Happyboy Senior Member Joined: 3 Mar 2003 Posts: 222 Location: Bellingham, MA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Expobar Lever, Gaggia... Grinder: Mazzer Mini, Solis Maestro Vac Pot: Kona Drip: French Press, KMB,... Roaster: Behmor
Posted Mon Jan 9, 2006, 9:28am Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
Thanks, David. I'm all over it. Just have to convince my gf that we do indeed need one more coffee making device in the house. Makes sense to me. The more, the better.
I'm just wondering if any of you here have made espresso with your aerobie.
I'm a Mocha/Latte guy and have yet to buy an espresso machine. I'm thinking that the Aerobie would be a great investment as long as it produces great tasting espresso, but I'd like to hear from some end users. Does it hold up? Does it produce crema at all?
It doesn't make espresso. It doesn't produce crema. If you follow the instructions, you'll get a strong, bland "pull". The creator, who has made a really fun gadget, calls it "smooth". I would imagine milk would make it even flatter. I find it lacks quality brightness and complexity. In other words, I don't follow the instructions.
That said, I've been playing around with it and find it's a fun gizmo for making a nice regular coffee. I"m still experimenting with it, but my best results so far are with a regular amount of grinds (i.e. 12-13 g), ground finer than usual, use your regular 6-7 or so ounces of 200 degree F water, let it sit 30-45 seconds including a few seconds stir at the start and plunge. I'm still playing with it, and am seeing if a thicker filter cut from Melitta cones will allow a longer sit of the coffee and water pre-plunging without as much dripping through as the thin filters that come with the Aeropress. If that doesn't work, I'm going to see about finding some kind of rubber disc (or maybe just plastic wrap?) that can fit over the cap that holds the filter so the water stays in longer contact with the coffee without dripping pre-plunge.
All in all, it's a creative and unique gizmo that's fun to use and produces a nice coffee. Props to the creator.
Posted Tue Jan 17, 2006, 11:08am Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
First post in this forum. Just an FYI, the AeroPress has made frontpage on digg.com, which would explain a surge of traffic. They linked to the gizmag.com review.
I just ordered one from Kitchen Fantasy. Can't wait to try it out, I just moved into my first apartment and my coffee equipment is limited to a French press and a Senseo. This was only $30 and if it can make espresso flavor then it will be well worth it. I would still like to get a traditional espresso machine sometime down the line, but first I need things like furniture! I will be buying a grinder very soon, though. I'm tired of having my coffee ground for me, watching and smelling it go stale.
Posted Tue Jan 17, 2006, 12:52pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
This device intrigues me. I quickly burned out on the French Press method, due to the mess it made. I also have some concerns about unfiltered coffee. The Melitta cone is a good method, but I liked the idea of having the grounds completely and evenly immersed in water for a set period of time, which is not the case with the cone. I was thinking there'd be a market for a single cup device which would immerse the coffee completely, but without the mess... then I came across this device. Interesting.
The one thing is... with the product's emphasis on "smooth" coffee and not being bitter.. I am wondering if this is geared towards people who prefer a more bland cup of coffee. I drink my coffee black, and appreciate a good kick in the a** in the morning.
Sort of, yes - but I would say that a french press WITH a paper filter is pretty different than a french press WITHOUT a paper filter:
you can use much finer ground coffee
the cup is much "cleaner"
significant pressure is exerted on the coffee puck, which contrary to some other posts here, does produce some crema (in my hands at least)
All of these factors contribute to producing something very different than what one would get from a press pot.
I still think that the original comment that the AeroPress is like an affordable Clover brewer still holds (although I haven't actually tasted Clover-brewed coffee, yet!). Saying that the AeroPress is a suitable substitute for a proper espresso machine is going too far, but for making moka pot or drip-like coffee, I think it is impressive.
Posted Tue Jan 17, 2006, 3:05pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
Hello everybody,
I’m delighted to see the surge in AeroPress discussion and eager to help you all to get the best out of this device.
I’d like to start with the query from “nicepants”:
“I'm a Mocha/Latte guy and have yet to buy an espresso machine. Does it hold up? Does it produce crema at all?”
I make lattes in the AeroPress as follows:
Two scoops, finely ground, 185F water.
As we say in our instructions, using water slightly hotter than our normal 175F recommendation delivers the right amount of edge to a latte. The most exacting espresso expert I know is the writer Richard Reynolds who pronounced a latte made as above “delicious”.
Irene, my sweetheart of 42 years, is a latte-lover with very high standards. She also loves the above lattes.
Crema, of course, disappears when you mix the espresso with milk. I find crema elusive in the AeroPress. Sometimes I get a half inch of foam, other times very little. But I also agree with Kenneth Davids who wrote in his book “Espresso – Ultimate Coffee” on page 146,
“.. a cup of espresso can taste just as good without crema as with.”
I personally have never tasted a difference between straight espresso shots with, or without crema.
Next, I’d like to comment on the posting from Donald Blum who wrote,
“If you follow the instructions, you'll get a strong, bland "pull". The creator, who has made a really fun gadget, calls it "smooth".
“I’m still experimenting with it, but my best results so far are with a regular amount of grinds (i.e. 12-13 g)”
“I'm still playing with it, and am seeing if a thicker filter cut from Melitta cones will allow a longer sit of the coffee and water pre-plunging without as much dripping through as the thin filters that come with the AeroPress.”
Hello Donald. I recommend that you try two scoops with the AeroPress scoop. That will be about 23-24 grams of coffee and should banish the “bland”. The greater amount of coffee will also eliminate the “dripping through”.
Our filters are made from the same paper used by Mellitta and other premium cone manufacturers. I’ve tried stacking two filters in the AeroPress, but can’t detect any change from that.
I’d also like to briefly discuss grind. All the cheap burr grinders I’ve tested fell far short of espresso grind, even on their finest setting. I pointed that out in my post:
With an espresso machine, we time the shot to see if the grind is fine enough. You can time the push with an AeroPress. With about 15 pounds of push and two scoops of optimum grind, the push will take twenty to thirty seconds. If shorter than this, the brew will be weak.
Finally, “ruk” wrote,
“... with the product's emphasis on "smooth" coffee and not being bitter.. I am wondering if this is geared towards people who prefer a more bland cup of coffee. I drink my coffee black, and appreciate a good kick in the a** in the morning.”
You can brew it as edgy as you like. Here are the factors that contribute to edge:
Temperature of water Amount of coffee Fineness of grind Variety of bean (try Costa Rica)
I hope you’ll all think of me as “your AeroPess tech support line”. I’m here to help.
Posted Tue Jan 17, 2006, 3:12pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
I use a French Press half the time; there are a few other big differences that I think will be great. The filter is at the bottom rather then at the top, and coffee grinds generally float up. That could be meaningless since it uses a paper filter, but it sounds better. Cleanup should also be a lot easier. I have to disassemble the French Press filter every time I use it, but I'm hearing that with this device there are no grinds in the tube and all that's left is a dry puck.
Posted Tue Jan 17, 2006, 6:11pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress
AlanAdler Said:
I make lattes in the AeroPress as follows:
Two scoops, finely ground, 185F water.
As we say in our instructions, using water slightly hotter than our normal 175F recommendation delivers the right amount of edge to a latte. The most exacting espresso expert I know is the writer Richard Reynolds who pronounced a latte made as above “delicious”.
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