Aerobie 80R08 AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
by Aerobie
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List Price: Our Price: $25.95 You Save: $6.04 (19%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $16.99 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Aerobie 80R08 AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
Customer Review: My 100% Kona Coffee beans are ok!
Summary: 5 Stars
For some reason all of my friends got me 100% Kona Coffee beans for Christmas and a birthday I had recently. Pre-ground and whole beans, this stuff wasn't cheap (everything from Hawaii is more expensive!) For the past year I switched from Starbucks to Jamba Juice (machiattos to green tea shots), so I'm not a big coffee drinker.
Well my roommates 7 year old drip coffee maker made the most horrid cup of coffee I've ever had! Bitter and wasteful for just 1 cup of coffee. I had to use so much cream and sugar to make it tolerable. Now this are good beans from Hawaii. I've had this coffee from a French Press before and it was excellent (no need for additions). So I'm thinking it's the coffee maker. So I buy a coffee maker cleaner solution(supposed to remove residue and build-up and make coffee less bitter). It seemed to taste better, but that could've just been my mind rebelling against the notion that I had just wasted $5.00.
So here I am thinking that maybe these 100% Kona Coffee beans are bad. That is until I discovered the AeroPress! Amazing device. I had actually seen this device on firebox.com years ago but never thought much about it (i was zombified by Starbucks). The AeroPress does make the best cup of coffee I've ever had! Better than any French Press or high end cappuccino machine. My beans are great and taste amazing coming from the AeroPress. I've learned a couple of tricks:
1) The longer you stir the hot water with the ground coffee, the more bitter the coffee will be. I've experimented and if using water 170-185º (175º is optimal), stirring for more than a minute makes the coffee noticeably bitter. 15-30 seconds is a good time to stir. Just make sure all the grounds are mixed well.
2) Some people find that pushing the plunger through the tube is hard. Here's why: a) You need to wet the rubber plunger BEFORE pressing the coffee. If the rubber plunger is dry, fuggedabboudit! b) The grind you're using is too big. A coarser grind makes it harder for water to press through.
3) Filtered water is best.
4) You can reuse a filter about 10 times before it starts to affect the taste of the coffee.
My recommendation would be to buy this thing. Buy 2! Buy 2 for everyone you know! I was a coffee fan before, now I'm a coffee fiend!
Customer Review: Very happy customer
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a big fan of this thing. For around $30 it was definitely worth a shot, and even if it didn't work out as well as expected, I wouldn't have felt it was too much of a loss.
I'm yet to buy a good quality espresso machine. Admittedly, I'd like to one day, but as I didn't want to compromise by purchasing a cheap, poor quality one, the Aeropress serves me well for now.
Now, there's much debate whether this is "the greatest cup of coffee ever", but I'm not one to judge that. However, it is about as good as you can get when making an Americano-style brew in the morning, and I prefer its smoothness to a press-pot. Strange as this may sound, the coffee the Aeropress produces is almost "tea-like" in its clarity and softness, as most other coffee-making processes (except the finest espresso machines) always tend to leave some residue or produce a bitter aftertaste. I used to drink my morning coffee with some milk/whitener in it because I'd always assumed the bitterness and acidity from drip coffee (and probably because I used to use crappy beans or pre-ground stuff) was normal, but now I'm delighted to be drinking my virgin, additive-free Aeropress-made drinks, and it's a revelation. The ability to use fine grinds (whereas a press-pot relies on coarse grinding and much soaking of the beans which can impugn their flavor somewhat), makes it very worthwhile.
It's also remarkably straightforward to use (remember to stir thoroughly but not too long) and easy to keep clean.
As others have mentioned, a good quality burr grinder is a must. These have come down in price a lot lately, and even the cheapest ones are probably better than any rotary one because they don't heat up the beans and chop them to oblivion. Once you're able to grind your fresh beans finely, you'll really experience good results with the Aeropress, plus it gives users the opportunity to take control of the brew process, varying water temperature or grinds or "suction time". Seriously though, the 175° F water temperature recommended does make a difference - I tried a few different temperatures, then boringly enough decided to measure the water with a thermometer to discover the exact boil time for my kettle, and 175° does make the best cup! So, the Aeropress does require a bit of experimentation, but that just makes it all the more fun to me.
Customer Review: A wonderful product. Best Lattes ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
If I don't get my morning latte or cappuccino, I can't go on. The daily Starbucks purchase was getting expensive, so I started looking for something I could use in my office (where electric coffee machines aren't allowed). I bought this because it was a LOT cheaper than the mypressi twist (and needed less specialized replacement gear).
I've been delighted! I use it with the BonJour Caffe Froth Monet Milk Frother, Black (forget the battery frothers -- they suck). Here's how it works.
You'll need a sturdy ceramic coffee mug (a big one if you want a nice latte).
You'll need a package of dark espresso beans, ground for an espresso machine. (Hint: keep it in the fridge, and write your name on the bag, so the vultures you work with aren't tempted to pilfer.)
