Caffeine delivery comes in many forms, but surely the most exquisitely civilized is the espresso. And while some might call this drink a luxury, yours truly isn’t one of them. Espresso is the basis of nearly every modern coffee drink and the very foundation of Italian culture and much of French, too. Many of us consider a day without espresso a day not worth living. Or more honestly, perhaps not capable of being lived.

So what of the traveling espresso fiend? What to do when you’re off the coffee grid, deep into cafe incognita? Well, along comes Handpresso Wild, looking for all the world like a Ferrari bicycle pump, with the promise of steaming hot espresso anywhere you can find steaming hot water. At $99, it’s spendy enough to give even the addict pause, so the first question after ‘does it work?’ can’t help but be ‘is it worth it?’

The answer is yes on both counts. Promise kept.

Here’s how it functions: Pour hot, almost boiling water into the clear plastic chamber, place a pre-sealed pouch of ground espresso roast on the screen, and seal the cover. Then you pump, just as with a portable bike pump, to build pressure in a small chamber. When the needle hits green on the gauge, you press a button and water is forced through the pouch, out a small hole, and into your cup. Aroma wafts and curls and right at the last of the water there’s a gurgle and rush and a rich froth of crema forms.

The taste is delicious. It’s bold and strong without bitterness. The quality is consistent, though occasionally there’s a misfire and the cafe tastes empty, like a meeting room with too few chairs. But that’s a rare blank shot. To be realistic, Handpresso shots come close but don’t quite match top machine-pulled espresso–there’s a slight thinness to it–but it’s always better than the Crayola water they’re passing off as espresso at Starbuck’s. And hey, it is a travel device, so allowances must be made.

Handpresso is nigh-on foolproof and it’s fast. The price has dropped by 5o bucks in the last few months, but it’s still not cheap. And it’s tough to get past the wasteful nature of one-shot pouches. If your home machine takes pods, you’ve already made your pact, but those who grind their own might balk. I figure, it’s an occasional indulgence—I’m okay with it. And there’s really no way to use the happiness machine without the packets. One advantage: Cleanup is instant and effortless—it’s neater than a French press by orders of magnitude.

Coffee packets cost about 50 cents a piece in 20- or 100-packs from Whole Latte Love, the U.S. distributor. You can get Handpresso there too. (But skip the $20 case—it’s cheap and the zipper breaks easily.)