I took Wacaco's portable espresso maker on vacation — and it blew four coffee nerds away

The Wacaco Nanopresso is a portable espresso maker intended to give coffee aficionados a viable way to make espresso on the go. As with the other coffee makers in Wacaco’s lineup, it’s pitched primarily at outdoorsy types. Essentially, it’s an espresso maker for hikers, campers and people on vacation.

The Nanopresso works in a similar way to the Wacaco Picopresso. Both utilize a hand pump system, with an internal piston, to force water through a coffee puck at high enough pressure to create espresso (in theory).

There are a few differences between the two, which I’ll cover throughout this review, the chief of which being the Nanopresso can use either ground coffee or Nespresso pods. Essentially, though, consider the Nanopresso as the little sibling of the Picopresso though, and the slightly less enthusiast-oriented.

I took the Nanopresso on vacation with some friends of mine, where I would be without my usual ready access to proper espresso machines. I’m happy to say that, after a fair bit of fettling, it performed really rather well.

So, is this one of the best coffee makers for you? Find out in my full Wacaco Nanopresso review.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: Price & availability

The Wacaco Nanopresso costs $69 at Amazon, putting it at about half the price of the Wacaco Picopresso. Ostensibly, this is a super cheap way to get espresso, either at home or on the go.

That isn’t quite the full picture though. The base kit comes with an espresso cup, tamp and scoop but only an 8g basket, which isn’t a lot of coffee. To get the best out of this product, you’ll definitely want to purchase the Barista Kit for an extra $32, which provides a large 16g basket, plus the space required to fit it in the machine. The Barista Kit includes two 16g baskets and an extra 8g basket, so it’s also a great way to add some back-to-back shot capability.

Wacaco doesn’t seem to offer a Nanopresso + Barista Kit bundle to save money, so total spend for (spoiler alert) decent espresso on the go: $101. That’s not bad if you ask me.

The Nanopresso can also be used for pods! You can purchase a $21 Nescafé Nespresso (NS) adapter kit and a $32 Nescafe Dolce Gusto (DG) adapter kit. Whatever your opinion on pods, it’s great to see extra functionality

The Nanopresso is available in a variety of colors. I tested the (kinda boring) black version, but there are red, orange and yellow variants available, as well as limited edition variants with fun patterns. The Red Tattoo Jungle variant is my favorite, but at the time of writing it’s sold out — sad.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: Design

The Wacaco Nanopresso is a fairly odd-looking thing: an elongated pod with chamfered edges top and bottom. Goofy styling aside, it’s constructed from premium-looking plastic and feels sturdy. It definitely feels a little cheaper than the part-metal Picopresso, though.

At 2.44 x 2.8 x 6.14 inches (without the Barista Kit installed), the Nanopresso is relatively compact. It’s skinnier than the squat Picopresso, but taller, and I found the Nanopresso the more awkward of the two for getting into a travel bag. That said, it was hardly problematic taking it away for the weekend, especially given the 11.9 ounce curb weight. It won’t be much trouble in a hiking backpack.

The Nanopresso features a hot water tank, but cannot heat water. You will need to bring a water heating method with you to make espresso.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: Espresso

The Nanopresso functions in the same way as the Picopresso. The hand pump on the side of the machine forces hot water from the machine's tiny tank through a piston assembly, and then through a puck of coffee to make espresso.

Wacaco claims that the Nanopresso can reach up to 18-bar pressure, which is way more than the 9-bar pressure typically required for espresso. So, this little machine should be capable of making the good stuff.

And it is, but you'll need to do a little fettling to get decent results, and there are still a few problems you'll experience along the way.

Pressurized head

The Nanopresso uses a pressurized head out of the box, which acts in a similar way to double walled portafilter baskets on home espresso machines.

Essentially, this allows you to use coarser grinds and still achieve espresso-like drinks. This will be useful for anyone without access to a grinder, whether or not that's because they don't own one, or are on the move without access to one. I can see this coming in very useful if, for example, you took the Nanopresso abroad and couldn't take your own ground coffee with you.

I conducted a couple of tests with the pressurized head and courser ground coffee. The resulting coffee was fine, but didn't have the depth and body you'd expect from a properly ground dose. There was plenty of crema, as you'll usually find from pressurized baskets/heads.

I removed the small rubber bung that does this, essentially putting the Nanopresso into manual mode (well, even more manual than a hand-pump machine already is).

Plastic basket

The Nanopresso uses plastic baskets, although they're essentially reverse baskets. The holed underside of the plastic baskets are essentially the shower head. The open end of the basket sits against a metal sieve in the Nanopresso's screw-on head, which acts as a traditional portafilter basket base.

