Reviews

Aeropress Review

November 10, 2019

Looking for a new coffee maker?

The Aeropress is a cool choice.

This thing is at the bleeding edge of hi-tech and is insanely popular right now.

If you make coffee for you and yourself only, it’s perfect.

It’s a single-serve coffee maker so there’s no messing around with loads of equipment, just 4 minutes of brewing and you’ve got yourself a cup of awesome coffee.

Pair it with some quality coffee beans and you can make coffee as good as any coffee shop.

Seriously… there are plenty of hip coffee places where you can actually buy coffee made with an Aeropresss.

That’s how good it is…

the aeropress on a mug

It’s tiny too, just a little bigger than the size of a can of coke. This makes it popular among the travel crowd for camping trips or backpacking or whatnot.

It’s a regular part of my rotation. I love how simple it is to make great coffee. And I’m a bit lazy, so I like how quick clean up is.

You can check out the Aeropress on Amazon here. The reviews are excellent, as you’d expect. You can see latest pricing info and other details on that page too.

If you wanna go more in depth, then stick around and I’ll fill you in on everytihng you need to know.

Aeropress Review – How Does It Match Up?

The Aeropress has a brewing style that doesn’t compare well to other coffee makers.

It uses an immersion method like the French Press at first – for a very short time of 10 seconds – where the ground coffee is mixed into the water.

Next, the coffee and water mix is pressurized using a vacuum – similar to espresso – through a paper filter and into the cup or container.

The result is a small amount of strong coffee ‘concentrate’. You can think of it like espresso in that you can drink it by itself, or add milk or water to create other drinks such as Cappuccinos, Lattes and so on.

It should be noted that this is not espresso and doesn’t taste that much like espresso. Real espresso requires 9 bars of pressure. Aerobie states on their website that the Aeropress produces about 0.7 bars.

It’s a surprisingly solid piece of kit. The plastic is thicker than you’d think from looking at photos and feels good quality, not cheap at all.

Even the black plastic accessories feel solid and sturdy to the touch. The plastic is a type of polypropylene and has been BPA-free since 2009 and you’ll be happy to learn that every part is made in California.

The Aeropress has come a long way in a short time to take a significant share of the market. Such is the enthusiasm of its fans that new brew techniques have been invented the thing and there is even a yearly Aeropress World Championship!

ProsCons
SUPER fast. A brewing time of 30 seconds will beat anything short of a commercial-grade espresso machine.Spillable. I’ve embarrassed myself once or twice as I watch my hard-earned coffee fly across the floor.
Sediment free. The coffee passes through a paper filter leaving you with a clean cup, free of coffee grounds.Have to buy filters. Minor point but I know people who just don’t like the hassle of keeping track of and ordering filters.
Sort of espresso. The coffee is thick and strong. While not exactly like espresso it can be used to make sort of espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.Small number of servings. Using the highest capacity only gets you roughly two medium-sized coffees.
Foolproof. There’s a lot of room for error when making Aeropress coffee. Only two steps leaves little room to mess up and over/underextract, burn etc. 
Travelling. Its small size, light weight and easy clean up make it an excellent thing to take on the road with your hand grinder. 
Clean up. Easy to throw the filter and puck of coffee grinds away then a quick rinse and you’re done. 
Build quality. This thing will last you for years. 

How Do You Make Aeropress Coffee?

Here’s my 10-second how-to on making coffee with an Aeropress. Hit play on the video just below to see it in action!

1. Boil your water.
2. Set up your Aeropress. Put the filter in and screw it together.
3. Measure coffee using Aeropress measuring spoon or a scale.
4. Grind the coffee. Fine grind, a little more coarse than for espresso.
5. Prewet the filter.
6. Put the coffee in the Aeropress.
7. Add hot water and stir for 10 seconds.
8. Push the vacuum down slowly. It should take 20-30 seconds.
9. Pour your coffee! Add water or milk to taste.

What Does Aeropress Coffee Taste Like?

The Aeropress has a unique brewing style, as I mentioned. French Press-style immersion brewing for 10 seconds then Espresso-style pressurizing the coffee through a filter. This produces a unique taste.

Aeropress coffee tastes bright and light tasting. You get a high flavor clarity with a touch of body which results in a very smooth tasting drink.

Its closest relative would be the Pour Over method – in part because both usually use a paper filter. It is slightly less rich but highlights the softer, fruitier notes in the coffee.

For this reason, I find it’s an excellent method when using lighter roasts and African beans which are noted for these flavors.

Of course, I recommend you experiment, I know people who would crucify me for using African beans in an Aeropress!

The coffee has little body. The paper filter catches the thicker coffee oils that make the cup feel rich, but also means you have a cup free of sediment. That means that the coffee feels less thick than the heavy body taste of a French Press coffee.

Aeropress is a great option for those who dislike acidic coffee. From the manufacturer’s website: “AeroPress brewed coffee contains about one-fifth the acidity of drip brewed coffee and one-ninth the acidity of French press brewed coffee.” Note that this is under optimal brewing conditions.

Where The Aeropress Originated

So this thing was invented less than 10 years ago and was made by a company that made its name selling frisbees – Aerobie.

Yes, you’re reading that right. In fact, the Aerobie Pro frisbee set the world record two times and it was also the first object to be thrown across the Niagara Falls!

The Aeropress was invented by serial engineer and inventor Alan Adler, a man who has lectured at NASA and Stanford. The story goes that Adler was irked by what he saw in coffee makers on the market.

The traditional drip machine was too slow, too big and just aching to be made obsolete. A few weeks in his garage and Adler had created a device that used a vacuum seal to brew and pressurize coffee. A device that turned into the Aeropress.

the many parts of an aeropress

My opinion of the Aeropress (Do I use it regularly?)

I really like the Aeropress and I do use mine regularly. I keep one in my office along with a French Press and I alternate between the two depending on my mood. The speed of making a coffee with it is unreal.

If you’ve got a decent automatic grinder you can make a coffee in less than a minute. I spend more time cleaning the device than brewing with it!

I usually top up the coffee concentrate it produces with hot water to make an Americano. This is more out of necessity than anything as I don’t have easy access to a fridge.

If I did I’d probably aim to be making some killer Flat Whites with it.

I have also used it while travelling. If you don’t know whether your hotel will serve good coffee, the small and light Aeropress comes in very handy.

Should I Get An Aeropress?

YES absolutely! It’s only $30 for a super fast method of high-quality coffee. You can check it out here on Amazon where it has an outrageously high 4.8 star average across all its reviews!

I particularly recommend buying an Aeropress if you want to make espresso-style drinks for cheap. Espresso machines cost hundreds of dollars and buckets of knowhow.

You get a pretty decent approximation to a Cappuccino or Latte with one of these. Just the price of a few beers and 30 seconds reading the instructions!

Another reason I’d recommend it is if you are used to using a French Press or Pour Over or Autodrip Coffee Maker.

Trying new methods of making coffee, particularly in the same day or with the same coffee beans, is a great idea to start understanding and appreciating good coffee. Read my website more and you’ll probably get bored of me saying it!

And don’t forget to learn how to make great Aeropress coffee in my rock solid guide!

cute drawing of an aeropress

1 Comment

  • Reply Russell Volz October 8, 2020 at 10:33 pm

    There are few things in life more fun than turning someone onto coffee. How many times have I heard people say, “I hate coffee”? I then bet them $5 that I can make a cup of coffee for them that they’ll love and it won’t have more than 10 calories in it. How do I make that coffee? You guessed it. AeroPress. It’s the only way to fly.

    Oh, and the money I make with my bets, buys me a nice bottle of wine a few times per year.

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