In the morning, here's what you do:
1. Microwave some water in your BonJour milk foamer. 45 to 90 seconds should do it. I use about half a cup of water for 60 seconds. And if it isn't the exact right recommended temperature, it's not exactly the end of the world.
2. Throw 2 scoops of fresh espresso into your AeroPress, and put it over your big cup.
3. Pour hot water in, up to the 2 mark. Stir with the paddle.
4. Dump any leftover water out of your Bonjour frother, then add milk and microwave for 90 seconds or so.
5. While your milk is heating, start your plunger. You can give it a good press at first (it will resist). Let it sit for a few seconds, then lean on it gently. If it seems too hard, let it sit a little more before you lean on it again. You'll get there eventually.
6. Now your milk is ready. Froth it to a nice foamy consistency, and pour it into your big cup with the espresso. Everyone now envies you.
7. Remove the base of the AeroPress, rinse off the paper filter and replace it in the base. You can use the filter 3 or 4 times. I change mine on Mondays.
8. Plunge the used grounds into the garbage (or maybe you're in San Fransisco, where they compost?) Screw the base back on.
9. Wash your BonJour frother.
10. You're ready for the day.
Store your equipment at your desk instead of in the office pantry. You know how things tend to walk off!
Customer Review: I can't believe I waited so long to order this
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to offer any new insight that hasn't been offered in the hundreds of previous positive reviews, but, if it gives you any indication of how much I like this thing, FedEx dropped it at my door less than three hours ago and it already has me giddy (and I'm not a prolific reviewer here on Amazon). Since signing for the package, I walked the couple of blocks over to Trader Joe's and grabbed some decent-looking beans (not ideal, but, since we didn't have any in the house and I was anxious to see what the hype was about, it was kind of an 'any port in a storm scenario'), ground those bad boys up, and made myself what was maybe the second or third decent cup of coffee I've had in the US in the past year or so. And that's just following the directions straight up with no tweaking.
So, yeah, I like it.
I should mention that I'm kind of a snob about coffee, so I usually don't drink it. I kind of live by a philosophy of 'there's no point in paying for coffee here because Americans don't take their coffee seriously.' Much like getting to indulge in Cokes made with real sugar instead of that high fructose corn syrup slop, one of the perks of trips overseas is chugging coffee that actually tastes - um, what's that word? - good. Central and South Americans, some Europeans, and the Japanese: these are people who understand that java is an art beyond slapping an '-ino' suffix on the name, cramming it full of syrups and toppings, and charging a small ransom to indulge in the swill.
To alleviate our cravings, I got the wife a Nespresso machine last Christmas (surprise! I benefited, too!) which produces some very fine espresso, but the problem - if you could call it that - is, of course, that it's only a few ounces. Delicious, yes, but the joy is over far too quickly. The Aeropress looks like it's going to fill the void for us. It's really not much more effort than the Nespresso machine: microwave some water, grind some beans, throw it in the press, and 30 seconds of pressure. Less than five minutes to a really smooth cup of coffee and clean up is insanely easy: if it takes you half a minute, you're doing something wrong.
I'm looking forward to working with different beans and tweaking the water ratio. A candidate for my new favorite toy.
Customer Review: Great for Home and Camping
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the AeroPress as a replacement for my french press, which bit the big one during a camping trip. As others have stated, it makes a superior cup of coffee (or rather Americano). Prior to purchasing the AeroPress, we used a drip coffeemaker at home, and the french press on camping trips. Now those items are second rate in my opinion, and here's why:
Drip coffee tastes weak and bitter in comparison. Even using great quality coffee and filtered water, you can only get it taste so good. Don't get me wrong, I still use it when I'm lazy or when we have to make coffee for a group. It's just not ideal for quality.
French press coffee is decent, but it's hard for me to get the right grind on my small home grinder. I like to grind the beans fresh every time I make coffee, and it seems like a french press is too sensitive to the wrong size grind. Either the grind is too large and I don't get the flavor right or it's too fine, and the resulting cup has a fine grit. Plus, I've broken one too many carafes and the things are almost as expensive to replace as buying a new press altogether.
The Aeropress may not look sexy, but good things come in small packages. Small is good, because for car camping or backpacking the compact design and lightweight nature is necessary. Who doesn't want cafe quality coffee when you roll out of your tent in the morning? I've gifted two of these to some of our camping friends because they liked ours so much.
I also think the Aeropress is somewhat forgiving in terms of measuring and so forth. If I put a little too much water or grounds in the tube, I still get a fine cup of coffee. I usually do this more when I'm camping because I don't want to take along extra accessories that might get lost. The only thing it's not forgiving on is the quality of the water, but that's sort of standard with any type of coffee making device. The method of dispelling the compacted coffee "puck" makes cleanup very easy.
In summary:
PROS - superior cup of coffee, easy cleanup, lightweight and small
CONS - time consuming to make coffee for a large group of people, industrial looking
5 stars because the negatives don't really matter when compared with the positives and the quality of the cup.