Aeropress Coffee Maker

Smooth, rich in flavor, less acidic delicious coffee…yeah…that is how I can describe coffee brewed using an Aeropress coffee maker. Aeropress coffee maker falls into the category of single cup coffee makers. It is a unique system. Here water and coffee ground are in contact for very less time, say, approximately 30 seconds. Yes, you heard it right…it is hardly 30 seconds. That is the reason behind your favorite morning drink not causing acidity.

Aeropress is one such coffee maker which is easy to use, versatile, portable and in short great value for money. If you want to enjoy an espresso shot or outrageously priced Americano or just a cup of coffee, Aeropress does that for you in comparatively less time.

Here are the reasons why you should give Aeropress coffee a try.

• This brewing process makes delicious full-flavored coffee that is less acidic.
• Can prepare 1 to 3 cups per pressing in a minute.
• Aeropress coffee maker is highly versatile – Using Aeropress coffee maker you can brew American-style coffee, espresso, latte or even tea.
• Aeropress filters are compostable, less expensive and healthier option.
• Aeropress coffee maker is easy to clean. Aeropress coffee maker is top shelf dishwasher safe. But a simple rinse is enough since the plunger wipes the chamber clean.
• Travel coffee maker – It is a portable coffee maker. Along with a zippered nylon tote bag, Aeropress is great for travel. It weighs nearly one pound. If you are the serious backpacker, AeroPress can be your best companion.
• Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalate free.

Origin of Aeropress

An engineer named Alan Adler in the year of 2006 changed the coffee landscape forever by creating a portable and lightweight coffee maker called the Aeropress. The main reason why Adler invented the Aeropress was, according to him, the coffee market lacked one such coffee maker which excelled at making smaller amounts of coffee with minimal fuss, and without the use of electricity and with the ability to take anywhere.No doubt, Alan Alder has one of those genius minds that have the ability to spot something the world needs and bring it into creation. He found a way to brew coffee in less than a minute without wasting much coffee beans and not compromising with the taste at the same time .So, here we have aeropress coffee maker in the market now and many thanks to Allan Adler for this wonderful little coffee maker that is versatile, portable and affordable.

Aeropress parts

An Aeropress coffee maker consists of two nesting cylinders. The one with airtight seal fits inside the larger cylinder. Imagine a syringe to understand it better..!!

An Aeropress coffee maker mainly has these parts – Aeropress plunger, Aeropress filters, chamber, Seal, Aeropress filter cap, funnel, filter holder, scoop and stirrer.

So many parts….! But brewing coffee in an Aeropress coffee maker is dead easy. An Aeropress coffee maker consists of two nesting cylinders. The one with airtight seal fits inside the larger cylinder. Imagine a syringe to understand it better.

Now let us brew coffee in an Aeropress coffee maker. All you need is a heat source, coffee, water and sugar (if you wish). Do I need to add Aeropress machine to the list as well?!!

• Fine ground coffee goes into the bottom portion of the large cylinder. You can vary the amount of coffee ground according to your preference.
• Pour hot water (75 to 80 C) over this ground. AeroPress can be brewed at a wide range of temperatures. If you have a programmable kettle, experiment.
• Stir the mixture for about ten seconds.
• Now, damp the rubber seal of the plunger (i.e., the small air tight cylinder) and press downwards slowly.
• It should take nearly twenty seconds to filter all the water through the ground.
• Enjoy your cup of Joe…

Aeropress inverted

Most of the Aeropress fans follow inverted methods of brewing.I personally too prefer inverted Aeropress. In fact, that is the beauty of Aeropress. There is a wide variance in approach – you can vary brewing temperature, grind size, brewing time, and even plunge time. Be creative and feel free to experiment, it never disappoints you. Aeropress is harder to mess up too.

• Setup the AeroPress in an Inverted Position and Add Coffee.
• Insert and Rinse the Filter.
• Start the Timer, Add Hot Water, and Stir.
• Secure the Filter Cap on the AeroPress.
• At 60-90 Seconds, Flip and Press.
• Here is your favorite coffee ready…

Some interesting facts you need to know about Aeropress coffee maker:

