Wacaco Pipamoka review: Coffee on the side of a mountain? No problem

The Wacaco Pipamoka provides one of the best coffee maker experiences for people who are constantly looking for their next adventure, but would rather not leave all of their home comforts behind. This compact coffee maker and travel mug combo can brew a tasty cup of coffee, whether that be an espresso-style shot, a long coffee or a cold brew, making it incredibly versatile.

However, while it’ll make a tasty cup of coffee, the Pipamoka isn’t without its flaws. There are multiple opportunities to burn yourself during use, so the instructions in the manual exclaiming “Avoid burning yourself” are quite important. On top of not trying to scald your skin, the 15-step process takes some getting used to and requires some major muscle.

Is it worth the spend? Find out more in my full Wacaco Pipamoka review.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: Price & availability

The Wacaco Pipamoka costs $49 at Amazon U.S. / £49 at Amazon U.K., and it’s one of the most versatile coffee makers you can buy at this price point.

It’s more expensive than the Wacaco Cuppamoka ($34) pour-over travel coffee maker. However, the Cuppamoka only makes pour over, while the Pipamoka brews long coffee, espresso-style or cold brew, making it more versatile.

The Pipamoka is cheaper than the Wacaco Nanopresso ($69), which is one of Wacaco’s portable espresso makers. Again, though, the Nanopresso only brews espresso, so considering you have the option of pulling an espresso(ish) with the Pipamoka, you may want to save a couple of bucks for the sake of extra versatility.

There’s also the AeroPress Go, also intended for the adventurous, available for around $49 at Amazon. Once again, however, the Go won’t brew multiple types of coffee and doesn’t feature a thermal cup like the Pipamoka, so you’ll need to bring along a water heating method. When it comes to sheer functionality, the Pipamoka comes out on top.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: Design

At a glance, the Pipamoka looks like any old double-walled, 10 ounce (300ml) stainless steel Thermos, and indeed just like the best travel coffee mugs, it’ll keep drinks hot for 3-4 hours. The Pipamoka features a 16g filter basket, which Wacaco says will result in a brew ratio of close to 1:15 when filling up the water chamber completely— brewing up to 236ml/g.

The Pipamoka comes with an 8g scoop, although we’d recommend investing in a set of the best coffee scales to dose your coffee. You also get a funnel to minimize coffee ground spills, and while it did help, it didn’t stop me from making a mess the first couple of tries. There’s a brush, too, which helps clean out the filter basket after each use.

Inside the Pipamoka is the water chamber — where the magic happens. This chamber is plastic and basically looks like a giant screw. Once filled with boiling water, you hold the entire cup in one hand and with the other twist the orange control ring around the mug’s neck. The water chamber will rise, creating a vacuum within the Pipamoka, pulling the hot water through the coffee filter, extracting the good stuff directly into the drinking chamber — it’s pretty cool.

There are markers on the water chamber to indicate the amount of water needed for each different brewing process depending on if you want an espresso or long coffee, and to adjust the strength.

The overall design is sleek, with a brushed stainless steel finish and contrasting orange accents that pop against the metal. The leakproof lid makes the Pipamoka ideal for chucking in your bag and getting on with your day. I didn’t have any issues during testing and found it to be suitably watertight.

But here’s the thing, you don’t actually get a pop-tab drinking lid with the Pipamoka, so you’ll have to purchase that separately for $9 / £9 if you don’t want to take the lid off constantly.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: Performance

I tested the Pipamoka three times a day for four days and can safely say that it takes a little practice to get the technique down. But, while it was tricky to use the first two or three times, by the second day I was a pro, and no longer had any need for the manual.

Firstly I wanted to get the hang of the long coffee, which is the primary function of the Pipamoka. This was a 15-step process, so a lot to get my head around on the first try. But as I mentioned above, I quickly got the hang of it.

The first issue I encountered was trying to get the coffee filter into the water chamber without scalding my fingers. As instructed by Wacaco, I first filled the water chamber with boiling water and dropped the filter basket into it — I had to quickly move my hand away as the water splashed straight out at me. The manual does state “Avoid burning yourself” for this step (along with others) but surely there is a better way to do this.

Once I survived that step, the filter sank to the bottom and the instructions told me to tap the bottom of the mug to release air bubbles, which I must admit was quite fun. But again, there’s scalding hot water in the mix which tends to leap out at you during this step, so remember: Avoid burning yourself!

Extraction process

Now for the actual extraction process. You’d better have some muscle on your arms because this is quite the workout! Since the Pipamoka is a hand-powered pressure brewer, those forearms will be burning. You’re reliant on your own strength to create the pressure to brew the coffee, so if you are like me and the weights section of the gym is uncharted territory, the Wacaco Pipamoka could prove tricky.

