Flair 58 travel case

Yes, I know, I have a problem. I am espresso obsessed and I need counselling.

The trouble is I don’t have enough money for a shrink because I keep spending it all on espresso gear.

That’s by way of explaining why I travel with an espresso machine and grinder, at all times: I have deep seated espresso-abandonment issues.

I previously had the wonderfully fun Flair Signature Pro 2 and a Kinu M47 Classic grinder. Great kit and I really enjoyed them but to avoid having enough money to see a psychiatrist, I recently upgraded to a Flair 58 and a Helor 106 hand grinder (71mm Mazzer conical burrs, thank you for asking).

The challenge with the Flair 58 though is that unlike it’s predecessors, it does not come in its own little handy travel case because it’s designed to be used by normal people who keep it on their kitchen bench at home.

So I decided to create an airline-handling-proof box that I can pop inside my check in luggage.

I discovered that our Hello Fresh (home delivered meal kit service) boxes were the perfect size and I then took a Stanley Knife to some foam that I had pre-cut to the size of the box. The result is that the foam is custom cut to the Flair, in a “rough as guts” way that only an half blind Australian could be proud of. And I am.

The three pics below show each layer in the box i.e. the first pic shows what you see when you open the box, the second pic shows the next layer once the first layer is removed and the third pic show the bottom layer.

The result is an 8kg addition to my check in baggage including the coffee kit and all packaging.

All suggestions for improvements will be gratefully received.

PortafilterProcrastinator yes indeed you hit the nail on the head with the weight issue.

The motivation for the cardboard and foam versus using the 7kg (!) Pelican type hard shell case that I ordered and have sitting sad and alone and disused, is that the whole set up including the cardboard foam, the 4.6kg Flair, the Helor 106 at 1.8kg and lunar scale, weighs in at 8kg.

If I used the hard shell case then my check in baggage is suddenly an extra 14.4kg versus 8kg.

And when the cardboard box diintegrates it is easily replaceable. Although I intend to reinforce it with cloth tape so it will probably last a few years.

Petre I still explore local cafes.

But only after I have had my own espresso.

In some countries and regions (e.g. New Zealand and Melbourne) finding a great Cafe is relatively easy , but in others the experience can be underwhelming.

Mind you, I have become quite fussy which is a blessing at home but can be a curse when travelling.

Hence the kit 😉