Coffee On the Go (DIY): Save Money + Made to Your Liking

Food & Drink
By Gems Of Travel
Bookmark:
In This Post

Save money.  Save time.  No hassle.  Make your coffee the way you want it.

There are many reasons for DIY coffee.

  • It’s raining and you don’t want to go outside – make you own.
  • Heavy coffee drinker and saving money is a good thing to you – make you own.
  • Enjoy the comfort & coziness of being at home – make you own.
  • Prefer your coffee a specific way – make you own.
  • Got special beans w/ that yummy flavor you can’t find elsewhere – make you own.
  • Tired of walking and tired of searching for a place to get coffee – make you own.

Tools to brew

You will need hot water + a brewing method – that’s all.  A brewing method can be: French press, Phin, or instant coffee.  Of course, you’ll need coffee beans (or instant coffee, either one).

A coffee mug and a French press for brewing coffee on a table in an apartment. The coffee mug says "Home Sweet Home" on it. A french press has a glass tube (resembles a long cup), a plunger filter, handle, and a lid with an opening. Ground-up coffee beans are put inside the glass tube, hot water is added to brew the coffee, then the plunger attachment is put onto the glass tube. This attachment has a lid with a plunger going through it. The lid has an opening to pour the coffee into a coffee mug. After the coffee has finished breweing, the plunger is pushed downward throught the glass tube. It has a metal mesh filter on the end of it that pushes the ground coffee to the bottom of the glass tube, so that it does not get poured into a coffee mug. Drinking the grounds is not ideal. Therefore, the coffee grounds at the bottom are separated from the liquid coffee.
A Vietnamese Phin (pronounced "feen" as in the ending of the wording "caffeine") resting on top of a glass cup, brewing coffee, with an view of mountains in the background. This coffee filter is filled with ground coffee beans, and hot water is added inside. It uses gravity to slowly percolate (drip) hot water through the coffee grounds. At the bottom of this filter, the hot coffee drips out into a cup. This brewing method was introduced to Vietnam by the French during the colonial occupation time period.
A Phin coffee brewing filter (pronounced "feen" as in the ending of the wording "caffeine") resting on top of a glass cup, brewing coffee. This image shows several cups being brewed in batch in preparation for future customers at a roadside cafe. This coffee filter is filled with ground coffee beans, and hot water is added inside. It uses gravity to slowly percolate (drip) hot water through the coffee grounds. At the bottom of this filter, the hot coffee drips out into a cup. This brewing method was introduced to Vietnam and Cambodia by the French during the colonial occupation time period.
A bag of coffee beans, and brewing a cup of coffee using a Vietnamese phin filter.
Six different French Press coffee plungers for sale at a grocery store in Southeast Asia. Some are large-size, others are smaller-size. Prices are between ten and fourteen US dollars.

Hot Water

Most accommodation in SE Asia provide a hot water kettle in the room.  If not, they can provide one or will have hot water available in the common area.

A water kettle. This is often, but not always, included with furnished housing in Southeast Asia.

Brewing w/ a French Press

French press (~$10) brewing is the closest to what Westerners would consider “normal, regular, coffee”.  You can buy one for about $10 in SEA.  It is lightweight, but it does take up some space in the bag.

Vietnamese Phin vs. French Press

If a French press is too big to carry around, then try using a Vietnamese Phin (~$1.5) as they are smaller and lighter.

However, a Vietnamese Phin and French press do not brew the same style or quantity of coffee, so it might contrast with your preference.

A French press will get at least 2 cups of coffee, whereas a Phin will brew 1 small cup that is concentrated & strong in caffeine content.

Instant Coffee

Instant coffee is the easiest to make & travel with – no need for a French Press or Phin. Add instant coffee to a cup + hot water, and you’ve got coffee. That’s all there is to it.

Old town white coffee, which is a Malaysian instant coffee brand. This flavor is called "Coffee & Creamer".
A box of Vietnamese G7-branded three-in-one instant coffee for sale at a grocery store. There are twenty-one packets of it, weight sixteen grams each. Price is three US dollars and eighty US cents.
A container of Nescafe-branded instant coffee for sale at a grocery store. The total weight is ninety-five grams.

