Wacaco is the undisputed king of portable espresso. It practically defined the space and have outshone and outlasted many rival brands. It has released many portable espresso makers, each fitting a particular user need and all of high quality. Nevertheless, every previous Wacaco espresso maker relied on the user providing the hot water. With the release of the Pixapresso, all that changes. This is a Wacaco espresso maker like nothing you've seen before.

It's worth taking a moment to reflect on what a technological accomplishment the Pixapresso is. Not only is this a hand-held device that can pull a tasty shot (after all, Wacaco has given us many of those already); this is a device that can heat up its own water to the ideal brewing temperature, from cold, using a built-in, high-capacity, USB-C rechargeable battery. That means no separate thermos is required. You can literally pull a shot at the top of a mountain without any power or previously heated water.

Despite this incredible technological innovation, Wacaco has managed to make the Pixapresso affordable, compact and relatively easy to use. Just watch the video below to get an idea. After a couple of first tries, shot-pulling will easily become second-nature, thanks to the simple user-interface and parts.

Now, to be fair, there are other battery-powered espresso makers out there. We've tried some of them, but we feel pretty confident in saying that the Pixapresso is way better, for various reasons. Most importantly, it allows you to brew single and double shots out of the box, no expansion pack or additional pricey kit needed. Heck, it even lets you use capsules without any additional kit (though why would you want to?). It comes with an espresso cup and an Americano-sized cup. Basically, it comes with everything you need except coffee and a grinder. That makes it a pretty impressive package.

Beyond that, the feature set (which you can see detailed below) is quite something: pre-infusion, temperature control, and multiple espresso style options; Wacaco seems to have thought of everything. If what you really want in life is to brew espresso in crazy places, the Wacaco Pixapresso is definitely for you.

Please note that to make great espresso, you need great beans, and ideally they should be fresh when ground and ground fresh. Even the best espresso machine needs these prerequisites to be met. Nevertheless, the Pixapresso does include some small parts, so you may want to load it up before you head out and save the assembly, disassembly and cleaning for home base.

Wacao Pixapresso features

• Compact, light-weight & durable for ultimate portability
• All parts fit together for travel
• Intuitive LED touch interface
• Fast heat up - heats water in ~3m
• 8-16g basket - single or double - ristretto to lungo
• 4 coffee styles to select from
• Temperature control - 88/92/96 °C
• Pre-infusion (optional; 5s)
• Battery-powered - can make up to 5 shots before a recharge (with cold water) or dozens of shots with pre-heated water
• Replaceable battery
• Large water tank - up to 120ml
• Versatile - also capsule compatible
• Makes barista-quality espresso
• Included in the box:
• Pixapresso
• Travel pouch
• Manual
• Brewing head
• Ground coffee module
• Capsule module
• Funnel
• Brush
• Small cup (big cup forms part of Pixapresso body)
• Spoon
• USB-C charging cable

Wacaco Pixapresso specifications

• Material: BPA-free plastic casing
• Dimensions: 74 × 74 × 181 mm
• Weight: 755 g
• Water capacity: 120 ml
• Ground coffee capacity: 8-16g
• Max pressure: Up to 20 Bar (extraction pressure is lower)
• Temperature Settings: 88 °C / 92 °C / 96 °C
• Battery capacity: 3000 mAh 3S (3 cells of 3000 mAh each)
• Auto-Off : After 1 minute
• Warranty: 1-year