Keith Titanium Ti3911 Review – A drip coffee maker for ultralight camping

A premium quality pour over coffee maker made from titanium for ultralight camping trips

Keith Ti3911 Titanium coffee maker

A drip coffee maker made entirely from titanium, ideal for lightweight backpacking and camping.

The Red Dot design award-winning Keith Ti3911 requires no filter paper and weighs just 100g including the mug!

Highlights and Features

  • Made from premium grade 1 pure titanium
  • Double walled titanium mug with a lid
  • 26,000 ultrafine concaved holes in the filter
  • The filter and holder store inside the mug
  • Comes inside a stitched leather case
  • Weighs just 100g (not including the case)

Pros and Cons

Where to Buy

Intro

I’ve had my hands on the Keith Titanium Ti3911 for a few weeks now and I’ve used it every single day. This was useful for dialling in my brewing method, but the true test needed to happen outdoors.

Why? – Because Coffee Tastes Best Outdoors!

A weekend hammock camping with the Keith Titanium drip coffee maker

I just got back from a hammock camping weekend with a good friend. In the evening we ate amazing steaks and sipped a few choice IPA’s. We slept like babies and woke to a glorious morning and an even more glorious coffee. With the smell of the campfire still in my hair and legs riddled with mosquito bites, I now declare this product officially road tested!

Keith Titanium Ti3911 Drip Coffee Maker – Full Review

The stitched leather carry case that comes with the Keith Titanium drip coffee maker

An unexpected unboxing experience.

I discovered the Ti3911 on Amazon, the product page had a number of pictures of the components but no images or any mention of a carry case. I had assumed it would have some sort of mesh drawstring bag, which is often the case with titanium hiking gear. To my surprise, the Keith Titanium coffee maker comes inside a beautifully stitched tan leather case.

As an ultralight backpacker who takes pride in shaving every single non-essential gram of weight off my kit, I’m in a bit of a dilemma here.

Yes, it fits perfectly inside my cook pot and looks gorgeous, but at 75 grams, it weighs almost as much as the product itself.

The leather carry case that comes with the Keith Titanium Pour Over coffee maker

The vast majority of outdoor enthusiasts who are not overly obsessed with cutting kit weight will love this case. For the rest of us, I’m guessing this will join the other non-essentials kit items in a drawer somewhere.

The Design and Build Quality

The titanium parts on the Ti3911 pour over coffee maker

The Ti3911 is made up of four components. There’s a 200ml double walled mug, a lid, the holder that clips to the mug, and a tapered coffee filter that rests inside it. Keith has made some awesome titanium products in their time, but this one is something special. The material is ‘grade one’ pure titanium and the engineering on the filter is something to marvel at.

The pour over filter on the Keith Titanium coffee maker

There are a whopping 26,000 ultrafine conical holes pieced into the titanium. The holes are wider on the outside and narrower on the inside. This is said to help capture particles and aid the flow rate, as well as making the filter easier to clean.

The tapered mug is a delight to hold and is designed to match a traditional Chinese teacup. I usually only use Titanium mugs while I’m outdoors hiking, but this one feels different somehow.

I’ve been using it at home over the last few weeks and I’ve grown to prefer it over a regular cup. It does a great job of keeping the coffee warm, especially with the lid on the top.

The 200ml (6.7oz) capacity might be a little small for those that like a huge drink, so keep that in mind.

The tapered titanium double walled coffee mug that comes with the Keith Ti3911 pour over coffee maker

All the components fit together perfectly and the filter and its holder can be neatly stored inside the mug when not in use. For those that prefer drinking tea, the filter can be placed directly in the cup without the use of the holder.

The Keith Ti3911 titanium coffee maker assembled

How to use the Keith Titanium Pour Over Coffee Maker

No doubt the method will vary depending on your tastes.  For me, I’ve found that 14g of medium ground coffee and 200ml of mineral/filter water poured over a 2.5 to 3 minutes duration works best –  Here’s a link to my YouTube video demo.

If you’d like to dial in the coffee for yourself, I highly recommend you get the following items:

  1. A set of digital scales – preferable one with a decimal place.
  2. A burr grinder/ ceramic mill – I use the Hario Slim which is ideal for outdoors.
  3. A pour-over kettle – I have the Hario V60 drip kettle, but there are cheaper options.
  4. A stopwatch – You can just use an app on your phone for this.

