Travel: The Shopping Forecast

Gadget of the Week: Travelling Espresso Set

The nation was first introduced to the glamorous side of caffeine by the humble cappuccino. Then everyone wanted lattes and now the whole coffee craze is out of control. Whether you lust after tall, skinny americanos or flirt over latte frappees, it's all there for the sipping in gleaming designer bars.

But sitting down to drink is passe. If you want to look good you need a shot of caffeine in your hand, on the move. But try drinking from a paper cup and you'll end up with an embarrassing blob of froth embellishing your lip line.

So leave the uninitiated to look on jealously as you unzip your leather travelling espresso set and pause to brew up something rather more classy.

The set costs pounds 650 from Connolly (32 Crescent Mews, London SW1X 7EX, 0171-225 3883) and includes a perculator, two stainless steel espresso cups, two linen napkins, four hornbill spoons and two leather-bound aluminium jars for storing coffee and milk or sugar. It is available in black, chocolate brown, blue-black or racing green but disappointingly not in americano, mocha, latte or even plain old cappuccino.

Rhiannon Batten