Aerobie 80R08 AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Aerobie 80R08 AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
Customer Review: Hard to end up with a "bad" cup of coffee; Not a true espresso though
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't consider myself a coffee connoisseur, but I do enjoy a nice rich dark cup of coffee - basically all the espresso varieties. I am very pleased with this purchase and agree that it blows away a french press hands down. The next most affordable "upgrade" would be a Nespresso Essenza machine (most affordable of the Nespresso line), but at $200 vs. $25 it's a no brainer. I like a super dark roast very finely ground, and use Cafe La Llave which is perhaps the best "Cuban" style coffee you can buy in the States.
ADVANTAGES:
>> Produces a full-bodied brew with a clean aftertaste
>> Boil the water then wait a couple of minutes for it to cool to about 180 degrees before pressing = virtually no bitterness to the coffee
>> Lower water temperature, lower period of contact with the water, and the paper filter eliminate almost all the acidity from the coffee (awesome if you suffer from heartburn)
>> Better result than with a French Press - including vs. presses with two filter screens
>> Super easy clean-up. Literally a matter of untwisting a cap, pressing the remainder of the syringe all the way through the tube, and holding the gadget under running water.
>> A much healthier alternative to other coffee brewing methods. Here is a quote from the Johns Hopkins (#1 ranked hospital in the US) that clarifies the relationship between coffee and elevated cholesterol. The Aeropress solves both issues: (1) lack of paper filter; (2) excessive contact with hot water.
"When boiled or percolated, consumed coffee can raise serum cholesterol levels. We think it is a result of hot water and coffee grounds combining to create oils called 'terpenes.' Research shows that like some other oils, terpenes can raise blood cholesterol when ingested. And the longer the hot water and coffee grounds are in contact with each other -- as with boiled and percolated coffee -- the more terpenes are produced. The increase in overall cholesterol levels from drinking boiled or percolated coffee varies from person to person, but it averages about 12 mg/dl. An overall reading of below 200 mg/dl is considered healthy. With filtered drip coffee, however, we see no such increase in cholesterol because the water speeds through coffee grounds more quickly, producing fewer terpenes. Using a paper filter seems to be even more protective, as the filter absorbs some of the terpenes."
>> Price
>> Fun factor / impress friends and family
>> Very well built - likely to last years
>> Super cheap filters (for $5 or $6 you get 350 of them)
>> Doesn't take up too much space on the counter top
DRAWBACKS:
>> Not a true espresso. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), "Espresso is a 45ml (1.5 ounces) beverage that is prepared from 7-9 grams of coffee through which clean water of 192° - 198° F (88° - 92° C) has been forced at 9-10 atmospheres of pressure, where the grind of the coffee has made the brewing "flow" time approximately 22-28 seconds. While brewing, the flow of Espresso will appear to have the viscosity of warm honey and the resulting beverage will exhibit a thick dark gold cream foam ("crema") topping." The Aeropress falls short here in that: (1) the water measurements is not exact; (2) the water temperature cannot be perfectly controlled; (3) the pressure applied is anybody's guess and varies greatly from press to press; (4) the press time is much shorter and varies inversely with the pressure applied; (5) You can force a little bit of bubble/foam through the press, but you will never get the crema no matter what anybody else says in their reviews - a true "crema" will hold a teaspoon of sugar for several seconds before it sinks. Also, according to the makers of illy coffee (perhaps the best Italian coffee you can buy in the States from a grocery store shelf), an espresso should have an acidic note. The Aeropress significantly lowers/eliminates acidity in the coffee, so that's arguably another reason it's not an espresso.
>> You can get a maximum of about 12 ounces of coffee from each pressing. If you're serving several people, you'll make a mess positioning the Aeropress over one cup, then the next, then the next, etc. Otherwise you gotta press several times (onece per cup) and give each person their cup as soon as the press is complete. If not, then somebody will end up with a cooler cup of coffee than the others.
