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: Not really a "coffee" maker
Summary: 4 Stars
I wish I could give this 4.5 stars... my gripes with the Aeropress have more to do with my shortcomings than any real fault of the device.
First, I want to emphasize that you are not actually making coffee with it, you are making espresso. You can dilute the espresso with water to make an "Americano" or hot milk to make a latte, but it is not coffee strictly speaking. The large amount of grinds it requires makes sense if you understand that you are making espresso and not coffee. If you prefer true coffee to espresso or espresso-style drinks then I think this device is not for you.
Personally I love coffee in all its forms, and I am completely ok with having multiple devices in my apartment to make different kinds of coffee, whether it is French press, Turkish coffee, or espresso, so that part does not matter to me.
The brewing process is simple, at least in theory. You pour a scoop of grounds for each espresso shot into the chamber, pour in hot water up to the right marked line, stir it for several seconds, and press.
Cleanup is similarly easy. The instructions say you can just rinse it clean, and I think they are right. The rubber plunger is fantastic at removing all debris from the inside of the chamber.
It's also very lightweight and portable, so you could probably take it with you to a picnic or out camping, as long as you have access to hot water.
But here's where I get frustrated: unless you are a robot, or use other implements along with the Aeropress, there are several times in the process where you can make mistakes and get a bad cup. If you have a blade grinder instead of a burr grinder, you may have inconsistent grind coarseness, which will affect the flavor and the pressure you need to apply. If you don't have a thermometer the water can easily be too hot or too cold, affecting the bitterness. And if you don't let it steep long enough (or for too long) after you pour in the water, it's yet another way to ruin the flavor.
[Edited to say... by "steep" I meant "stir"... you are supposed to stir the wet grounds for like 10 seconds before pressing.]
Since my espresso doesn't turn out the same way each and every time, the way it might with a machine or even a Moka pot, I am slightly disappointed. However I think the benefits outweigh the negatives, so overall I am very happy with it.
Pros:
-Super easy cleanup; it really does rinse clean
-Simple brewing instructions
-Easy to store or take on a trip
Cons:
-Tough to do it the same way every time
-Uses a lot of grinds for "coffee"
Customer Review: Great coffee, with several drawbacks
Summary: 4 Stars
At the end of the day, the AeroPress makes a great cup of coffee. My preferred cup is a cafe americano, and the AeroPress makes me a cafe americano better than Starbucks and only matched by my fairly expensive home espresso machine (and the machine requires more prep and cleanup). I don't regret buying the Aeropress.
However, there are two drawbacks which I think the potential buyer should be aware of:
1. The AeroPress uses -a lot- of coffee grounds. The press may be cheap, but the scoop is twice the size of a standard espresso scoop. You'll be running through your coffee supplies twice as fast as before, and that can get expensive. I buy green coffee in bulk and roast and grind at home, so I don't care too much, but for those slightly less crazed than I who buy their coffee "like normal people" you'll see the difference in your monthly coffee bill.
Further, most of the "smoothness" of the coffee the Aeropress produces is directly a result of this "twice as much coffee grounds" issue. If I put twice as much coffee in my French press and steeped it for half the time I'd get very similar results as the Aeropress. If you already have a French press try using half as much water and pressing down the filter after only 30 seconds before you buy the Aeropress. The only advantage the AeroPress really has here is that it's designed to use this much coffee, while other coffee machines are more frugal.
2. I'm not thrilled with the price. The device feels well constructed (the plastic isn't flimsy), but it's still just plastic. The whole device could not have cost more than $2 to manufacture (and probably half that). I'm all for invention and technological progress, but the markup here feels unreasonable. I can get a good glass and steel French press for the same price. This issue #2 is why I did not give the AreoPress 5 stars. It's a very good coffee maker, but it's not a great value.
As for the issue of "push-down pressure" that other reviewers have mentioned, this is purely a function of how course the grind is you're using. A fine espresso grind will require a lot of pressure. A coarse French press grind can be pushed down with just one finger. If you're having trouble pushing the press down, trying using a slightly coarser grind - I think you'll find the problem goes away. As you move away from the recommended "very find" grind though you may wish to increase a brew time a few seconds to compensate for the loss of grind-surface area exposure. I find that the recommended 10 seconds is right for espresso and very fine grinds but 20-25 seconds works best for the coarsest grinds.
Customer Review: Finally... An Awesome Home Coffee Maker
Summary: 5 Stars
I really, really enjoy good coffee. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my household that drinks coffee. So, making a pot of coffee never makes sense for me. For the last 10 years, Starbucks has been my standard by which I measure all other coffee. I purchased a Keurig single serve coffee maker nine years ago and it was surprisingly good. After many fine years of service, it unexpectedly stopped working about two years ago, so I bought a new fancier Keurig... Unfortunately, the new model really sucked - the coffee was very weak and drop size inconsistent. So, I returned it disappointed to Costco and went on a search for an acceptable replacement. I found a web site, [...], and researched the different makers available. While I had been a K-cup user with the Keurig, I found that there are pods and t-discs as well. After much research, I landed on a Grindmaster OPOD - one of the highest thought of makers in the single serve coffee sub-culture. I have enjoyed the OPOD as it has served me well... but the coffee has never approached the intense quality of my Starbucks standard.
