The Aeropress Small Coffee Maker

I have been a coffee fanatic for many years now and have gone through my fair share of small coffee makers looking for the best small coffee maker. I began drinking coffee in earnest during my college days to help me get through class and homework, but didn’t truly begin to appreciate just how special this beverage was until after I graduated. My first coffee maker after graduation was one of those all in one machines with an integrated blade grinder, which was actually a wedding present for me and my wife. I had high hopes for this machine, but quickly became frustrated at the lack of consistency I was achieving.

Shortly thereafter I began perusing online coffee forums looking for a better alternative and found the French press. I quickly fell in love with the press pot and even got my parents to purchase one on my recommendation. Although I used my French press pot for a couple of years, there was something that was missing; the results were far more consistent than the drip machine I had abandoned, but there was still the occasional bitter cup that would sneak its way in. I was also turned off by the amount of sediment left in the bottom of the cup, which most French press users become quickly accustomed to. It was during this time that the Aerobie Aeropress came onto the coffee scene, offering a cleaner cup profile and consistent performance. The claims from the manufacturer were rather substantial to say the least – “the Aeropress brews a richer, smoother cup of coffee than any other device.” I began reading first hand reviews of the Aeropress on popular coffee forums and people were raving about it. I had to give it a try, and at $30, it was an easy decision to make.

Developed by the same inventor of the Aerobie flying ring Frisbee, the Aeropress is remarkably simple in its design and process. I’ve come to learn that simplicity often produces the greatest rewards, and so it is with the Aeropress. The Aeropress coffee maker uses pressure to extract concentrated coffee from a measured amount of ground coffee and water. The process can be broken down into a few simple steps:

1.    Heat good quality water to a temperature just below boiling
2.    Grind a specific amount of freshly roasted coffee beans, preferably with a conical burr type grinder – pour the grounds into the main chamber
3.    Add a measured amount of the heated water to the grounds inside the chamber and stir to combine
4.    Use the plunger to press down on the coffee/water mixture and push the concentrate through a filter into your cup
5.    Combine additional heated water to the concentrated coffee to produce a standard American style coffee or “Americano”
6.    Alternately, simply enjoy the concentrated coffee on its own as espresso

The instructions contained with the Aeropress coffee and espresso maker offer some very specific tips in terms of the coffee to water ratio and for the brewing water temperature. Because of this I initially measured the water temperature to ensure it fell within the recommended range, though I later discovered that this wasn’t so critical. I now use water just off the boil with great results.

The reason I started this hub was not to tell you all to stay away from the Aeropress. In fact, I have been using the Aeropress for almost 4 years straight now and really can’t see how I would ever abandon it. For my tastes it produces one of the richest, smoothest, most flavorful cups when compared to a variety of different brewing methods. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bad cup when brewing with this device following the methods outlined in the product manual. Some of the things I like most about this device are as follows:

1.    Relatively inexpensive – just $30 for the device and a couple hundred filter discs
2.    Extremely simple process – just mix a specified amount of water with a measured amount of ground coffee beans, mix them together and push out wonderful coffee
3.    Easy to clean and maintain – simply rinse off the device under your kitchen faucet to clean off any grounds or coffee and place it back in your cupboard – that’s it!
4.    Virtually indestructible – made of thick plastic

The only factor that sort of bugs me is the portion of the brewing process that requires you to push down on the plunger. While it’s easy enough for me to do, I really do have to put quite a bit of pressure on it to make it descend. I could see this being a potential issue for older people or those with joint or severe pain in their arms. I only mention it because I think some might find this to be a turnoff, though it’s not nearly enough to keep me from using it. I love this device!

The Aeropress isn't the easiest device to explain via words. Watch this short video to get an idea of just how it works, and see how simple it is.