The Outin Nano: Is Portable Espresso Finally Solved?

I finally got to try making espresso with the Outin Nano while travelling, so was happy to try it out the way it was meant to be used, away from electricity!

Many thanks to Dale Harris and Tim Wendelboe for being open to being dragged into my nonsense.
Thanks to Ljubljana Coffee Festival for the invitation to the event!

0:00 - Intro
1:13 - How it works
3:28 - Tasting
4:45 - Ljubljana Coffee Festival
5:26 - Tasting Pt 2
6:52 - Anywhere Espresso
7:26 - Concluding Thoughts
10:00 - Outro

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[wilbobaggins]

I’m an airline pilot and there’s a captain I frequently fly with who has one of these.

It might not be great coffee, but it helps to put its use in context… It’s 5am, we’re on the plane before all the coffee shops are open, after minimum rest at the hotel the night before, and the captain offers you espresso. It feels like the best coffee of all time.

Plus, it easily beats the tepid brown fluid we refer to as ‘coffee’ from the galley.

[chadevely]

Seeing James Hoffman on your flight and then noticing he's actually making espresso would be hilarious.

[carpathianpsychonaut]

It feels like this is "the thing before the things that get it right" - there's always a product that seems to be almost there and interesting but then gets hopped over fairly soon by the ones that crack the shortcomings. As an aside, that's a beautiful looking city!

[monchoglu]

I gifted it to a friend who's in the hospital for quite a bit, he was very happy for not having to drink hospital coffee.

[cjwatson]

I work in a remote oilfield in the far north of Alaska. There is something profoundly magical about having a freshly brewed espresso in my truck in the dead of February when it's -40 outside, bonus points if I can blow a colleagues mind by sharing one with them. If you the reader happen upon this and you're on the fence about this brewer I couldn't recommend it more. I just purchased the upgraded brewing basket and I truly look forward to exploring this machine further and I'm sure James will review the add on at some point as well.

[daltonmoses]

I have one and have for about 6 months. I wanted one for home use and on the go because we have a small kitchen and I’m still a newbie to espresso. So I figured this would be a good toes in the water option. I have enjoyed it and even bought the pro basket accessory. And just like you I have had good, bad, and ugly shots. The major issue I had recently was after 6 months of use the seals busted and water started leaking out of the top above the coffee basket. Now I will say we contacted Outin and they had me try some troubleshooting and replaced the unit and the new one runs even better than my first one. So maybe I got a defective unit originally. Overall I love the Outin. It’s been a great way to introduce others to espresso. And the bring anywhere feature allows me to never go without. I give it as a product 4/5 stars

[andyp]

I'm a shift worker in the emergency services and I've had one of these for a couple of months now, I can honestly say it's been a life saver(i work in the ambulance service)! When stuck out in the middle of nowhere at 3am in desperate need of a good coffee, this is the perfect thing to keep me going

[luisalcarazleal]

"Don't swirl it like a savage" ... should be the next t-shirt

[chrisevans]

Wearing a crisp white t-shirt to a coffee festival is such a power move.

[abbadon]

I have had one for almost a year, and it is worth it!

First of all - try the Nano Basket kit; it provides you with an 18-gram basket, funnel, and tamper. Yes, still some temperature issues could be, but just give it a try.

The second point is preheating. Yes, if you are away from civilization - it won't be an option, but just add 15-20 mill of water, heat it, and let it pass through. If you are not away from the kettle, just boil some water, run 1-2 preheating sequences, and enjoy your espresso.

The third point. If you want to use the original basket, the small one, you need to play a little with the amount of coffee and grind size. In my case, it took a week to get good shots (good for me and several coffee friends). Also, regarding water amount, you really need to either use the same amount of water every time or use scales and stop brewing. 



My way of brewing for a small basket is ~6 grams of lightly roasted coffee from a local roaster, ground with Timemore C3 esp to 0.8.1 size, and ~45 mills of water (50 mills mark in the water tank). It will be at least a good shot, not perfect, but really good.

For Nano Basket - 18 grams of coffee, 0.8.1 grind on Timemore C3 esp, and stopping brew at 25-27 grams, some leftover drops will give you ~30 grams of espresso.

Preheating is a must for both.


In terms of how I use OutIn. I've brewed coffee on a train, the best ever coffee I've got during my train travels. I've spent several weeks, in total, at hotels, and OutIn espresso was not only better than the one in the hotel but also better than any coffee I could buy somewhere nearby. Also, I had some great experiences brewing coffee on the top of the mountain and seeing the sunrise. The most valuable for me was to brew espresso during blackouts (we have some issues with electricity here in Ukraine)


So, in conclusion, OutIn is worth buying, but it has some specific features and requires some tweaking. If you want to get good espresso on the go everywhere - use OutIn

[SpiritBond]

Hello James!
I use this as an airline pilot almost all the time i fly. The difference between this and an instant coffee is incomparable. 
A few of my colleagues have it as well and all of us are satisfied to have bought it. We predominantly use the Nespresso pods since it's very convenient in the cockpit to just make the coffee and throw the pod. Haven't tried it yet with my own coffee beans.

[gillyobeast]

5:26 - cutting to the elevator shot just for the line "it's been a bit up and down", James your editor deserves a payrise

[dwirandypradhika]

Ah yes, my latest opinion just dropped

[Dandrooo]

Another airline pilot here.
I use this device every single day and I love it!! The trick to brew your coffee in the air is double press the button after your first try, and then it will instantly brew. it requires a little bit more time in the air because of the pressure difference, most of the time the cabin altitude is 8000ft.
It really works just give it more time.

[dewaldbotha]

Video editing fav moment, James grinding coffee cuts from various places, perfectly lined up in shot!

[Petestleger]

This man has ruined me! After many many years of enjoying instant, finally gave in (thanks to James's videos) to a V60, a cheap and cheerful hand grinder and some beans from an independent roaster. Yes, I can tell the taste difference, yes it's amazing, yes the instant now tastes terrible. Can I afford enough fresh coffee to feed my needs? No. So now I'm doomed to wince with every cup of coffee bar the odd time I can treat myself. Damn you Hoffmann! Still, love the videos, learned a lot, amazed at how coffee can taste, so I guess you're forgiven. Mostly... All the best, Pete.

[Normal_Day]

You can get a "Nano Basket Plus" for it. It gives you an 18g basket, proper tamper, dosing funnel, and distribution tool. It was a game-changer for me.

[roxtc]

James I wish you reviewed it with the Basket Plus. It's a 16g-18g basket. It's an option if you want a bigger coffee dose.
I also disagree with preheating being a challenge. You just brew without the basket first into the plastic cup which is perfect as it doesn't draw much heat. Then you dump the hot water back into the water heater and make coffee the second time with the device preheated. I think the results are noticeably better and generally worth doing. I'm a little surprised you never even attempted this to comment on whether that makes the coffee more acceptable. I've also started travelling with a bag of pre-ground which obviously isn't the best but it makes the workflow and carry much better as I no longer need a scale or grinder. Either way it was a great video but hoping for a part 2!

[sammu]

Kind of a decent gadget (minus the temp issues). Now I can finally pick “yes” for the “Willing to travel?” question on job applications.

[jeff_tj]

Watching this from Ljubljana - glad you got some good weather, because it’s been absolutely shocking these last few days.