Handpresso is the world's first handheld espresso maker

Jean Reno, Gérard Depardieu, Eric Cantona, croissants, and crepes - the French are responsible for some major contributions to the rest of the world's enjoyment of life.

In Fontainebleau in 2006, they added the Handpresso to that disjointed list of people and comestibles. Handpresso is neither a person nor a comestible, but Henrik Nielsen is a person and he invented it.

Not a very French name but that's because he's not French. He's Danish and the Danes have also greatly enriched our lives - Mads Mikkelsen (he was Hannibal in a boxset based on the films - if you haven't seen it, you're like so not in our gang anymore), pastries, and Hans Christian Andersen.

Did you know that Frozen was based on his story? Not the film about the switched off ski lift and not the song by Madonna, but the proper Frozen, Disney's Frozen. That's how cool Danes are.

Handpresso is the world's first handheld espresso maker. It's available in 25 countries and has won seven international design awards. In 2012, partnerships with car manufacturers enabled Handpresso to create a version for use on the road. At last there is a selling point for Skoda.

So what is a Handpresso? It's kind of like a bike pump with an espresso machine at the end. You manually pump pressure into the device (not in front of your mother), add hot water (using the beautiful matching flask), grind coffee (with the equally attractive grinder), and tamp (yep - there's a special tamper to match). You press a button and the magic happens.

You can make an espresso just about anywhere in the world with nothing but your Handpresso kit - up mountains, out at sea, stranded on desert islands or in the cab of a Ford Transit in the Waitrose car park.

As proper jet-set adventurers, we just had to road-test our new toy. Despite being mistaken for doggers by the kindly security guard, incurring a fine for outstaying our welcome, and desperately requiring the use of Waitrose's amenities, our mission was a resounding success. The Handpresso really can make a decent espresso and given all the faffing about our in-store machine demands, that's no mean feat for a bike pump.

All together now: "Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky..."