>> Hard to get a good hot cup of espresso - especially after you mix in your sugar and stir!
>> Would have been nice to include a storage unit that neatly holds all the parts when not in use. I would have paid the extra $5 had it existed. For now, each time I use it I put it back into the original packaging, which is the only neat way I am able to store it aside until the next use.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're an espresso guru or enthusiast, this is not your brewing device. If, on the other hand, you want a fantastic cup of coffee ranging from "intense" to "American" in flavor, don't want to spend too much time cleaning up each time you enjoy that coffee, and don't have too much money to spend then consider the Aeropress. If you do buy the Aeropress, do yourself a couple of favors: (1) Use high-quality, finely ground coffee; (2) Use filtered or bottled water; (3) Make life easier on yourself by also purchasing an electric kettle - one with temperature control would be best since boiling hot water = bitter coffee
Customer Review: Great filtered coffee
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Customer Review: Good, but I'll stick with my French press
Summary: 4 Stars
The Good:
* rich, flavorful coffee when made correctly
* ridiculously easy to clean
* very small to store
* ultra-portable (an ideal solution for camping)
The Bad:
* it takes practice to get it right
* made of plastic
* only makes one cup at a time (or two at most)
* uses disposable paper filters
* requires a bit of muscle to press
Like many reviewers, I've been searching for the "perfect cup" for a long time, and have tried just about everything -- drip brew, French press, home espresso makers, and cold brewing included. The AeroPress is a respectable and very original entry in my menagerie of shelfware, operating on a principle somewhere between the French press (fully immersed steeping) and an espresso maker (pressurized finish). Generally, I like it, and the product information above is correct to note its advantages over drip brewing (which can be serviceable, but never especially good), cartridge machines (decent but unexceptional coffee, and too expensive per cup) and espresso makers (a poor option unless you can spend a fortune on a serious machine -- and take the time to learn to use it). But I keep coming away from the AeroPress preferring my French press. Here's why.
First of all, a French press is easy to get right. Rough to medium grind, dump in with hot water, stir, wait five minutes, and press. You can tinker a bit with quantities and steeping time, but right off the bat, you'll be close to the mark. With the AeroPress, there are more variables (more grind options, and you add water twice in the process instead of once), which may mean more flexibility, but also more places to go astray. I thought it would be uncomplicated, but it took a lot of experimenting to get it right, and I still haven't found the right mix to make two decent cups at once. The ranges painted on the side of the canister are more confounding than helpful -- just ignore them and play with it.
Second, the AeroPress is made of plastic (it has to be, since it requires applying a fair amount of pressure). The plastic is high quality and BPA free, which helps, but I'm still not sure coffee and plastic are a good pairing. If it were, you'd see French presses and drip carafes made of it, but aside from camping gear, glass is standard for a reason. On the plus side, the AeroPress is shatterproof, but even with hard, non-melting plastic, I'm not convinced that it isn't throwing off the taste.
Third, though it's quick and fairly easy to use, it's designed to make a cup (two at most) at a time. That doesn't sound like a problem until you realize that making another cup means going back to the kitchen, heating more water, grinding more beans, taking things out and putting them away again, etc. Not a big deal, but by the third cup, it's getting seriously old. With a French press, you do it once and you're on to other things for the morning.
Fourth, it uses paper filters. They're small and cheap, but all else being equal, I'll take a coffee maker that doesn't produce paper waste over one that does.
Finally, it is a bit of work to press the coffee. I don't mind, but it may not be a good solution for those less willing or able to exert themselves. I mention this partly because the manufacturers claim a French press is harder to use, and that's just plain silly. You can plunge a French press with the weight of your hand, but this requires pressing hard enough that I'm sometimes a little nervous about breaking a mug. (No casualties yet, I should note.)