Prices in SE Asia for a Bag of Coffee Beans

Most bags come ground, so no need to grind your own beans.  However, if you prefer to grind your own, there often are non-ground bags of beans available.

Vietnam

For Viet coffee brands and where to find them, see this link -> Vietnamese coffee brands.

$3 is common500 ggrocery store
$1 – $4 and above100 g
(20% size of 500 g)		store selling only coffee beans
A shop specializing in selling coffee beans with 10 different varieties shown in this image. The beans are all integrated within a long counter, with staff located behind the counter to assist you.
A grocery isle of Vietnamese coffee bean brands in Vietnam. The aisle also has a Vietnamese phin brewing filter for sale.

Thailand

$4.5 – 7250 g
(50% size of 500 g)		grocery store
Bags of coffee beans for sale in Thailand. The brand is Hmong Doipui coffee, from the Doipoi region in norther Thailand. There a few different roasts - "Fruit Aroma (Dry processed)" and "Medium Roast Honey processed". There is also a "Black Tea (Thai tea)". There are also coffee beans in clear see-through plastic with no labeling on them.

Cambodia

$4500 glocal market (Psar Leu Thom Tmey in Siem Reap)
$6 – $10500 ggrocery store
upwards of $15500 ghigh-end grocery store (Angkor Market)

Malaysia

$7 – $9250 g
(50% size of 500 g)		grocery store

Indonesia

$0.75 – $2150 g
(30% size of 500 g)		grocery store

Save Money

Rough estimate for Payoff

Making your own brew is an investment that really pays off.

  • French Press:  15 coffees
  • Phin:  7 coffees
  • Instant Coffee:  3 coffees

Payoff:  French Press

most common

French press ………………………………… $10
coffee beans ………………………………… $5
coffee – takeout price ……………….. $1.25 USD

# of coffees to break even ……….. 12 coffees

least common

French press ………………………………… $10
coffee beans ………………………………… $5
coffee – takeout price ……………….. $0.75 USD

# of coffees to break even ……….. 20 coffees

Payoff:  Phin

A Phin is a great souvenir, whether you use it or not!  Though, if it suits your taste then below is the pay-off point.

most common

French press ………………………………… $1.5
coffee beans ………………………………… $5
coffee – takeout price ……………….. $1.25 USD

# of coffees to break even ……….. 5.2 coffees

least common

French press ………………………………… $1.5
coffee beans ………………………………… $5
coffee – takeout price ……………….. $0.75 USD

# of coffees to break even ……….. 8.7 coffees

Payoff:  Instant Coffee

Instant coffee pays-off instantly!  It does not require anything other than hot water, and it is always cheaper than buying take-out coffee.

French press ………………………………… n/a
coffee beans ………………………………… $3.50
coffee – takeout price ……………….. $1.25 USD

# of coffees to break even ……….. 2.8 coffees

Save Time

Brew from the comfort of home – you don’t even have to get dressed.

Within 5 minutes you’ve boiled water and have your brew ready to go!

That’s 5 minutes vs. the 15-20 minutes it takes to

… get dressed 👕👖
-> go outside 🏠
-> walk to get coffee 🚶‍➡️
-> order/pay/wait/receive your order 💳⏳☕
-> walk back home 🏠.

-> That’s just too much work!

GemsOfTravel preferers DIY coffee at home most days, not all.  It’s a no-brainer, especially if you want a coffee round #2!  Brewing your own coffee just makes sense.

Coffee Made to Your Preference

If you prefer American-style coffee, then you will need to make your own.

Use a French press, which is as closed to American style as you will find, or purchase a coffee maker (if you can find one for sale, locally … check buying online in SE Asia).

American-style potted coffee is only found in Starbucks, it’s just not a common brew method used in SE Asia.

🚫 However, Starbucks will rarely make it since no-one orders it and they do not want to loose money (aka “the machine doesn’t work”).

✅ Good news is that they will make a pour-over coffee for the same price, which is close enough?

Explore Topics