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I have long wanted a good portable espresso machine, and in every unit I have owned or seen, you had to boil your water ahead of time, meaning it was never truly portable, as you had to take something to boil water with you and then you had to find a way to boil said water. That is until I bumped into Outin with their new Nano Portable Espresso Machine. Of course, I had to reach out and see if they’d gift me a sample to try out, and I was more than happy when they said yes.
Now that I have had this compact, portable espresso machine in my kitchen for a couple months, its time to let you guys know what I think! What I like about it, what I don’t like about it, and exactly who it is for (as its not for everybody).
Table of Contents
What is the Outin Nano?
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- Finally, a battery operated travel espresso machine that boils water
- The battery life is impressive
- It’s quite forgiving in the coffee you utilize
- You can use your own coffee grounds
- It feels extremely high quality
- I wish it came with two coffee ground portafilters
- Clean up is a messy experience
This portable espresso machine does everything your normal espresso machine does, just in a more compact package (outside of grinding the coffee). You are able to fill the portafilter (the basket you use to put your grounds in the machine) with either your own ground coffee or Nespresso pods, and then the machine does the rest. It boils the water for you, it pressurizes it, and out the bottom comes a single shot of espresso (which is actually very good).
Of course, if you have a way to boil water in your kitchen, you can boil that water while getting the coffee maker set up, and use that in the machine as well (with this method, you can make up to 200 cups of coffee on one charge).
What do I like about it?
1. Finally, a battery operated travel espresso machine that boils water
As I had mentioned earlier, I’ve been on the hunt for a portable espresso machine came up empty handed until this Outin came around. Sure, travel espresso machines were awesome, you could make great espresso anywhere, as long as you could boil water… which is an issue in just about every place you might go with your espresso maker.
Anways, finally, today we have an espresso machine that can boil your water for you! Sure, it cuts the battery life from 200+ shots if you boil your water first, down to a handful of times, and sure it takes around 200 seconds to boil the water for you, but its finally here!
Now, let me set the records straight: while it’s awesome to have this as a true travel espresso maker that can boil its own water, I highly recommend boiling your water ahead of time if you can. It’s a much quicker process to let your water boil while you are filling the portafilter with coffee and getting the machine set up than to do all of that and then let it do it on its own for 200 seconds.
However, the capability is there, and it does it well – finally!
2. The battery life is impressive
Again, as I have already mentioned, I primarily use this espresso machine in my kitchen, which means I can boil my own water without the unit. When I do that, this machine can pull over 200 shots of espresso between charges. That means you don’t have to plug it in (which is USB-C) for months in some cases.
That said, if you let the unit boil, the water for you is where it takes the battery life. In that case, it can boil around five or so shots before needing to be charged again. That should cover you for that weekend away at the lake or on that road trip where you refuse to drink the hotel coffee.
For those nerdy people like me, just in case you are wondering, it has a 7500 mAh battery.
3. It’s quite forgiving in the coffee you utilize
While most espresso machines can be a bit of a pain with the type of coffee or size of the coffee grinds (grounds?), I have found that this one is actually quite forgiving.
I have my coffee grinder set to a medium-fine setting and haven’t had to adjust it at all. I don’t get any form of channeling; it doesn’t struggle to pull the shot, and the coffee itself tastes fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could even use medium ground coffee from the store in this unit and still get a reasonable shot from it.
Considering my daily driver standard coffee maker, I use is the ever-so-forgiving plastic Aeropress Go, having another coffee maker in the kitchen is nice to have.
4. You can use your own coffee grounds
It’s a normal thing nowadays to have to purchase different versions or accessories to use, either coffee capsules or your own grounds (my Wacaco Nanopresso was that way). However, I found it extremely refreshing to see that Outin gives you both adapters in the box right off the start! That means if I want the ease of a capsule, I can have it; if I want the much lower cost of using my own coffee grounds (which is what I’ve chosen), you can do that as well.
5. It feels extremely high quality
Don’t get me wrong, this unit isn’t made of aluminum, glass, or anything like that. However, it is made of a hardy, durable plastic that has a nice texture to it.
It has a bit of heft to it and feels like something you’d spend $150 on. Every piece seems to be well thought out, and it doesn’t appear they have “cheaped” out on anything from what I can see. I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to the quality of this unit, so bravo, Outin!
What do I not like about it
1. I wish it came with two coffee ground portafilters
One major downside to all travel espresso machines I have seen, is that it only pulls one shot of espresso at a time. You have a single portafilter, that takes a bit to fill. Once you use that shot, it takes quite a bit to start all over (especially if you are letting the unit heat up the water for you) to pull a second shot (which most drinks really do require).
Because of that, I wish they had included a second basket for coffee grounds. That way, you can set both up before you start brewing so that once the first shot is done, you can plop the other in its place and brew again. I doubt this would cost all that much to do, but it could very well replace most people’s massive espresso machine that sits on their counters without much trade-off.
2. Clean up is a messy experience
It’s no secret that my Aeropress Go has become my go-to coffee maker! Sure, it makes fantastic coffee, sure its easy to use. However, the #1 reason I use it so much, is because of how easy it is to clean. You simply pop the coffee ground puck out the bottom, rinse it off, and you are good to go (I swear this isn’t an Aeropress review).
Anyway, while I have seen much worse offenders when it comes to the cleanup process, that is still the case here with the Outin Nano. You have multiple pieces (around the portafilter area) that all get coffee on them that need to be rinsed out, and the coffee basket itself is difficult to get the grounds out of as well. In the end, you have coffee grounds that you have to rinse off in the sink to get it completely cleaned up (oh, so that’s why people spend the extra money to use capsules).
Who is the Outin Nano for?
While the Outin Nano may seem like it’s primarily a travel espresso maker, it’s really so much more than that. If you are someone who is looking at getting a counter-base Nespresso Machine or any of those other capsule espresso machines, you should just get this instead. You’ll free up your counter (as it fits in your cabinets), and you’ll have espresso for when you travel as well.
If you are someone who is looking at this as a portable espresso machine, I have yet to find a better alternative than this one. It’s well worth the additional price to allow for water to be heated up within the same unit.
Now who is this not for? Someone who doesn’t want to deal with a little extra mess with using your own grounds. It can be a bit annoying, but nothing is worth being a deal breaker.
I’ve tested so many coffee makers at this point, and outside of my Aeropress Go, this is the best one I have seen yet!
Where should you buy it?
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Finally, a battery operated travel espresso machine that boils water
- The battery life is impressive
- It’s quite forgiving in the coffee you utilize
- You can use your own coffee grounds
- It feels extremely high quality
- I wish it came with two coffee ground portafilters
- Clean up is a messy experience
