Brumi To-Go Bottle Review: Make and Take Cold Brew Coffee Anywhere

Nothing ruins a travel day like gritty instant coffee, especially if you’re dashing out the door for an early-morning flight or enduring a subpar hotel breakfast buffet. Now, coffee addicts can take their favorite cold brew or hot coffee to-go with Brumi, a sleek thermos for making your pour over or cold brew wherever and whenever you need it. Forget waking up early to tinker with a coffee maker or hitting up a cafe.

Brumi Pour Over and Cold Brew To-Go Bottle Review

Price and Where to Buy the Brumi: $37 on Food52.com

How the Brumi rates:

• Usefulness: 9/10. The Brumi affords you the ability to efficiently make cold brew overnight, or hot coffee on-demand, and take it to go in the same container. Simply add water to your favorite medium-fine ground coffee (or make use of the hotel room’s). I use the Brumi for cold brew, which has a mellow taste that I can enjoy black if there’s no cream or sugar on hand. Add cold water to Brumi’s ground-filled filter, let it sit overnight in the fridge, and simply remove the filter to enjoy in the morning.
• Value: 9/10. For $37, coffee lovers will find this bottle pays for itself, allowing you to forgo many cafe purchases of pricey cold brew. I even prefer it to the French press I previously used at home, which always left some murky grounds behind. Brumi’s stainless-steel filter and fitted cap ensure grounds don’t get through, so you can enjoy delicious coffee however you want it.
• Portability: 10/10. The narrow glass bottle (three inches in diameter) fits easily into cup holders and backpack water-bottle sleeves, and it’s double-walled to prevent condensation. The Brumi comes with a convenient and removable cork sleeve for gripping, and is the perfect size for making a single cup of coffee—10 ounces, with two more to spare for ice and milk once the filter is removed.
• Durability: 7/10. The cap of the bottle is certainly spill proof—I found it at times to be difficult to open. The bottle itself is make of borosilicate (read: heat-resistant) glass, which isn’t the best material for travel purposes if you’re clumsy, and makes it heavier than a standard plastic thermos.
• Cool Factor: 10/10. Making and taking cold brew with you on your travels is as utilitarian as it is cool. I no longer have to worry about the quality of the coffee I’ll get, and know I’ll be happily fueled for the day.

Final Verdict: As long as I can bring the Brumi in my carry-on with a few scoops of coffee stashed inside, I’ll never drink instant coffee at a hotel again.

More from SmarterTravel:

• World’s 10 Best Cities for Coffee
• McDonald’s Coffee Onboard: Upgrade or Downgrade?
• 9 Ways to Sleep Better on Overnight Flights 

Editor’s Note: Reviews are based on usefulness, portability, durability, value, and “cool factor.” Some review products are sent to us free of charge and with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions, positive and negative, and will never accept compensation to review a product. If you have any questions or comments concerning our reviews, or would like to suggest a product for review, please email us at [email protected].