I’ve found the best coffee gadget for camping trips — the Wacaco Cuppamoka is like no other

Wacaco makes some of the best coffee makers around, and the Wacaco Cuppamoka is no different. While simple, the Cuppamoka is unequivocally fantastic thanks to its retractable dripper and leakproof sippy lid. It’s the perfect on-the-go coffee accessory for active pour-over lovers.

As with the rest of Wacaco’s range, the Cuppamoka is designed for travel and outdoor adventures. With the Cuppamoka, users can drink fresh pour-over specialty coffee wherever they are in the world. There’s little cleanup, too, thanks to the handy collecting pad. The paper filters are completely compostable so you can dispose of them in the wild.

While the Cuppamoka isn’t the most versatile option on the market, it’s a sound choice for pour-over enthusiasts who need their coffee fix while running errands or on week-long camping trips. At $34, it’s around the same price as some of the best portable coffee mugs, too. Could it be the newest gadget on your next camping trip? Find out in this Wacaco Cuppamoka review.

Wacaco Cuppamoka: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Pour-over lovers who need fresh coffee when they’re out and about
• What does it do well? Sinfully easy to use
• What are its weaknesses? It’s max 10 ounces, so you can’t make coffee for the whole hiking crew
• Anything else to know? You need to buy filters — don’t worry, though, as it uses ubiquitous V60 filters

Wacaco Cuppamoka: Specs

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: Price & availability

The Wacaco Cuppamoka is $34 from Amazon U.S. and £34 from Amazon U.K.. It’s one of the cheaper Wacaco options; the espresso makers Minipresso GR2 and the Nanopresso are $59 and $69 respectively. There’s a reason it’s cheaper: the Cuppamoka is a pour-over + thermos combi coffee maker, whereas the Minipresso GR2 and Nanopresso are designed to brew espresso. The $49 Pipamoka is probably the most similar gadget on Wacaco’s lineup: it’s a type of portable, miniature french press that transforms into a thermos cup.

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: Design

As with every other coffee maker on Wacaco’s roster, the Cuppamoka is an engineering marvel. The stainless steel cup is designed so the extendable dripper, scoop, and accessories slot away inside. It comes with a leakproof sippy lid so you can transform the gadget from dripper to cup in seconds. I tipped the Cuppamoka upside down and threw it around (aggressively) and it did not leak once. I would happily throw this into my backpack full of boiling water, safe in the knowledge it would not leak.

The main body of the Cuppamoka is double-walled insulated stainless steel. Wacaco claims it can keep liquid hot for up to 3 hours — maybe in the harshest of outdoor conditions — but I found it lasted more like 6 hours with the lid firmly secured.

The retractable dripper funnel twists easily, with no jamming or sticky areas. I’ll discuss the brewing process more in depth in the ‘Performance’ section below, but for a quick run-down, the Cuppamoka comes with a collecting pad and silicone ring to prevent mess while traveling. After brewing, I put the retractable funnel on the collecting pad to stop dripping.

The Cuppamoka comes with a 20g scoop, which is a little more coffee than I’d recommend using. My ideal ratio for pour-over is 1:16, which means I’d recommend around 18g for the Cuppamoka’s full capacity instead. Obviously, though, if you like a stronger coffee or have a penchant for using lighter roast beans, this might be closer to the full 20g scoop. I used the Cuppamoka with my Wacaco Exagram Pro scale, which helped me make the perfect coffee. I’ll run through my brewing routine thoroughly in the ‘Performance’ section below.

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: Performance

I tested the Cuppamoka over three weeks, with and without my Exagram Pro coffee scale. The Cuppamoka is a foolproof gadget: easy to master, prime for experimentation. It’s designed for on-the-go and indoor use, but it doesn’t heat up water, so you’d need a separate thermos or camping kettle. Alternatively, you could fill the Cuppamoka with hot water at home and pour it into another receptacle before brewing, but it might not keep warm as long.

The first time I used the Cuppamoka, I didn’t use a coffee scale, to simulate using this on a hike. I put the full 20g scoop of medium-ground coffee into the paper filter and poured in two circles of 200°F water. After the coffee bloomed, I poured in water slowly until I estimated the Cuppamoka was full. I was pretty disappointed to see I’d only filled the cup halfway — I wish there was a way to see how full the cup was without removing the dripper and looking inside. A transparent section would have been more user-friendly. Regardless, my coffee was still pretty tasty, just very strong.