All that said, the AeroPress still makes very good coffee with a little practice, and if you're like me, searching for the perfect cup, you'll probably also find the experimenting kind of intriguing. If you get it just right, maybe you'll prefer it. In any case, it's good enough to make a perfect solution for campers -- smaller than any French press, lightweight, and virtually unbreakable. Search the internet for "camping" and "coffee" and you'll find a thousand dissatisfied people deliberating about whether to pack a plastic French press, "rough it" with instant coffee, or just give up and drink tea. I've always settled for instant, but no more -- this is coming with me from now on.
Customer Review: Yep, it's that good.
Summary: 5 Stars
Update after a year 6/22/08:
I've had the Aeropress for over a year, and am happy as a clam.
If you want the best coffee ever:
1. order beans from one of the sites that roast your beans after you order, not before. Choose high-rated beans if you're not sure what you want. (one recent winner: Kenyan Peaberry from Atomic Cafe). As soon as they arrive (I never can wait):
2. Start boiling water and set up filter in Aeropress.
3. Grind beans fine (almost to espresso fineness, but not quite) in most any $15 grinder--you don't need a burr grinder with Aeropress. I use just under 1/4 cup (just covers my grinder's blades--and with this small amount, only 10-15 seconds of pulse grinding does the trick). And load ground coffee into Aeropress (I use the supplied funnel).
4. Pour boiling or near-boiling water into large mug (about 1 1/2 cups). Insert instant read thermometer and add water or just stir until temperature drops to 175F-180F.
5. Pour 175F water into Aeropress (placed on 2nd mug (a sturdy mug on a sturdy surface).
6. Immediately stir with any spoon for 5 seconds, but don't let spoon scrape filter at bottom, and wait just 3-5 seconds before using plunger.
7. Plunge (with a good deal of weight over cup) for 10 to 25 seconds, pausing every few seconds if too much resistance. Push until grounds are compressed/squeezed (it is actually easy at the end).
8. Enjoy an exceptional (but not perfect) double espresso in your mug--as is; or add hot water (only 1/2 cup (my preference--very strong) to 1 cup--med. to med-strong) to make a perfect coffee (americano).
9. Savor.
10. Clean up by rinsing off and air drying filter for reuse 5 to 30 times (until ripped or frayed). Pop the coffee puck into garbage or compost. Rinsing Aeropress is enough, no need to wash unit.
Note: I originally preferred 185F to 190F because I was so used to the bite of acid and bitters. Go with what you prefer, but 175F is best IMO--most flavors and complexity.
The combination of the freshest very strong coffee and very low acid/bitterness is euphoric.
As mentioned, Aeropress espresso is excellent, but not quite perfect; and that is because the crema from Aeropress is too airy and dissipates quickly; in other words, it looks like crema, but it's really a stretch to call it that (as I did previously). Also, when making espresso, I nudge up the temperature to 180F to get the slightest hint of bitters. It is still smooth and strong. That said, if you don't take your espresso straight (I do), but make it as the base for your lattes, cappuccinos, etc., then Aeropress is pretty much perfect for those too.
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Preliminary review: I just used the aeropress for the second time and am very happy with it. I've read the reviews here and at [...] and as effusive as they were, I had one over-riding concern: would the coffee be too bland and not strong enough (with a slight bitter kick) for my taste? I like coffee black and strong; always have and always will. , Good espresso is heavenly. Therefore all the reviews about how "smooth" the aeropress coffee is made me wary. I like a touch of bitterness and distrusted the c.170 degree recommended water temperature.
Anyways, the espresso came out nice and thick, very full-bodied and rich. There also was a very nice combination of enough acid with a heavy, rich taste experience. The complexity of some good beans came through, and perhaps were even enhanced over my good french press. I'm delighted.
I'll come back and expand when I've used this a bit more, but as for now I highly recommend the aeropress and can assure those who may have similar concern that a hand-press won't deliver "real espresso": It does. One more word: There is real crema if one firmly pumps down an inch or two of air on top of the grounds. The quality of the crema is just so-so, (light, with no distinction) but it's there. A professional espresso machine works at about 130psi (9-10 bars/atmospheres) to get the crema everyone loves; and that is one thing, and as far as I can tell, the only thing, out of reach for the aeropress.