By contrast, the Wacaco Picopresso uses a traditional metal basket, which is much better. The Nanopresso's plastic baskets are easy to get the tamp stuck inside of, which is super annoying.

There's also another annoying issue, which is that finer grounds regularly get into the coffee, resulting in a bitty, or at worst sludgy drink. This seems to be because either the bottom of the basket (where the plastic joins the sieve) is not one unit, allowing grounds to get through. Or because grounds are being forced back up through the larger holes of the shower head, then down around the sides and through the pouring spout. Or both.

You'll also want to use the 16g basket of the Barista kit for optimal results. No matter how fine the grind, 8g just couldn't put up enough resistance to the pressure of the pump, resulting in water coffee, as you can see in the image above.

Even with the 16g basket, I sometimes found it difficult to grind fine enough, even with our Eureka Mignon Specialita espresso grinder and the Wacaco Exagrind grinders, which are both espresso capable. The result being watery drinks. In those cases, upping the dose to 18g worked a treat.

Espresso results

I took the Nanopresso on a vacation with my partner and four of our friends. Two of those friends drink espresso, and one is an ex-barista. Tough crowd.

I was dosing at 16g, using Hard Lines Canton Blend beans — a medium roast — and aiming for an output/dose ration of 2:1. So, double the espresso versus the weight of grounds I put in. This is a typical double espresso ratio.

After pulling a fair few test shots to dial in my grind, I eventually started to achieve results. With a super fine grind, I was able to pour some shots that were, well, actual espresso.

They were rich and dark, with a balance of roasted, chocolatey flavors and sourer top notes. I wouldn't say it was the nicest espresso I've drunk from the best espresso machines, but it was espresso nonetheless. And not bad espresso either.

There's no doubt that the Wacaco Picopresso produces a much better drink and genuinely good espresso. If you're on the move, though, the Nanopresso does a pretty good job, and it'll certainly satisfy espresso lovers, even if not fully.

All of my test subjects were impressed, commenting that it tasted almost like the real thing — close enough to have no complaints, especially given this is a tiny, portable, hand-pumped machine.

Scalding

Ah, scalding. The quintessential Wacaco issue, as we've learned from testing all their products now.

The Nanopresso is liable to cause burns if you don't use it carefully. This time, the water tank isn't to blame. At least, not with the larger tank of the barista kit, which doesn't tend to spill water when removed (unless you're being clumsy).

However, opening the coffee chamber to remove the basket and grounds did prove dangerous in testing. A fair bit of water stays in the chamber and pouring spout after you pull a shot, which will go all over your hands as you go to remove a spent basket.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: Storage & maintenance

Storage is fairly easy given the Nanopresso's diminutive size and weight. It'll slot easily into a bag when travelling, as mentioned above. Again though, its somewhat awkward shape, combined with its reluctance to stand on end, make it a little fiddly to store in a cupboard alongside other coffee gear. But that's a fairly minor complaint.

What is a little frustrating is all the gubbins that come with the Nanopresso, especially when you have the Barista Kit. There's a lot, and it doesn't all fit in the pouch that comes with the Nanopresso.

Cleaning is very easy: simply rinse the components under running water when done. If you live in a hard water area, I would advise pumping through some descaler regularly.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: How does it compare?

Once you've factored in the cost of the Barista Kit, the Nanopresso isn't a whole lot cheaper than the Wacaco Picopresso. For espresso purists, I would definitely recommend the Picopresso. It's metal basket, and therefore better sealed coffee chamber, means no grounds in your drink. And the espresso you'll get from the Picopresso is just better, with more body and complex flavor profiles.

That said, the Picopresso is not that easy to find at the moment, and new stock may not be on the way at all. With that in mind, I think the Nanopresso is a decent-enough alternative.

Where the Nanopresso really shines is versatility. It offers a pressurized head mode, meaning you can sue a wider array of coffee grind sizes — important if you're on the move. It can also suit Nespresso pods with the correct adapter, so if you drink coffee pods and espresso, this is the maker for you.

Wacaco Nanopresso review: Verdict

The Wacaco Nanopresso is a solid little hand-powered espresso machine. It doesn't quite match the Picopresso in terms of overall espresso quality, but is isn't fair off.

The Nanopresso is super versatile thanks to its pressurized mode, and that it can be upgraded with a Barista Kit or Nespresso pod adapters. These make it an especially good tool for travelling coffee fans.

As long as you can put up with the occasional bitty espresso, not to mention the odd scalded hand (an occupational hazard with most coffee makers, to be fair), the Wacaco Nanopresso is a very easy recommendation.