.
Intro
The Wacaco Pixapresso is an electric portable espresso maker designed for people who want espresso-style coffee while travelling, camping or working away from home.
Unlike many portable brewers, the Pixapresso heats its own water, runs from an internal battery and stores most of its accessories inside the unit. It also supports both 8 – 16g coffee doses through an adjustable basket system. [amazon.com], [brewcoffeehome.com]
After spending time with it, I came away more impressed than I expected.
The Pixapresso is not trying to compete with a prosumer espresso machine. It is trying to solve a different problem: making decent coffee when there is no proper espresso machine available.
In terms of cup quality, I found it comparable to many entry-level domestic espresso machines that use pressurised baskets. That’s a more realistic comparison than putting it up against a traditional espresso setup. The pressurised basket helps the Pixapresso produce consistent results across a wider range of grind sizes than a non-pressurised machine would manage.
Viewed from that perspective, it works surprisingly well.
Who Is It For?
The Pixapresso makes sense for:
- Frequent travellers
- Campers
- Caravan and overlanding enthusiasts
- Hotel coffee survivors
- Office workers who spend time on the road
- People who enjoy espresso-style coffee away from home
- Home brewer on a budget (at a push).
It makes less sense for someone who already has easy access to a proper espresso setup.
The value here is portability rather than absolute espresso quality.
What I Like
It Produces Better Coffee Than Most Travel Solutions
The biggest surprise was the cup quality.
The Pixapresso works across a reasonably broad range of grind sizes. I had success with everything from coarser espresso settings through to settings closer to V60 territory.
That flexibility makes it easier to use than many portable espresso makers, particularly when you’re travelling and don’t have ideal equipment available.
The pressurised basket design clearly helps here.
The 16g Basket Is Worth Using
Moving between the 8g and 16g modes is slightly confusing the first time you use the machine.
Once you understand how the basket system works, it becomes quite useful.
The 8g option is there if you need it. The 16g option produces a fuller, more satisfying cup and is the setting we would recommend for most people. , [brewcoffeehome.com]
You will get fewer brews from a battery charge when using larger doses, but the coffee is generally worth it.
Everything Packs Away Neatly
Wacaco has clearly spent time thinking about portability.
Most of the accessories fit neatly into the machine, which means there are fewer loose parts rolling around in a bag.
The overall package feels designed by people who actually travel with coffee gear. [brewcoffeehome.com], [thebasicbarista.com]
Build Quality Is Good
The Pixapresso feels solid.
There are plenty of plastic components, but nothing feels flimsy or poorly assembled. The machine feels capable of handling the sort of use a travel brewer is likely to experience.
Where It Falls Short
You Can’t See the Shot Properly
This is my biggest criticism. The machine is designed to brew directly into the opaque cup below it. That sounds convenient, but it means you cannot easily watch the extraction.
When you’re trying to dial in a grinder, seeing the flow rate tells you a lot about whether your grind is too coarse or too fine. The easiest solution is to hold the brewer above the cup during testing and watch the flow. It is less convenient, but it makes adjusting your grind setting much easier.
Once you’ve established the correct grind size, brewing directly into the cup becomes much more practical.
The Basket System Takes Some Learning
The adjustable basket is clever. Although it is not immediately obvious. Moving between the 8g and 16g does require losing a seal, and it is finicky moving back. We found the best results grinding 12g fine. The grinds then fitted in the standard config and the resultant brew was tasty. Going this way mean we could brew bigger cups without losing the espresso like mouthfeel and experience.
Clean Before You Travel
Everything packs away neatly. That can become a problem if you pack everything away dirty. Coffee oils and moisture trapped inside a travel kit are not pleasant when you open it several days later.
Before packing the Pixapresso for travel, make sure every component has been cleaned and dried properly. Future-you will appreciate it.
Not For Aircraft Cabins
Wacaco warns against using the Pixapresso on an aircraft because it is a self-heating appliance. If you’re travelling, wait until you’re in the lounge, terminal, hotel or campsite.
What We Didn’t Test
The Pixapresso supports coffee capsules. We didn’t test that feature.
Our view is simple: if you’re carrying a coffee grinder and fresh coffee anyway, capsules probably don’t belong in the bag.
Tea capsules are another conversation.
Coffee capsules are not.
Final Verdict
The Pixapresso solves a difficult problem. It provides a way to make a decent espresso-style coffee where a traditional espresso machine simply isn’t an option. The ability to heat its own water, accept different coffee doses and pack everything into a compact travel-friendly package makes it genuinely useful for travellers. [thebasicbarista.com]
It won’t replace a well-dialled-in espresso machine with a good grinder and a non-pressurised basket. What it can do is produce coffee that is comparable to what many entry-level domestic espresso machines with pressurised baskets achieve. That’s actually more impressive than it sounds when you consider the machine fits into a travel bag and heats its own water. The pressurised basket design is a big part of why it manages this.
It won’t magically produce café-quality espresso from a campsite, but at the same time it scratches and itch for an espresso in the wild. What it will do is give coffee lovers a practical way to avoid bad coffee while travelling.
And that’s enough to make it worth considering.
Pros
- Self-heating
- Compact travel design
- Good build quality
- Flexible grind tolerance
- Useful 16g option
- Love the flexibility of the goodies, like the tamper and cup being a single unit
- Accessories store inside the machine
Cons
- Hard to see extraction while brewing
- UI takes some learning
- Wish the funnel was a little more conical.
- Requires careful cleaning before travel
- Not suitable for use on aircraft
Score: 8.5/10
For coffee people who travel, the Pixapresso offers a practical way to take espresso-style coffee with you.