Here comes my next qualm, yet again to do with the potential to burn yourself. As the water chamber rises and pops out of the travel mug, you’ll need to grab it. It’s super hot and covered in boiling water. If there’s any boiling water left in the chamber at this point, it’s also liable to leak through the filter or spill out of the top. It’s more than a little tricky, so… Avoid burning yourself! I just used a dish towel to protect my hand.

Long coffee

The long coffee produced by the Pipamoka was close to the result you’d expect from an immersion brewer like French press. It wasn’t as balanced as long coffee made using the Aeropress Premium ($149) we have in the office: the Pipamoka producing a more sour and juicy flavor profile. Mileage will of course vary based on the beans and grind used.

Espresso

I also prepared a latte from the espresso-style coffee you can brew using the ¼ water marker in the water chamber. The shot was smooth, and naturally paired well with my frothed milk.

While this is described by Wacaco as an espresso-style shot, it is not a true espresso — the standard pressure for extracting a shot of espresso is 9 bars but the Pipamoka only produces 1-bar of pressure. That said, it tastes nice, and the ability to pull a strong shot of coffee with such ease opens up a world of possibilities for espresso(ish) fans on the move.

Thermal performance

The Pipamoka also performs really well as a travel mug: while it’s advertised to keep drinks warm for 3-4 hours, I found it was more like 5-6. The outside of the mug doesn’t get hot, so while it won’t be warming any hands, it’s clearly insulated very well and doesn't lose heat unnecessarily.

This means you can feasibly take hot drinks on a hike without needing to take a separate water heating method.

Cold brew

The Pipamoka can also be used with cold water to create a cold brew. To make my cold brew, I prepared the coffee filter as per the instructions for the espresso and long coffee and then removed the empty water chamber from the thermo-mug and dropped the coffee filter inside. The water chamber then sits on the top of the mug with the control ring at the bottom before being filled with water and ice.

From start to finish this process took me just over two hours to get my desired taste (on the stronger side) as I had filled the filter basket to the brim with grounds but if you use less coffee, you get a weaker taste and the process will take less time. I found this gave a less intense version of the hot brew but with that same nutty flavour shining through — I even preferred it to chain coffee shop cold brew.

This means you can feasibly take hot drinks on a hike without needing to take a separate water heating method.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: Storage & maintenance

The Pipamoka is not dishwasher safe and Wacaco recommends simply cleaning it under running water and then setting the components aside to dry separately. The brush included in the kit means you can clean out any coffee grounds that are playing hard to get in the reusable steel coffee filter, too.

In terms of waste produced by the product, the coffee grounds obviously need to be thrown away, but I collect them in a pot and they can be used as a great plant fertilizer! Otherwise, there is no waste.

The Wacaco Pipamoka is designed to be compact and transportable, so all the components needed to make your perfect cup of Joe fit directly inside the mug. This makes it easy to just throw everything required in your bag and get going with your day.

You also get a two year warranty so you can have peace of mind that if anything does go wrong, Wacaco should help you out.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: How does it compare?

For a similar price to the Wacaco Pipamoka, you could pick up an AeroPress ($49), but the quality of the coffee from Aeropress relies on you using the right pressure. In contrast, the Pipamoka’s twist mechanism means there is little room for human error.

Wacaco also has the Wacaco Minipresso GR2 ($59) which is also quite the arm workout as it brews using hand-pumped pressure. The Minipresso produces Aeropress-style coffee (even though it’s technically an espresso maker) but doesn’t have a long-coffee option, nor is it well insulated to keep water warm, meaning you’ll need to take a separate travel mug or camping stove with you. The Pipamoka bundles it all into one.

Wacaco Pipamoka review: Verdict

The Wacaco Pipamoka is perfect for any keen travellers or adventurers who can’t leave every home comfort behind. With the ability to produce espresso, long coffee or cold brew, the Pipamoka is ideal for multi-brew lovers on the move, wherever they are.

Its compact size, built-in travel mug and premium build means it slots perfectly into the side pocket of your rucksack or comfortably into your work bag, and you don’t have to be afraid of leaks.

Wacaco claims the Pipamoka leaves little room for error when making a coffee, and indeed the machine gives you a lot of help with its handy markings for different brew ratios.

However, it’s a tricky process to get your head around, and can be very fiddly. So make sure you keep the instructions at hand. Oh, and make sure that hand is a strong one, because like other Wacaco products, the Pipamoka is a workout.

Most worrying, though, is the number of opportunities for scalding when using the Pipamoka. Of course, when using hot water there’s always that risk, but it is unusually easy to come away from the Pipamoka with burns, which makes this a dangerous product to use and difficult to outright recommend.

Liability aside, the Pipamoka is a solid and versatile little coffee maker, extremely practical for its intended use outdoors. As a coffee lover and keen hiker, my weekend walks just got a whole lot more interesting.