I have owned the AeroPress for over two years and, judging by the number of filters I have used so far, I have brewed about 600 cups of coffee with it. It has become an essential part of my daily routine. It is fast, easy, and the grounds just pop out into the trash or compost. But all this has already been covered in these reviews. Here are a few additional points worth considering:
-It can brew a few cups of coffee in just a few minutes and make each cup as weak or as strong as my guest wants.
-If you are expecting the coffee to taste like espresso or like French-pressed coffee, remember that the AeroPress uses a paper filter. It filters out much of the oil that would otherwise be present. I prefer my coffee this way but others may not. Think of it as the best drip coffee maker in the world.
-Unlike an espresso machine or a French press, you can grind the coffee in a basic blade grinder because a consistent grind isn't necessary. In a French press, your coffee will have too much silt and the bottom of your cup will be sludge.
-With a little practice, you'll soon be able to customize your coffee exactly how you like it. Adjust acidity with water temperature and steep time. Adjust strength with the grind and the coffee-to-water ratio.
-When I lost a piece of my AeroPress, Aerobie sent me a replacement for just a couple of dollars. They were easy to contact, helpful, and friendly. This is a great product made by an excellent little company.
This is the first time I've decided to review a product online. If you found this helpful, click the little box below. And if there is anything else you'd like to know, please click "comment" and ask me.
I did many hours of research into coffee makers before deciding on an Aeropress. I learned that several factors influence the coffee you end up with: the temperature of the water, the way the water mixes with the coffee, and how the coffee is extracted from the grounds. I found it difficult to find knowledgeable reviews of the various coffee machines, so I decided to take control of my coffee preparation. The aeropress allows you to control how hot the water is and how long you let it mix with the coffee.
The whole coffee making process is explained in the products instructions.
1. Insert a filter and some coffee into the unit. A coffee scoop and some filters are included with the aeropress, they recommend 1 scoop of coffee per cup.
2. Heat the right amount of water. Markers are printed on the side of the Aeropress to show the recommended amount of water for between 1 and 4 (the maximum) espresso shots. The manufacturers recommend water between 75 and 80 degrees. I don't know if this is correct, because I don't have a thermometer in the kitchen, and in any case, I'm not going to stick a thermometer in water to get it to a precise temperature. I boil water in my kettle and let the water sit for a set time before use. Alternatively, you could microwave the water for a set time. A bit of experimentation and you'll find how hot you like the water. I agree with Aeropress that boiling hot water extracts unpleasant flavors.
3. Mix the water with the grounds. The grounds are immersed in water, much like in a french press, but the manufacturers recommend letting the water sit for no more than about 10 seconds. I find that this is about right, but you can experiment and decide for yourself.
4. Insert the plunger and push the water out of the Aeropress. You press the plunger down so that it extracts the water from the grounds over about 20 seconds. The Aeropress needs to be on a strong and stable container, such as a mug, for this part of the process. Pressing the plunger requires a bit of strength if you are making more than one espresso shot. You'll need to press down for about 20 seconds.
5. Drink up, or dilute the espresso shot(s) for American coffee or mix them for cappuccino, or whatever.
I am very happy with the Aeropress. It makes great tasting coffee. It's easy to clean and inexpensive. In my opinion the aeropress is superior to french press or manual drip percolator coffee. It is not as convenient as a machine but I'm willing to spend the effort for good coffee.
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***Update 3/15/11*** It's been over 4 years, and I still use this coffee maker every single day. I'm STILL on my first packet of filters, and still in love. I rinse the filters out and reuse once or twice per filter. And no, I haven't flipped it over. Yet.
As a certified coffee snob, I thought it didn't get better than french press. Fugetaboudit! The Aeropress renders a sweet, flavorful, impeccable Americano every time that will change your expectations forever. I have a drip coffee machine, a french press and a Krups espresso maker, and they are all officially retired thanks to the Aeropress.
I can't say enough about the results, but note that the Aerobie is more time-consuming to use than either french press or drip coffee makers, more comparable to espresso makers. Well worth it, mind you, but NOT as quick and painless as the manufacturer would have you believe. This product makes espresso by forcing air through the grounds using a syringe-type plunger. You must put in a filter, add the grounds, measure out the precise amount of water, add water and stir. You then have to place the Aeropress on top of a cup to use it, exert a pretty good amount of force, and then, if you're making two or more cups, divy the espresso up into other containers and add water or milk, if you want. So far I haven't done it, but I think it would be really easy to push too hard, flip over the cup, and spray espresso everywhere.
