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Beanscorp has started the production of the Cafflano products in 2013 and their product line now consists out of three coffee makers: Cafflano Klassic, Cafflano Kompact and the Cafflano Kompresso. In just 5 years they have managed to sell their products in over 80 countries using a simple but beautiful mission:
Develop, manufacture and provide quality coffee gear that are Simple, Innovative, Economic, Convenient, Sustainable and Portable for all coffee lovers! This brings me to the review of their second product: the Cafflano Kompact.
Cafflano Kompact: Background information.
The Kompact is a Brewer that functions a little like a mix of the Aeropress and a clever dripper. The idea is simple: put ground coffee in the brewer, pour hot water over the coffee, press the coffee into a cup through a laser edged filter, enjoy your filter brew.
After using the Cafflano Klassic on my trips all over the world, I got more and more curious about Beanscorp’s product line. It was a pleasant surprise when Cafflano contacted me to ask if I was willing to review the Cafflano Kompact as well. Obviously I accepted this invitation! Ever since I received the Kompact, I have taken it on many trips all over the world: Brazil, Ecuador, Malaysia, Chicago and Hong Kong. Overall it has traveled with me for over 35.000 kilometers and I have brewed over 50 coffees on my trips. Using the Kompact inside airplanes, hotels, parks and even at the sideline of my son’s baseball match, I feel that I can give a fairly accurate review of this on-the-go-brewer.
Cafflano Kompact: Unboxing.
The Kompact comes in a beige carton box package that is picturing the brewer while being used. Inside the beige package is a black hard shell travel case and a paper manual that explains the use of the Cafflano Kompact both for hot brewing as well as cold brewing.
When opening the travel case, you will find the Kompact snugly sitting inside. The brewer is still compressed since the airtight cap is screwed on. As soon as you unscrew the cap, the brewer extends to its normal size. You will immediately notice that the brewer is light and made out of (eco friendly) polypropylene (plastic). There is a stainless steel laser edged filter cap screwed on the brewer which is the only metal item you will encounter. This will not set off any alarms in the airports since its too thin. The pulling plate can be unscrewed to make for a better way of cleaning the product after brewing (more on that later). The inside of the brewer is made out of a silicon bellows chamber that will function as a brewing container.
Cafflano Kompact: Brewing.
Just like the Klassic, the Kompact is made for people who want to bring their own coffee brewer with them on trips, to work or perhaps even to brew at home. Brewing with the Kompact is easy and simple but you do need a couple of extra things to bring along. You will need a grinder, a way to make hot water (unless you want to make cold brew coffee), a scale and a mug/tumbler kind of device to put the coffee in. So this is how to brew coffee with the Kompact:
First you weigh and grind your coffee and warm the Kompact with hot water. Since the inside is made out of a silicon bellows chamber, you don’t need long to warm it up. After warming up the Kompact, you empty it and pour in the ground coffee. I felt like the Hario V60 grind size worked perfectly for me. Add the hot water (or bloom first if you like) and then let the coffee brew. Since the brewer works just like a mix between the Aeropress and clever dripper, you can use recipes of both machines on the Kompact. When the brewing is done, you can screw the stainless steel filter onto the Kompact, turn it upside down and start pressing.
It’s important not to force the Kompact while pressing it down. If you apply too much pressure (a little is fine of course) the coffee will seep through the rubbers and the filter cap, messing up your brew and creating a mess. Just go with the flow! In the manual it says that you need to press down the Kompact in one fluent motion but I want to make a comment about that. I founds out that when you press down in stages, you will get more body in your coffee. This has everything to do with the fact that if you let go of the Kompact after pressing it down for a moment, the silicon bellows chamber will refill itself with air. This results in turbulence near the filter cap which, in turn, creates more body.
The result of brewing with the Kompact is just awesome! The coffee can taste just as good as with the Aeropess or clever dripper when you get the hang of it. The silicon bellows chamber does not give off any odd flavors or aroma’s to the coffee and the filter functions just perfectly.
When you’re done with brewing you will need to clean the Kompact. The next part is important because it will save you a lot of frustration. There are two ways to clean the Kompact, with the first:
(1) You will need to unscrew the filter cap AND the pulling plate.
(2) Take some water and rinse the filter while holding it over the Kompact so the excess water flows inside the bellows chamber.
(3) Take out the bellows chamber and pour in some morewater. Swirl the water around and pour it out. This will allow you to clean it fast and easy.
(4) Repeat step 3 one more time.
The second way is where you leave the pulling plate on the Kompact:
(1) Squeeze on any cup/container to filter out brewed coffee
(2) 1st cleaning with a half cup of tap water (100-120ml): Pump the Kopmpact to clean the filter from coffee grounds. unscrew the filter and pour out the water.
(3) 2nd cleaning with a quarter cup of tap water (50-60ml) repeat the above.
(4) Dry out with a paper towel
(5) Add ground coffee (15-20g)
(6) Lock with the sealed cap and voila, you’re all set for a second brew.
Watch the video on Instagram: @cafflanokompact
Due to the form of the bellows chamber, cleaning the brewer takes a bit of time and can be a little messy. It has become my one and only ‘con’ of this brewer.
The Cold Brew method is pretty much the same. You will just need a coarser grind size and more time on your hands. I have brewed a cold brew at home and, even though it was my first time, did not completely screw it up. Just look up a decent cold brew recipe online and go with it.
Cafflano Kompact: The Verdict.
After explaining how this brewer works, brews and how you should clean it, here is the verdict. The Cafflano Kompact is awesome as a travel brewer. It is light, easily taken along on trips and it brews great coffee. As it hangs somewhere between the Aeropress and clever dripper, you can get the best of both worlds in terms of brews.
What I like about the Kompact is that you can also do cold brewing with it. This makes it possible, and nice, to bring the Kompact on your outdoor summer hike for example. Blistering heat? cold coffee!
Are there downsides to the Cafflano Kompact as well? Yes, one. The downside is cleaning the product. It takes a lot of extra water to clean the brewer and it takes time to clean out all the coffee grounds. When you’re on the road you probably don’t have a lot of extra water with you just for cleaning the Kompact. This will stop you from brewing another coffee with it until you get the chance to clean it. But do not let that discourage you!
Sure, cleaning is not my favorite past time with the Kompact, but drinking this coffee certainly is. I am not sure what the criteria for a competition are, but I think it should be possible to start one with the Kompact. That’s how content I am with this brewer.
The Cafflano Kompact is sold at around 65,- euro’s/ 55,- pounds/ 65,- dollar in webshops all over the world.