Building a van can be stressful; the last thing you want to stress about is what campervan coffee maker you will use. We’ve made it easy for you and put together a list of factors when picking your coffee maker. We’ve also included a list of coffee makers we’ve used ourselves and would recommend.
Can You Use A Coffee Maker In A Camper?
The short answer is yes! There are a lot of different factors that will vary from van to van. You will have to figure out if you have enough battery capacity to run a household coffee maker. You will have to also think about if there is enough space in your van for a large campervan coffee maker or if you’ll have to compromise.
Things To Consider Before Buying A Campervan Coffee Maker
When choosing a campervan coffee maker, there are some factors to keep in mind. Each of these factors depends on you, how you like your coffee, and what you are looking for.
Size
How much space in your van have you put aside for your campervan coffee maker? You can give yourself a ton of space in the campervan for coffee or compromise and try to go smaller. It all depends on you and your campervan space.
Portability
When in a van, you move a lot. You need to think about how easy is your campervan coffee maker to move. Do you want a larger machine that sits on the counter that you will need to move when you move your van, or would you like something you can stash away in a cabinet that you don’t need to worry about?
Capacity
How much coffee do you need to make at once? If there is more than one person drinking coffee every morning and you don’t want to spend the time making one cup at a time. You might want to consider a larger campervan coffee maker. When looking at a campervan coffee machine, the capacity may be a big thing to you. Many of the coffee makers for vanlife can only make one cup. You need to think about how important it is for you to make multiple cups simultaneously. Capacity and space can go hand in hand.
Power Draw
How much power is my campervan coffee maker going to draw? Most people are trying to be off-gride while traveling. While everyone tries to stay somewhere sunny, that’s not always possible. Sometimes you’ll have to deal with a few days of cloud cover. In that event, you do not want to worry about how much power an electric coffee maker draws or if you have enough battery power to run it.
Ease Of Use
How easy is it to use, and how easy is it to clean? You don’t want something super complicated that will take you too much time to prepare your coffee or clean up. Water can be a precious commodity in a van. You might want something easy to clean that uses very little water.
Budget
How much money does the product cost? As everyone knows, some coffee makers can cost an arm and a leg. Do you have a large budget to spend on a coffee maker, or do you have a smaller budget?
Top 4 Campervan Coffee Makers
These are the coffee makers I’ve used over the last few years, trying to meet each of the factors above. These may not be the best for you, but they all do have a lot of positive factors for the best Campervan coffee makers for vanlife.
Keurig Mini
Out of all the options, the Keurig is the most user-friendly. You can pop in a cup and make yourself a cup of coffee with a push of a button. It will only make you one cup at a time, but it is not difficult or time-consuming to make another cup.
The Keurig takes up the most space in overall volume from the list. The problem we had with a traditional coffee maker like this is it takes up space on the counter. Counter space is precious in a van because most vans have very little counter space. You would also have to place the campervan coffee machine in the sink or a cabinet or find a way to stick it to the counter while moving.
It also uses a significant amount of power. This means to use the machine safely, your van would need a larger inverter.
The Keurig is the most expensive out of the four options ranging between $60 and $90 depending on what you want. If the Keurig falls over while driving, you most likely will have to buy another one.
We have tried the Keurig, and it did not work for us because of the power draw and the amount of space it would have taken up on our counter. We also did not like using the K-cups because of the environmental impact. Personally, I’m not too fond of how the coffee tastes in a Keurig.
Pros
- Ease of use
- Easy to make a second cup of coffee
Cons
- It uses a lot of power
- It takes up a lot of space on the counter
- Not easy to transport
- Expensive
French Press Coffee Maker
A french press takes up very little space and can be easily stored in a cabinet while traveling. You don’t need any power with a French press unless you have an electric stovetop.
The nice thing about the french press is that it can make more than one cup of coffee at a time. This way, there is no wait for your coffee.
They usually don’t cost much, between 15 to 25 dollars. It is straightforward to make a cup of coffee; however, it can be messy to clean out the grounds. We used a lot of water to clean out the bottom chamber often. We also noticed that the metal filter did need to be replaced every few months, or you would start to get grounds in your coffee.
Most types of french press are made of glass, and we’ve had ours break on us from an accidental drop. They are easy to replace and get another one. Most stores sell french press in their coffee section.
We did use a french press for a long time; we chose to try a different kind of coffee maker after it broke. We did not like how much water we used to clean it out, and I wouldn’t say I liked the coffee because, at the time, I did not know they made paper filters for the French press.
Pros
- It makes more than one cup of coffee
- It’s cheap
- It uses no power
Cons
- It breaks easily
- It uses a lot of water to clean
- You will need to replace the metal filter
Pour-Over
Pour-overs are great because they use no electricity unless you have an electric stovetop. Most pour-overs are very cheap. We got this one for 20 dollars at Target.
It is easy to use and clean if you have a paper filter. You can get a lot of grounds in your sink if you don’t use a paper filter. You can buy the filters in any store that sells coffee, so it’s not a big deal.
Other pour-overs are the top half that you would put into your cup. They can be made out of plastic instead of glass like this one. I liked this one because I could make more than one cup of coffee and reheat the other cup if it got too cold.
However, this pour-over is top-heavy without coffee in the bottom and, if bumped, can fall over and shatter. We’ve broken our pour-over three times, but we are clumsy and often drop things.
It is a bit larger than a french press but not as large as the Keurig. It’s still easy to find a spot in your cabinet for a pour-over. If you go with the smaller pour-over, it will be even easier to store it away.
We loved the pour-over. We loved that it could make more than one cup of coffee. I loved the way the coffee tasted using the pour-over. We decided to try the Aeropress after we broke it the third time.
Pros
- It makes more than one cup of coffee
- It’s cheap
- It uses no power
- Easy to buy another
Cons
- It breaks easily
- It can get cold if you don’t drink right away
- It can take up more space
Aeropress
We saw many people in Vanlife using the Aeropress, and we wanted to try it. We have been highly impressed by it. We have the travel version where everything fits in a small cup. It’s been a lot easier to find space for a cup than all of the other campervan coffee makers.
It’s been effortless to make coffee and clean it out when done. We have to use very little water to clean it after use. You will need paper filters, and you will have to buy them online. However, you can buy 365 filters on Amazon, and they take up very little space.
AeroPress says you can make 3 cups of coffee with the go size and 4 cups with the regular-sized model. It depends on you and how you make it. Like with other options, this campervan coffee maker does not use any power unless you have a convection stove.
The AeroPress Go is $40. It has been worth every penny. We’ve dropped this coffee maker a few times like the other coffee makers on this list. Unlike the others, this one hasn’t broken. The AeroPress is made of very durable plastics, making it the best for traveling. I have been amazed by how good the coffee tastes. It makes some of the best coffee that you can get at home.
Pros
- It makes more than one cup of coffee
- It takes up only the space of a coffee cup
- It uses no power
- It’s extremely easy to clean and use
Cons
- You might need to buy filters online
TL;DR
Having the best campervan coffee maker for yourself is essential to most coffee lovers. In our opinion, the best coffee maker for us is the Aeropress. However, the best campervan coffee maker might be different for you.
These are the factors you need to consider when buying your coffee maker:
- Size: How much space do you have in your van?
- Portability: How easy are you able to move with this coffee maker?
- Capacity: How much coffee do you need to be made at once?
- Power Draw: How much power is this coffee maker going to draw?
- Ease Of Use: Is it easy for you to use and clean?
- Budget: Is the campervan coffee machine in your budget?