Still, greatest coffee ever, no competition. If you want the best, you gotta put in the time.
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Coffee is one of those things that are highly subjective, coffee snobs and everyday coffee drinkers cannot even agree on what is "good" coffee. It comes down to preference and the Aeropress is great at making a clean cup but still retain some flavor. It cannot make Espresso and it cannot make french pressed coffee. It is regular filtered coffee, whether you hand pour it, machine brew it or push it through a tube, it is plain old filtered coffee. Because of the filter, it cannot make the other kinds of coffee, it can only adjust the strength of the brew.
That being said, the Aeropress is a great filter coffee maker because it gives the user more control than most other systems. You control the temperature, the brew time, the grind and the proportions. Just like a french press, you have full control of all of these things. This allows you to brew coffee in different strengths, although I still recommend using the standard rules of coffee brewing. The point is to extract the exact amount of flavor out of the grinds and everyone has their own opinion of what that means. The standard method is to use 1 table spoon of grinds per 2oz of water, water should be 190F, I prefer a medium grind to avoid extracting bitter/acidic flavors. Timing is the strange part about the Aeropress, with a hand pour method, a slow steady flow works best which takes about 3 to 4 minutes to complete. But with the Aeropress, the water is pushed through instead, so it seems to take about 15 30 seconds. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not, it's such a small window for error that I cannot tell whether I am doing it right or not. With other brewing methods, it is much slower so you can watch the grinds and the coffee come out and adjust as you brew. But with the Aeropress, it all happens at once and you get what you get. Still, it is consistent and probably good enough for most.
I must emphasize that the Aeropress does not make espresso or french press. Espresso is a mythical drink and to claim that an aeropress can make it is an insult. You probably cannot make decent espresso for less than $600.00. I know that's snob talk, but seriously, true espresso is amazingly hard to attain, which means you probably wouldn't even know what it tastes like. So to claim that this thing can make it, probably means you don't know what you're talking about. Oh it can make a strong shot of something that tastes like the espresso at starbucks... I'll leave it at that. As for french press, the filter used in the Aeropress is way too fine to let the oils and flavors through. It will filter out all the floral flavors, the honey flavors and all the really really good stuff in your coffee. This is why the aeropress is so consistent, if you filter out some of the oils and flavors, then many different coffees will taste alike. This is not a bad thing, it is what you want in a clean cup, no earthy, nutty, dirty flavors in every cup (not everyone likes these flavors).
What I don't like about the Aeropress is the mess. Everything is plastic which the coffee oils easily cling to. If it is not cleaned thoroughly after every use, grinds will start sticking to it and the parts get oily (which adds stale yucky flavors to your next cup), yuck. And for you bulk coffee buyers out there, the beans are especially oily on the outside. This means the inside of the bean is all dried out and you have no flavor in it. It also means that when you grind it, it will get really staticky and fly all over the place. Do yourselves a favor and shop for beans the way you would an orange, look for a bag that feels heavier than it looks, this means the beans are juicier on the inside. Good beans will grind much better, the oils won't stick to your gear and clean up will be much much much easier. Except for the Aeropress though, because the oils get extracted inside it. Now if they made a pyrex version of the Aeropress, that'd be mighty impressive.
Anyway, Aeropress is good. It's a quick/dirty way to a good, consistent cup of coffee. Requires more maintenance than preferable. The tube is not very big, so it will only make one mug of coffee at a time, heavy drinkers will not like this. Complaints about it requiring more grinds than other makers are not true, follow the standard brewing rules and all makers use the same amount of coffee (just because more stuff comes out does not mean it is making "more" coffee, just diluted/over brewed coffee). Now I'd be amazed if anyone read this review all the way through.
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Wow! Best cup of coffee I ever had. And so simple! The design is brilliant. I'm impressed with the quality of construction, ease of use, ease of cleanup, and the great taste. This is the end of all other methods of coffee production.
I fill the plunger to the appropriate mark with hot tap water and place it in the microwave for 20 seconds (the experimentally determined time to reach 175). While the water is heating I place a filter sheet in the cap, place it on the chamber, and add 1 scoop of coffee. With the chamber on top of my cup, I add the now hot water, stir, and press. Cleanup consists of ejecting the used coffee into the composting pot and rinsing the end of the plunger. Then I'm ready to enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.
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Very disappointed in this. I bought the 3 cup version and it worked perfectly, but 3 cups is one big cappuccino for me. I ordered the 12 cup because I used one while staying in the Dominican Republic. It was great. Enough coffee for me and my husband, with enough left over for an iced coffee in the afternoon.
