Stanley Classic Perfect-brew Pour Over £32.99
The Stanley Perfect-brew Pour Over is the second simplest coffee maker on test, beaten only by the incredibly minimalist Soto Helix. It has a metal filter inside the ‘funnel’, which means no potential for issues with paper filters running out – and it can even be used for herbal tea, increasing the unit’s versatility.
It is also incredibly simple to use:
1. Balance the funnel on top of your cup.
2. Add your ground coffee.
3. Pour the water in.
4. Wait for your cup to fill up with coffee. It is an incredibly bulky system to use. The pour-over funnel doesn’t integrate or stack with the Stanley Classic Legendary Camp Mug, which the brand recommends – and all together, the pour-over unit, the mug, the thermos flask and my coffee ground pot took up the majority of the space in my handlebar bag.
But then came a bolt of inspiration. I unscrewed the filter from the pour-over funnel and my coffee ground tin – a 500ml Elephant Box – fitted snugly inside.
Then, instead of using the Stanley mug, I just used the lid of my thermos flask (which is quite generously sized). These tricks meant that the coffee-making apparatus together barely took up any more space in my handlebar bag than the pour-over unit alone.
There are, however, some downsides. First, with the Stanley Pour Over’s larger surface area (and ground-collecting filter), it’s more of a pain to clean and put back in your bag than either a) the Soto Helix, which is super minimalist or b) the Aeropress GO, which is nicely self-contained.
Second, although the Stanley can be made quite compact (providing you have a coffee tin which fits it exactly and a thermos with a generous cup size), if you require a second cup (for occasions when you’re travelling as a pair), the system is still bulkier than either the Soto Helix or the Aeropress GO.
In all, it’s a great option if you’re a single traveller and you’re pairing it with the right coffee tin, together with a thermos flask that has a generously proportioned cup. With those caveats, the Stanley Perfectbrew Pour Over lands in third place. www.stanley1913.com/products/classicperfect-brew-pour-over