Customer Review: Delicious Coffee and Great Value!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned two "prosumer" home espresso machines, but sold or gave them both away. They take up to much counter space, are expensive, and are fussy in the way of complex technology made cheaply. I've replaced them with a combination of this Aeropress and a "Bellmann Cappuccino" Moka-style pot. We've come to like the coffee from the Aeropress so much, that I only use the Bellmann pot for it's steam wand, using it to perfectly froth milk for latte's that are better than ones made by any coffee house barista.
Make no mistake - the Aeropress doesn't make real espresso. But it does make perfect strong coffee for Americano's and latte's, which are the two my family drinks anyway. The coffee that the Aeropress produces is a delicious and as wonderful as the most favorable reviews imply. It can be as strong as you like it, without those coffee extractives from higher temperature extraction methods that cause the stomach distress and aftertaste. This coffee is strong and incredibly SMOOOOOTH.
The Aeropress is calibrated in "shots". Grind one scoup of beans for each shot. Dump in the ground coffee. Add 175 degree water to the 1 or 2 or 3 mark, depending upon the number of shots you are making. Stir for ten seconds. Then press slowly with the plunger. I find no difficulty in pressing. No instability. No unreaonable effort.
Now, pair this with the Bellmann Cappuccino, and you can make great latte. The Bellmann is not sold by Amazon, but you can buy it from Fantes.com. The Bellmann is a quality stainless steel Moka-pot that incorporates a steam want to let you perfectly froth milk. You can also use the Bellmann for making traditional Italian style Moka-pot espresso -- but with the Aeropress, I don't bother. My wife says my latte's are better than any she can buy in town. (She likes vanilla latte, and I make my own vanilla syrup with 1-1/2 C sugar, 1/2 C brown sugar, 1 C water, 1 Tablespoon real vanilla extract. This is a superior syrup because all commercial syrups are made from inferior corn syrup sweetener, which is used because it is cheaper than cane sugar.) The latte recipe is 1 to 2 shots of Aeropress "espresso", 8 ounces of 2% milk perfectly frothed using the Bellman steam wand, and 1/2 oz. to 1-1/2 oz. vanilla syrup depending upon desired sweetness. Vary the proportions to suit your own taste preference. 1 shot of coffee, and 1 oz of syrup is a good start.
I have the Bellmann pot with the added pressure gauge. I recommend the pressure gauged model. The guage is a handy guide, and a nice reassurance of safety, but not mandatory if your budget is really tight, and especially if you are only going to use it to froth milk. Without the guage, simply heat until the steam just starts to bleed from the pressure relief valve, which on my unit happens at about 2.5 atmospheres, and which is well below the 3.5 atmosphere bottom of the red zone on the guage.
The Aeropress and Bellman combo is not fast latte production, but we are a family of two, so we don't need high rates of production. Yes, this is a bit of a "fussy" approach in its own right, but at least it is low-tech fussy, and I now enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
Even if you have a tight budget, the Aeropress is unbeatable as a economical way to make the best coffee you ever tasted. Plus, I think it is the best at any price. The Aeropress in combination with the Bellmann Cappuccino will let you make unsurpassable lattes, as well as passable espresso.
I disagree with the folks that complain about the price. Being the owner of a manufacturing company, I can tell you that everything costs 3 to 5 times as much to produce as you would estimate. If you think it is so over-priced, just try to make one yourself in the garage. This is a well designed product and the manufacturer deserves to make a decent profit.
I do agree with the suggestion to re-use the filters. When making breakfast for a big crew, I've used one filter a dozen times with perfect result.
For less than $30, you should have no hesitation about buying the Aeropress. I also strongly recommend the Bellmann Cappuccino.