Clever Design And A Great Cup Of Coffee
Posted in Coffee Maker on April 11th, 2012 by Sarah Roberts – Be the first to commentWhen I got it, I thought I would only use it when I travel, since I have a Chemex and a Bodum French Press, as well as an espresso machine, but have found myself using it almost daily for iced coffee! I’ve gone from auto-drip, to the Toddy cold-brew system, to french press, to an (admittedly low-end) espresso machine and now to the AeroPress.
Fineness of the ground definitely impacts how much force you have to exert on the plunger. This thing works with a very fine grind, which means you can get the most out of your beans, and because it has a really great filter there’s zero silt.
For the last eight months, I have used only the AeroPress. If you like to go camping, this is the holy grail of coffee makers. It will be technically LESS coffee, yes, but grinding it a bit finer, boosting the water temperature a bit, or even just stirring it a bit longer (or any combination of the three) will bring the strength up. Also, it is perfectly fresh.
This unit does everything as good and as easy as I had hoped. 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, divvy the espresso up into other containers and add water or milk, if you want.
This french press is non-electric, virtually idiot proof and safe (Must know how to handle hot water carefully). After a week I was very happy and was ready to come on here and leave a 5 star review (maybe 4 stars just for the fact that they advertise it as an “espresso maker” which it clearly is not). They take up to much counter space, are expensive, and are fussy in the way of complex technology made cheaply. It’s really not much more effort than the Nespresso machine: microwave some water, grind some beans, throw it in the press, and 30 seconds of pressure.
Start the slow plunge.
I’ve had Krups etc. Its made entirely of plastic with a rubber stopper, making it durable enough for camping and travel.
I know that glass would make it more expensive but there are more and more questions coming up about hot food and drinks in contact with plastic and potentially harmful chemical emissions. For cleanup, all you do is shoot the puck of coffee into the trash, and rinse the rest with water.
Besides, when the zombies attack & sabotage your gas/electricity, you can build a fire, boil some H2O, and use this wonderful contraption to make your final cup a truly good one! Still it’s my favorite coffee maker for traveling or work as the cleanup is simple and I only need somewhere to microwave the water and a cup to make it in (and of course the coffee maker and filters). The Aeropress makes coffee that is roughly four times the strength of an automatic drip machine, so it is perfect for making iced coffee and iced mochas.
So far I’ve used it twice at home to try out and it makes a great pint of coffee. This is a great coffee maker – especially for someone like me who wants to make only 1 mug at a time. I’m lazy! As I write this I sip one of these said Americanos. All in all about the same time to make up to 4 cups, slightly more effort for the AeroPress but the AeroPress wins hands down for quality and control over taste, four people can have four different strengths or styles of coffee.
But when it comes to extraction, very few, if any, brewing devices put so much control into the hands of the brewer whole latte love.