The next time around, I used my Exagram Pro scale. I scooped in 18g of medium-ground coffee and heated water to 200°F in my Ninja Precision Temperature kettle ($89). I poured in water in slow, circular motions until my Exagram Pro scale read 30g, and waited fifteen seconds. After the coffee bloomed, I poured in anti-clockwise circles until the Exagram Pro read 270g/10.5 ounces, the Cuppamoka’s full capacity.

The flavor profiles I reference here are based on the pour-over ratio of 1:16 and medium-roast coffee. The Cuppamoka makes a complex, balanced, and delicious coffee, with a taste almost identical to that of the Hario V60. The flavor isn’t as floral as an AeroPress, and a little more intense than a Chemex. Obviously, you can adapt all these manual methods to suit stronger tastes. It would be possible to brew a light, floral coffee in the Cuppamoka with certain beans, just as it would be possible to brew a dark, intense coffee in a Chemex.

What separates the Cuppamoka from a V60 dripper is its portability. If you wanted to take a V60 dripper on a camping trip, you’d need to bring coffee, filters, V60, camping mug, camping kettle, and take everything back home again. With the Cuppamoka, all you need is the Cuppamoka, water, coffee, and filters (which fit inside the Cuppamoka alongside the scoop). Cleanup, which I’ll discuss fully in the ‘Storage & maintenance’ section, is straightforward thanks to the collecting pad.

However, either you’ll have to get used to sharing a cup with your camping buddies, or you’ll have to own a Cuppamoka each: you can only make one coffee at a time. You’ve been warned.

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: Storage & maintenance

Wacaco advises against dishwashing the Cuppamoka; it should be handwashed only. It’s super easy to clean with warm running water. If you take this on camping trips, it could easily be used multiple times before needing a thorough cleaning. There are no pesky crevices for coffee grounds to hide, and the stainless steel interior is easily washed with a quick rinse. The Cuppamoka comes with a collecting pad, so if you’re brewing outside, you put the used filter and coffee grounds on the pad to prevent mess.

As with other Wacaco products, the dripper funnel, scoop, and filters slot inside the Cuppamoka between uses, making it simple to take on adventures.

Wacaco sells filters in packs of 200 for $14, which works out to 7.5 cents per filter. This is cheaper than Hario’s 9 cents per filter, but if you already have size 2 V60 filters, you can use them in the Cuppamoka.

As with other Wacaco products, the Cuppamoka has a 2 year warranty, so you’ll have peace of mind that it’ll last you a fair few camping trips.

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: How does it compare?

For reference, I was using Wacaco brand filters during testing. As mentioned throughout, the Cuppamoka’s flavor is most similar to the Hario V60. Both drippers have conical filters that ensures the water covers the coffee grounds equally, and both rely on drip-brewing rather than vacuum extraction, like AeroPress. Chemex coffee, brewed via drip, is a little oilier and more floral thanks to the thick filters.

AeroPress is technically portable, but it’s a little more finicky than the Cuppamoka, and you’d need a separate camping mug to decant the brew into. V60 is portable and brews straight into a mug, but it doesn’t pack away as easily as the Cuppamoka. I would not take a Chemex on camping trips for obvious reasons — it’s made of glass.

However, if you’re an at-home brewer, I’d recommend a Chemex, AeroPress, or V60 over the Cuppamoka. The Cuppamoka excels at brewing one cup of coffee, but if you’re serving multiple people, it’s not the most versatile option. Chemexes can fit up to 10 cups for larger gatherings.

If you’re an espresso drinker who craves an intense espresso atop a mountain, I’d recommend Wacaco’s line of manual espresso machines. The cheapest option is the $49 Minipresso GR2, which brews a delicious espresso using nothing but piston power. At the other end of the spectrum, Wacaco has a $159 battery-powered espresso maker (compatible with Nespresso pods, the Pixapresso. This would be best for hands-off espresso brewing, but needs to be recharged.

Wacaco Cuppamoka review: Verdict

I’ve come to expect innovative, satisfying coffee gear from Wacaco, and the Cuppamoka is no different. As with the Wacaco Minipresso GR2, Pipamoka, and Pixapresso, the Cuppamoka is designed to be used on-the-go, and that’s where it would really excel.

Being able to prepare and drink from the same cup minimizes cleaning and hassle, making the Cuppamoka perfect for camping trips and outdoor adventures. Obviously, it does not heat water, so you’d need a camping stove or kettle to solve this problem. Filters are compostable, so you’d be able to discard them in the wild, safe in the knowledge that they will help, rather than hinder, the natural environment.

I’m a V60 addict, so knowing I can take my beloved black coffee out and about is a huge relief for my next multi-day camping trip. The Wacaco Cuppamoka is a fantastic addition to my bastion of coffee gear.