During a casual review of [...], I found a review of the Aerobie AeroPress. The review was off the charts favorable. And the verbatim responses from users agreed emphatically with the review. The inventor even answered a question someone had in the thread. I continued to read more about the inventor - he's a professor at Stanford who used engineering know-how to create a simple, well-made, coffee maker that makes coffee that is better than my Starbucks standard! And for $25! Completely and totally awesome.
This is a manual process that may be worrying some of you - don't let it, it's very, very straight forward and takes just a couple more minutes than the Keurig or the OPOD or any other single serve maker out there. You basically follow these steps:
1. Get your Aeropress out
2. Heat water to 175 deg F (takes 2 minutes in my microwave)
3. Place filter in press
4. Place press onto your coffee cup
5. Scoop coffee into press
6. Pour water (equal to number of scoops)
7. Stir 10 seconds
8. Press water through coffee into cup
9. Pop coffee "puck" into trash
10. Rinse your press off with water in sink and let air dry on towel
11. Top off your espresso with hot water to make American coffee
12. Enjoy coffee better than you would buy at Starbucks!
Totally blows my mind it's that simple.
I highly, highly recommend you try the Aeropress if you enjoy coffee.
Hope you enjoy as much as I do.
Customer Review: Coffee the way you like it
Summary: 5 Stars
I did many hours of research into coffee makers before deciding on an Aeropress. I learned that several factors influence the coffee you end up with: the temperature of the water, the way the water mixes with the coffee, and how the coffee is extracted from the grounds. I found it difficult to find knowledgeable reviews of the various coffee machines, so I decided to take control of my coffee preparation. The aeropress allows you to control how hot the water is and how long you let it mix with the coffee.
The whole coffee making process is explained in the products instructions.
1. Insert a filter and some coffee into the unit. A coffee scoop and some filters are included with the aeropress, they recommend 1 scoop of coffee per cup.
2. Heat the right amount of water. Markers are printed on the side of the Aeropress to show the recommended amount of water for between 1 and 4 (the maximum) espresso shots. The manufacturers recommend water between 75 and 80 degrees. I don't know if this is correct, because I don't have a thermometer in the kitchen, and in any case, I'm not going to stick a thermometer in water to get it to a precise temperature. I boil water in my kettle and let the water sit for a set time before use. Alternatively, you could microwave the water for a set time. A bit of experimentation and you'll find how hot you like the water. I agree with Aeropress that boiling hot water extracts unpleasant flavors.
3. Mix the water with the grounds. The grounds are immersed in water, much like in a french press, but the manufacturers recommend letting the water sit for no more than about 10 seconds. I find that this is about right, but you can experiment and decide for yourself.
4. Insert the plunger and push the water out of the Aeropress. You press the plunger down so that it extracts the water from the grounds over about 20 seconds. The Aeropress needs to be on a strong and stable container, such as a mug, for this part of the process. Pressing the plunger requires a bit of strength if you are making more than one espresso shot. You'll need to press down for about 20 seconds.
5. Drink up, or dilute the espresso shot(s) for American coffee or mix them for cappuccino, or whatever.
I am very happy with the Aeropress. It makes great tasting coffee. It's easy to clean and inexpensive. In my opinion the aeropress is superior to french press or manual drip percolator coffee. It is not as convenient as a machine but I'm willing to spend the effort for good coffee.
Customer Review: You Won't Be Disappointed
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the AeroPress for about a year now and it is the only thing I use to make coffee now. I am still amazed at what great coffee it makes. Recently I considered that maybe I had only imagined that the AeroPress made better coffee than my standard 12-cup coffee brewer, so I ground up some beans from the same bag as I was using for the AeroPress and made a pot of coffee. Nope. The AeroPress coffee is in a whole other league: smooth, rich, enhances the flavor of the coffee, and is not bitter.
The product packaging and some of the claims made by Aerobie may lead you to believe that this is a gimmick or novelty item: not true! Not only does the AeroPress make great coffee, but it is very easy to use and clean up. Just heat up some water, pour it on the grounds, stir, press the coffee through, rinse off the AeroPress, and you're done. The unit is also very sturdy - I've been using it daily for about a year and it still shows no signs of wear. Here are some of my thoughts on the Aeropress:
PROS:
- Makes great coffee (grind whole bean for best results)
- Versatile: Make yourself a cappuccino, americano, latte, etc.
- Cheap: Starbucks can't make a cup off coffee half as good using equipment that costs 100 times as much!
- Easy to use
- Quick cleanup: Just pop out the "coffee puck" and rinse under hot water and you're done (be sure to pull the plunger back out to ensure that it retains its shape)
- Resists wear and tear
- Space saver: very light and compact, easy to store in a drawer or cabinet, throw it in your suitcase and have great coffee on the road!
- Fun to experiment with as it gives you total control over the brewing process (i.e. amount of water, water temperature, amount of grounds, fineness of grind, length of brewing period, etc.)
CONS:
- Not practical if preparing for more than 2 or 3 people (in my opinion)
- The fineness of the grounds proportionately affects the difficulty of the pressing action. If you use a very fine grind, it can be very difficult to "press" the coffee. On the other hand, maybe it is good strength training? In my opinion, the quality of the result more than makes up for this caveat. Five stars.
Conclusion: The AeroPress will put an end to the littering of your home with half-drunk cups of coffee (my dad calls such people "coffee lookers"). You won't be disappointed. I bought one for my sister and she has since decommissioned her 12-cup coffee maker in favor of the AeroPress. Comments welcome.