The idea behind the OutIn portable espresso maker is brilliant. OutIn solves the problem of all portable espresso makers. Finally, we no longer have to lug around a kettle or gas stove or look for hot water elsewhere. Because OutIn has an integrated water heater. A 7500 mAh battery, charged via USB-C, has enough power to heat cold water several times and build up sufficient pressure. In theory and advertising. We took a closer look at the practice. Unfortunately, our results are slightly different.
The Best Portable Espresso Idea
Hot water is one of the main challenges when making mobile espresso. This is why many manufacturers don't even address the hot water issue, leaving it up to the brewer. The brewer then needs a kettle, gas stove, or a fire.
Not only heating the water is a challenge for portable espresso brewers, but also heating the entire brewer thoroughly! Making coffee on the go is a topic in our detailed outdoor coffee article and video.
With the Nano, OutIn doesn't leave us with the challenges of boiling water, but instead integrates a small water heater into the brewer. This is supposed to be sufficient, depending on the amount and temperature of the water, to heat the brewing water 5 times. This brings us to one of the manufacturer's slightly embellished advertising claims. Heating 5 times is only truly possible if you use the minimum amount of water. And even then, with compromises. There are several other marketing claims that we don't agree with and that we discuss further down in the article.
OutIn Temperature Reality
According to the manufacturer, the espresso machine should brew at 92 degrees. In our tests, we only reached 90 degrees in the upper chamber once. This was when using only 40 ml of water. With larger amounts of water, we stayed at temperatures between 85 and 88 degrees in the boiling chamber. With larger amounts, such as 70 ml, the temperature was between 85 and 86 degrees. We tested these results with our OutIn, and also cross-checked them with the temperature values of two other models.
In reality, we must assume significantly lower brewing temperatures, as the brewing water loses further temperature to the material on its way from the heating chamber to the coffee.
This is also reflected in the taste of the espresso, which, especially with lighter roasts, clearly emphasizes the acidity of the coffee. We therefore recommend specifically selecting espresso roasts for the Nano that match its taste profile. From our range, this would be the Mamy Espresso or the Dreispitz Blend. Darker roasts are the perfect counterpart for the OutIn. Lighter roasts inherently have a lot of acidity, which is amplified by the lower temperatures.
The lower temperature can, of course, be circumvented if the brewing water is boiled externally, for example with a kettle. In that case, we recommend going for temperatures above 95 degrees. This heats the brewer thoroughly and provides good brewing temperatures, ideally between 92 and 94 degrees. This way, other problems or promises of the brewer are solved.
Marketing vs. Reality
Perhaps it's the trend of our time to shout out loud and flashy numbers and make big announcements. And we only address this issue when it's particularly noticeable. OutIn communicates according to this line – but at the latest when the brewer is tried out, some announcements fall apart.
According to the advertising promise, heating takes 200 seconds. However, this is only achieved if the absolute minimum amount of water is used. OutIn does mark "200 seconds" with an asterisk* on its own website, but does not explain the connection between water and heating time in more detail. We heated 70 ml in 4:30!
The heating cycles and battery performance also follow this pattern. The battery can manage five heating cycles at most with the smallest amount of water!
With other claims, the manufacturer follows the usual current of the marketing world, blowing up secondary issues with high numbers. The OutIn is supposed to be able to build up 20 bars of pressure. That's all well and good, but every good espresso machine ultimately brews with 6 to a maximum of 10 bars of pressure. Nevertheless, manufacturers of, especially cheaper, espresso machines repeatedly throw around a maximum pressure potential, which contributes little to the matter.
And the 92 degrees in the heating chamber are also misleading, because the temperature would be much more relevant in the brewing chamber of the machine, and it is not reached there.
The OutIn espresso maker with standard accessories. It is available from the manufacturer itself or from Amazon*.
So much (more) potential!
What I have just described should by no means give the impression that I consider the OutIn espresso maker to be a bad product. I think it's ingenious! With the right roast that works well with lower brewing temperatures, the OutIn fulfills exactly what I want from a portable espresso maker.
- It is easy to use.
- Takes up little space.
- Is easy to clean.
- Makes good espresso (with appropriate coffee).
- The amount of espresso is perfect (when using the Basket-Plus set).
- And most importantly: the brewer heats the water itself!!!
This is an absolute game-changer and makes the OutIn Nano the most flexible and best manual espresso brewer for numerous applications. In theory, I can brew coffee almost anywhere with it, as the water heats itself and a cup catches the espresso directly.
Do you want example locations? I envision not only a kayak, but also a gondola during a ski ascent. Even while driving, on the beach, on a bicycle in the bottle cage... The OutIn Nano espresso maker is the perfect outdoor espresso maker!
And the espresso result in the cup makes all previous criticism fade away at the latest when we brew and enjoy espresso on the water in a sea kayak.
And yet... the brewer itself could be even better! In my opinion, it only needs two things:
- The brewer should heat up to at least 96 degrees and only then begin the brewing process.
- OutIn should be transparent about how long the brewing time then is and how many brewing cycles the built-in battery can manage with maximum filling. That would be clear and would prevent customers from being disappointed later. Because even just two espresso brewing cycles that work on the go are already a game changer and fulfill most people's wishes on the go. Otherwise, we just connect the brewer to a power bank and recharge it.
A small note on this. The brewer consumes more power than can be supplied in parallel from a socket. It is therefore by no means suitable for continuous operation.
Scope of Delivery and Workmanship
The OutIn espresso brewer gives a robust and high-quality impression. It weighs less than 700 grams in the basic version and is also quite compact (23 cm high, 7 cm diameter).
The standard scope of delivery includes a small brewing chamber for 5 - 6 grams of coffee, a capsule chamber, and a shower screen. The capsule chamber or brewing chamber can each be placed into a screw-on portafilter. In addition, there is a small dosing cup that can be placed on the brewing chamber to make it easier to fill with coffee. It also serves as a tamper. All these materials are made of black plastic.
We wanted to make the most of the brewer and not settle for small brewing quantities. It should also be noted that these are certainly much better suited for the lower brewing temperature. However, since OutIn itself offers a Plus Basket Set with a stainless steel tamper and a 16 - 17 gram sieve, that was our chosen set.
Working with the larger brewing chamber and the elegant small tamper makes the work easier and also enhances the impression of the quality of the OutIn Nano brewer.
16 grams of coffee powder in a brewing chamber means 32 grams of espresso in the cup with a 1:2 ratio!
Links and More
- Coffees from us that taste good in the OutIn: Mamy Robusta, Dreispitz Blend
- OutIn Nano Basket Plus Set at the manufacturer and at Amazon*.
- KM Barista Milk Pitcher from the video
- Timemore Black Mirror Basic 2 Scale from the video
*This is an affiliate link to Amazon. If you order through it, it won't cost you any more. We receive a small commission that we can use for further test equipment. Thank you!
