Aero Press

    The Aero Press is a cool and simple little coffee brewer, it makes an “espresso like” cup of coffee, as it forces hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee, which could be called espresso(using a very broad definition). But to me it’s not espresso, because there is no defined crema and it lacks the consistency of  “true” espresso. Is that bad? No, not really, it has its own unique traits unto itself, in the way it makes coffee.

So here are the Pros.
1.Easy to clean.
2.Fast way to brew coffee.
3.Simple to use.
4.Makes a good cold coffee.
5.Relatively sediment free cup of coffee.
6.You can use it any were, you don’t need to plug it in

And the Cons.
1.Not the best way to start in coffee.
2.Does not make espresso, as it clams.
3.Only makes coffee for one.
4.It is plastic which I don’t like because of the potential for discoloration and odor retention. 
5.You need to heat the water separate of the devise.
6.Only comes with paper filters, no metal or cloth, unless you make them yourself.

    So how does it taste? Well it depends, on how you use it; there are two distinct ways to prepare coffee with the Aero Press, the first I will describe is similar to French press in that you allow the coffee to have a long infusion, this way will be more “strong” in that the coffee is closer to espresso which is good for using in “drinks” and also makes a good cup of  iced coffee. The second method is quicker, with a shorter infusion time which makes the coffee less “strong” and I tend to drink as is, also, to me the second way tends to highlight the acidic traits in the coffee.    

How to use
    I use 20 grams of coffee for every 6oz of water, for both methods, and a water temp of 190F to 205F.

    Method one: first put the plunger half  in the top and barely push it in only enough to get to the number 4 on the infusion tube. Now heat your water, when your water is at the right temp grind your coffee, I grind to about a 4 on my grinder, which would be slightly more coarse than an espresso and slightly finer than a drip grind. Now add the ground coffee to the tube then add the water to the coffee, give it a stir to saturate the grounds. Allow the coffee to infuse for between 2min to 3min, I would not go any longer than that, as it will over extract. At this point you can add the filter and the cap (I pre wet my paper filter, it helps it stick, and not fall off when you put the cap on). After your infusion time flip the whole device over on to a cup( only use a cup that is hardy enough, remember your going to be putting a lot of weight on it with the plunging) and began to slowly and evenly press down on the plunger, don’t go to fast because it could eject hot coffee on you. Now you can enjoy a hot cup of  Aero Press coffee.
A note on iced coffee, I add whole ice cubes in the cup that I am brewing into and it makes a good iced coffee.
    Method two: is the same as method one the only thing different is I grind the coffee to an espresso grind which is a 3 on my grinder. After I add the water to the coffee I stir for 15 seconds straight after that I allow it to infuse for 15seconds, and then flip and plunge. Now you can enjoy your coffee.




I hope you found this “Review/ How-To”, useful.

You can order the Aero Press here at espressoparts

You can order the Aero Press here at amazon AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

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Aero Press by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.