• Have you heard of World Aeropress Championship (WAC)? It is an event held every year and this year 52 nation champions had participated. No, wonder..!! The rich flavored less acidic Aeropress coffee has got its own much-deserved fan club.
• The biggest coffee mug that you can press into with an Aerobie AeroPress is that of the top inner diameter of 95mm. The smallest coffee mug you can use with an Aerobie AeroPress is that of a top inner diameter of 67mm.
• Aeropress coffee filtersEvery Aeropress coffee maker comes with Aeropress paper filters. It is good news for all the health conscious coffee addicts out there that using a paper filter is healthier. Diterpenesare one of the compounds of coffee that can raise bad cholesterol in your body. The paper filter removes this diterpene from the coffee to a greater extent and thus you can sip the Aeropress coffee guilt free.Aeropress filters are totally compostable. So, you can use the Aeropress filters along with the coffee grounds for the roses in your garden. Paper filters are not only gentle on the environment but also to your wallet, every piece costs hardly a penny.
• The biggest coffee mug that you can press into with an Aerobie AeroPress  is that of the top inner diameter of 95mm. The smallest coffee mug you can use with an Aerobie AeroPress is that of a top inner diameter of 67mm.For smaller mugs make use of the funnel, to avoid coffee squirting out of the sides.
• Glass AeropressThe majority of the coffee makers are made up of glass and/or stainless steel. However, the AeroPress coffee maker is made up of a material called Polypropylene. It is because of the facts that, glass is fragile, heavy, highly conductive of heat, and expensive to manufacture with the tolerances required for the AeroPress. Same goes for stainless also; it is heavy, highly conductive of heat, and expensive.
• French press v/s Aeropress:French press uses coarsely ground coffee and AeroPress uses finely ground coffee. The coarsely ground coffee particles have less surface area than finely ground coffee. The lower surface area necessitates a long steeping time to extract full coffee flavor. Unfortunately, this results in bitterness and acidity in the cup. In the case of, the big surface area smoothest rich flavor coffee is extracted quickly.
• Does the Aeropress use more coffee ground than other coffee makers?It is one of the misconceptions among the users, and the answer is definitely NO. An AeroPress coffee maker brews the same strength and quantity of coffee from a given amount of ground as compared to any other coffee makers.In an aeropress coffee maker, the water and coffee grounds stay intact for very less time, hardly 30 seconds. Yes, you heard it right…it is hardly 30 seconds. That is the reason behind your favorite morning drink not causing acidity.  So, you may tend to use more coffee grounds to enjoy the coffee stronger, I mean bitterer.Those who moved from using a drip coffee maker to an AeroPress, obviously use less coffee because they only brew what they planned to drink. They no longer pour out half pots of drip coffee.

Aeropress recipes

• Aeropress latte

Basically, a latte is just steamed milk and espresso with some milk foam.So, using espresso brewed in an Aeropress machine, you can prepare a latte, cappuccino and much more. There will be just one shot of espresso with a lot of steamed milk in a latte. The ratio of milk to espresso is what makes the actual difference and you can give whatever the name you want.

For those, who are very particular about their black drink, Aeropress ‘technically’ won’t brew authentic espresso. However, I believe there are a majority of latte fans (like me) who won’t mind if there is espresso or espresso like coffee in their latte as for as it is delicious.

The whole point of an Aeropress latte, that I like the most, is for it to be quick, fuss-free and delicious.  So, let’s start brewing Aeropress style latte.

• Brew coffee with your Aeropress in whatever style you prefer (I usually brew using inverted method)
• Let the coffee sit in the Aeropress machine for a few minute and brew, I usually keep the lid on to retain temperature.
• Froth milk until it is rich and foamy. I use aero latte milk frother and it does its job in a minute. Aeropress also takes less time to brew coffee. So, Aeropress coffee maker wands aero latte milk frother is a great combo you can have if you are a true latte fan.
• Put your Aeropress on top of the mug of milk and press your coffee slowly into your frothed milk, letting it slowly form two distinctive layers. Oh! The latte is looking so appealing…
• You can vary the ratio of coffee and milk according to your personal taste. That is what I like the most about Aeropress. There is always room for experiments and creativity.
• You can also create some interesting designs if you own a Latte art pen. I never tried any latte art since I can not resist and start drinking my latte soon after the preparation 
• Aeropress espresso

Coffee purists often argue on the fact that aeropress can only brew a strong concentrated coffee blend but not an espresso shot. In fact, espresso is such a mysterious dink that there are a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about it. But, when brewed right, espresso tastes great.Espresso is a way of brewing coffee and the end result is a thick concentrated coffee with rich crema. Espresso is made with 9 bars of pressure, whereas Aeropress brew coffee with comparatively very less pressure. That is why Aeropress satisfy most but not all the properties of espresso. One of the missing properties is the rich crema.You can definitely prepare thick concentrated coffee shot using an aeropress coffee. You may not be ready to call it espresso but it is close to espresso and believe me it tastes great.

The privilege of enjoying espresso shot (or, Ok I describe it as just concentrated coffee for those true espresso fans!) anywhere any time is the hash tag here.

• Aeropress tea

The one thing I like the most about AeroPress coffee maker is its versatility. You can try n number of coffee recipes like espresso, cappuccino, latte…and wait you can even prepare tea using an Aeropress.So, if you are a tea lover or coffee addict, Aeropress is your best friend even when you are away from home, dry camping.

All you need to do is heat some water, put tea leaf in the chamber, stir and let it sit for some time.

Then press the hot delicious tea into your mug. It is so simple and fuss-free. Again, you can experiment a lot with water temperature, amount tea leaves, time and many other factors.