AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker with Bonus 350 Micro Filters
Posted July 22, 2010
By Calvin
- Total immersion of the grounds in the water results in rapid yet robust extraction of flavor
- Because of the lower temperature and short brew time, the acid level of the brew is much lower than conventional brewers.
- Micro-filtered coffee so pure and particle-free that it can be stored for days as a concentrate.
- AeroPress is chamber is nearly self-cleaning. A 10-second rinse of the plunger is all that’s required.
- Compact, perfect for camping. includes 1 press, 1 funnel, 1 scoop, 1 Stirrer, and enough filters to last for 2 years!!
Product Description
The AeroPress is an entirely new way to make coffee, American style or Espresso style for use in lattes, cappucinos and other espresso based drinks. AeroPress brews simply delicious coffee, 1-4 cups per pressing. Ideal water temperature and faster brewing yields rich flavor with lower acidity and without bitterness. Other brewing processes use near boiling water and long exposure to coffee grounds. Quickly brew a variety of coffee drinks including an Americano or an… More >>
AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker with Bonus 350 Micro Filters
This is a fussy and expensive way to go about making coffee. And just slightly better than mediocre coffee at that. First, heat the water to 175º (Huh? I need a thermometer, too?). Then scoop in enough coffee grounds to make a full pot of French press so that you can get (only) three shots of espresso*. Then let it sit. Then press it down, carefully but firmly (too carefully, it won’t press but too firmly and the grounds blow out the sides). Then add more hot water if you want a more traditional style coffee rather than espresso. OR, just make coffee. I bought this to use in my office where the regular coffee was god-awful. I ended up just buying my own small brewer for my desktop. *BTW: I have a Bialetti three-shot stove top espresso maker that blows this Aero-thingy out of the water in quality, ease of use and speed of coffee delivery. Skip this, buy that instead. You’re welcome.
Rating: 1 / 5
The key to coffee or tea not being bitter is using 195 dF water instead of boiling water. Aeropress recommends 175 dF water. This can easily be done with a Zojirushi 5.0 L Hot water Pot, which is tall enough to fit your cup and the maker underneath.
After pressing down, for several minutes my coffee was cold. If you coffee cups has little cracks, you might shatter it with the pressure required for a few minutes to make the coffee.
Also their scoop that make one little cup of coffee, and I can make 6 cups of coffee in the Espresso Inox stove top maker. If you want to make less bitter coffee, I recommend a French Press and 195 dF water. There are inexpensive glass ones or the Insulated Stainless Bodum Columbia.
Rating: 1 / 5
It produces a decent cup of coffee. As the description claims, the coffee doesn’t have as much of the bitter taste you get with coffee. I am not quite sure if it was worth buying. Heating the water, for me, isn’t difficult. I have found that one cup of filtered water from my fridge heats to the desired temperature within two minutes in my microwave. Pressing the coffee isn’t as hard as some users have claimed; however, i had one instance in which my mug slipped and coffee grounds and water went everywhere. It would have been nice if the press came with a cup, like the one that is pictured with the press. This way, the chances of slipping or knocking over the press wouldn’t be as great.
As far as the taste of coffee goes, it’s not bad. I don’t think it’s the best cup I’ve ever had though. It seems that you have to use a lot of coffee grounds to produce one shot (or one cup of coffee)… more so than a brewer.
I will say that this would be a valuable item for some situations like camping or if your office’s coffee tastes like dirt.
Clean up is very easy as long as you don’t knock the press over.
Rating: 2 / 5
Despite glowing reviews and this gadget inventor’s pedigree, I was still skeptical. I was so eager to test it I started the boiler before I unpack AeroPress. After 4 cups of espresso grind, 8 oz of water, and a good push, I am now a believer. Everything performed as I visualized and the clean up was… ridiculously minimal. I almost felt guilty NOT having much to clean up afterwards. ~written while sipping on a nice cup of espresso
Additional Comment 3/31/2010:
After 2+ weeks of using this product on a daily basis I must come back and add another star to my rating. If you like your coffee smooth, strong, and the way you like it, there’s not another product like it elsewhere. The pressing part might be more difficult if using a fine grind and has 3+ cups of coffee grinds. I personally has no problems at all but I would suggest trying with 1 cup of coffee grind to get use to the pressure as you press. You gonna love this!!
Rating: 5 / 5
Just received this yesterday and made one cup of coffee, so take this review with a grain of salt.
I’ve spent the last few years experimenting and improving my French press, drip brew (Chemex), and (a long time ago) Senseo brewing techniques. AeroPress Coffee should not be compared at all to French press, which is distinctive for the direct taste of coffee grounds. Chemex is a better comparison to AeroPress because of the use of filters, but Chemex is not made under pressure and leaves a more acid flavor. AeroPress shouldn’t be compared to espresso either, because having drank two-time US barista champion Heather Perry’s coffee, well… AeroPress doesn’t hold a candle to that rich flavor. Of the techniques familiar to me, Senseo brewing is most comparable to AeroPress, since both use sub-boiling temperature and pass water under pressure through coffee grounds. The problem with Senseo is having to use pods, which are finicky and almost force you to grind your coffee well ahead of when you’ll drink it.
AeroPress allows us to use any coffee beans we want, grind them just before use, and control the temperature and speed of water extraction. For all those reasons, and the previous great reviews posted here, I was excited to try it. On my 1st cup of AeroPress, the taste was strong and concentrated, but simple and straightforward. There was a bit of froth, but definitely not crema. Best of all for my stomach, the acid content was surprisingly mild. I don’t have a pH meter at home, but the AeroPress coffee is substantially less bitter and acidic than any of my other home brewing techniques. In short, AeroPress makes a smooth and tasty coffee, but if you really want to extract all the complexity of your coffee beans, I still recommend French press or an espresso machine.
Here’s a hint on creating 175F water, which is the temperature recommended by the manufacturer. At sea level, the boiling temperature of water is 212F, and room temperature water is about 70F. Therefore, a 3:1 mixture of boiling water to room temperature filtered water will be 177F, and you’ll probably lose a couple degrees during mixing. Enjoy your wonderful coffee!
Rating: 4 / 5