We're coffee hounds here at Gearflogger, and we've been seduced time and time again by the promise of a travel press that would deliver the buzz wherever, whenever. None have impressed us enough to stay at the front of our already overloaded gear shelf, but lo! What is this? The Espro Travel Press, a really sweet little companion that does triple duty and does it very well.
The Espro is built around a 12 ounce stainless steel insulated double-wall vacuum bottle, finished in a handsome matte black that feels great in the hand and also resists fingerprints and cleans up easily. It's got just a tiny bit of hourglass shape to it, and at 2.75 inches in diameter will fit in any normal cupholder. It's easy enough to rinse everything out after using, and we found it kept hot for a couple hours and warm enough to drink for a couple more.
There are two lids, one a normal spill-proof cap (yes, we tried unsuccessfully to make it leak) and the second a french press assembly with two – count 'em two! – filters. Use both filters to press coarse grind coffee, and just one to make tea. The resulting coffee was significantly more sediment-free then from our Bodum french press, and just in case you want it even smoother there are paper filters included to put between the steel ones.
The only dings are that you can't easily add cream or sugar after pressing, and you have to take the lid all the way off to drink. But if you like your coffee black like we do, or you'll have access to cup when you get where you're going, you'll absolutely love the Espro. It's a high quality, well-designed insulated travel mug + coffee press + tea press that is an elegant solution for both travel and backcountry coffee snobs.