Aeropress - My review

16 years ago

On the linked thread about Keurigs and other single cup coffee makers, Michaelmaxp recommended the Aeropress. He's a coffee afficionado and it was only $20, so I ordered one from Amazon. It came yesterday, I've made a few cups and here's my review so far.

Pros:

- Even though the beans I used have been sitting on a shelf at room temp for several months, I'm making the best home brewed coffee I can remember in recent history. And that's after having used a Starbucks machine, a Cuisinart machine, Melitta drip thingy, French Press and Keurig over the past few years.

- To date I haven't found a Keurig single that's strong enough for my taste, even the Rocket Fuel or whatever it's called. And I don't mean just a bolder taste like a French Roast, but a nice, dark coffee that barely lightens up as you add cream. This morning I had that, and after just one cup I have a nice coffee buzz to show for it.

- Cleanup is a snap. Unscrew the bottom, push the plunger through to shoot the coffee and filter into the garbage, rinse for a second or two, done.

Cons:

- You need 175 deg water to make the coffee, then more hot water to top off. If you're always making the same amount then you can come up with a system with your microwave so you know how long to heat. But you'd have to come up with several systems if you vary the amount you're brewing. Maybe not a big deal, but worth noting - not quite as simple as using "just off boil" 205 or so in a French press or Melitta, etc. I don't have to worry about it because I use my Keurig for instant hot. By the time the water sits in a measuring cup for a few seconds it's exactly 175.

- Cost. The two scoops needed to make a cup of coffee weigh in at 24g. (The scoops are big so this is more than conventional machine.) So rough math, you get just 18 cups out of a pound of coffee. The particular roast I bought is $9/lb, so $.50 a cup. This is more than a cup from the Keurig, which I already find expensive, and a lot of gourmet beans cost more than $9/lb. At least around here.

- I saw some complaints on Amazon about it being hard to plunge. It's not an issue for me but I can see where it might be, for some people.

Conclusion:

I'm really happy with the purchase. As simple as it is to use, I don't see myself reaching for it every single time I want a quick cup of coffee considering I've got the couldn't-be-simpler-or-faster Keurig sitting right there. But when I don't mind spending an extra couple minutes for a really good cup I know where I'll be going.

Thanks Michael, for the recommendation!!!

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Comments (10)

foodonastump
Original Author
16 years ago
Original thread...

Here is a link that might be useful: Single Cup Thread
annie1992
16 years ago
Thanks, FOAS, for that review. I haven't bought one, although I thought about it. I just do not need another coffee making gadget and I don't know where the he!! I'd put it.

I'm also glad to hear about the water heating issue because I am not patient enough to heat/cool water to anywhere near a specific temperature. Heck, I don't even boil water for the french press some mornings, I just stick yesterday's coffee in the microwave and then head to work!

Annie
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michaelmaxp
16 years ago
I've found a couple things that address the cons of your review.

Hard to plunge: The hard to plunge reports that you read in Amazon are typically due to a grind that is a bit too fine. Too coarse and it drains too fast so you need to pay attention to settings, timing, and look/feel until you get it dialed in. Once I figured that out, it's a breeze. Also, begin the plunge nice and easy, once you hit that hard resistance, continue nice and easy and it it typically releases.

175 degree water: Having made espressos professionally for a number of years, I developed an accurate feel for temperature while wrapping a hand around the steam pitcher during thousands of drinks. Here's what I've learned and it translates well in determining the proper temp for the aeropress: Working from cool water to hot water is easier to describe but the info can be reversed with a little practice. If I barely dip a finger in the water and it's hot, almost too hot to keep my finger in it, but I still can- that's pretty darn close to 150 degrees. Just too hot to keep the finger in but not so bad that I wince, is 160-165. Continuing that scenario, just a little bit hotter is my target temp. I realize that there are different thresholds of heat tolerance among individuals but having trained a lot of folks in the art of steaming milk, I found that this simple built in thermometer works for most people after some practice with an instant read thermometer as your coach. So here's how it works for me- at work we have a Zojirushi water boiler that generates water at about 206 degrees. I mostly fill the plunger (it's hollow and holds water) with 206 degree water and than dribble in a little cold from the tap-it doesn't take much. If my finger test allows an easy lounging dip, I've added too much- if it's too hot to linger, not hot enough to cause wincing, but still not comfortable, I'm there. This process takes a few seconds. Once plunged, I add the 206 water to taste. The entire process start to finish is pretty close to 30 seconds.

Expense: I didn't do the cost analysis that FOAS did but I do use more coffee for this method than i do for any other. It's well worth it to me though, to get such results.

mp
jessyf
16 years ago
Why am I having a good time reading about guys 'plunging' away
jessyf
16 years ago
Copied/pasted from an email just sent to me adding to the above, from one who is too chicken to post - and wouldn't take me up on the dare -

"...using proper timing and pressure, and then shooting it out the end and giving it a quick rinse and let's not forget grinding it just right...."
foodonastump
Original Author
16 years ago
Michael - Thanks, I'll play around with the grind. Right now I'm at the low end of the "fine" range on my Capresso burr grinder.

Jessica - I worry about you with the friends you keep. What a pig he must be!
michaelmaxp
16 years ago
Jessy, only you can turn a coffee thread into porno... I'm impressed.

mp
cooksnsews
16 years ago
Another Aeropress fan here. I'll confess that I don't bother too much about water temp. I boil water in an electric kettle, and I probably make my coffee with too hot water. I like that it is fast, lo-tech, and easy to clean.
kathleen_li
16 years ago
Food, I am easy..a cup of Dunkin' will be fine! :)
jillq
16 years ago
I used the aeropress for about a year and loved the coffee. I agree it uses up a lot of coffee beans but that didn't bother me. I did however get "aeropress shoulder" from pushing down on the plunger. This was basically solved by placing the press in my sink and plunging from above. I have since switched to the Bosch tassimo which I love and is even quicker which is why I switched. They both make a great cup of coffee.

Aeropress - My review

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Aeropress - My review

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