The Coffee Grind

If you’re intending to use pre-ground coffee, then look for a medium filter grind. If the grind is too fine it will not flow well through the filter and you’ll end up with an over-extracted coffee. This is one reason why it’s important to grind your own beans, not to mention the vast improvement in taste.

How to grind the coffee when using the Keith Titanium drip coffee maker

Preheating

Once you have your grinds ready, it’s important to pre-warm your mug and filter by adding boiling water. This will also allow you the chance to lift and drop the filter to flush water through the holes.

Preheating and cleaning the filter on the titanium drip coffee maker

The Bloom

Add your freshly ground coffee to the filter, give it a little shake to level it, then place it on your scales and reset them to zero. Slowly add a small amount of water to the grinds, I use 30 grams and then let your coffee soak for around 30 seconds. You should see some bubbles appearing, this is mostly carbon dioxide escaping.

The blooming phase on the Titanium pour over coffee maker from Keith

The Pour Over

After resetting the stopwatch, its time to start your pour. Using the drip kettle slowly start adding water in a clockwise direction. Avoid pouring directly on the edge of the filter or with too much force as this will disrupt the grinds. Take the water all the way to the top and then maintain the level until your scales read around 220 grams. This will give a drink of around 200 grams, the additional 20 grams will be soaked in the grinds.

The pour over method for the Keith Ti3991 Titanium coffee maker

If the flow rate slows during the pour, you can either tap the filter with the lid or lift the filter slightly and drop it back down on the holder. If you’ve got your coffee grind right it should take no longer than 3 minutes to complete. Should it take longer,  then you might want to try a slightly coarser grind on your next attempt.

The Results.

The Keith Ti3911 Titanium coffee maker can produce a seriously flavoursome coffee. Its pure titanium material has no effect on the flavour and there’s no paper filter to block the natural oils from passing through. The ultrafine holes do a great job of keeping the sediment to an absolute minimum.

The results from the Keith Titanium Pour Over Coffee maker

I’m sure there’s a lot of coffee lovers who favour the cleaner taste that a paper filter provides. I’ve been a huge fan of the Aeropress for years, but I’d highly recommend you try a paperless pour over like this if you get a chance. There’s definitely a difference to the flavour.

Verdict

I imagine many people will be deterred by the price of this product, especially when there are vastly cheaper alternatives available. Keith has a huge amount of titanium cookware and they’re all priced reasonably in comparison to similar products. Yes, this one is expensive, but I genuinely believe it’s due to the production cost and the level of engineering required. When you get your hands on this product and try it out for yourself, I’m sure you’ll agree. –The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.

If you’re a coffee lover who’s into ultralight backpacking then this could be the next extravagant purchase guaranteed to shave some pack weight and take your coffee to the next level.

Where to Buy

5 COMMENTS

  1. Sounds very nice; and I know from experience that Keith makes quality products.

    I’m a bit puzzled as to who the intended user is. Ultralight backpackers are typically keen on compact, featherweight titanium kit like this. But will they really be willing to tote around the extra implements/impediments the author considers ‘essential’?

    I suppose the odd hipster might carry a grinder, digital scale and pour-over kettle from the car to the yurt while glamping … but he or she certainly won’t be a gram weenie, and won’t need the little Keith set.

  2. I just recently came across this product and I am reading this review more than three years after you wrote it. I am wondering if this little coffee maker is still an item that you continue to use and enjoy? It is very expensive, yet very tantalizing. Do you still consider it a viable piece of your coffee repertoire, or did the novelty wear off? Thank you for your reply.

  3. Or…You could get the Boundless Voyage version, also with a Titanium double wall cup, (or mug, if you prefer) but with a larger 350ml capacity, for just £43 on ebay! Being larger, it’s a tad heavier (153g) but that still makes it notivcably lighter than the Aeropress.

  4. Thank you for your review! now i really wanna get this one.
    Simple question, what is most perfect way to rinse this one after make coffee?
    should i rinse it with only water or will i need to use detergent for rinse this one?
    i never used titanium products, and i don’t know what is best way to clean it. (for longest lifetime)
    i need your advice! thank you !

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