People have been telling me to try an AeroPress for a long time, and I finally gave in. The deciding factor was that the AeroPress is entirely plastic and presumably unbreakable. When we broke yet another glass beaker in our French press, I decided it was time to try an AeroPress. (Next time I buy a French press, I think I’ll get one made of metal or shatterproof plastic.)
Compared to a French press, the AeroPress is faster to use and easier to clean. The taste is different, somewhere between the taste of French press coffee and espresso. This isn’t surprising since an AeroPress is somewhere between a French press and an espresso maker. Like a French press, you pour hot water over the grounds. Like an espresso machine, you use pressure to extract oils from the coffee.
I haven’t had a chance to try AeroPress yet, but the only french press I like is the Nissan stainless thermos-bottle version. I like to sip slowly, and my coffee always got cold too quickly in a glass press. A thermos pot out on the deck on a crisp September morning is pretty good.
I agree about the cleaning, though — what a pain.
I use an Aeropress from time to time, especially when camping. Mypressi Twist is another option, I love mine:
http://mypressi.com/
I wasn’t a big fan of the Aeropress. That’s probably all on my end. I’m not much of an Espresso drinking and that’s basically what the Aeropress makes. What I ended up doing more often than not is making an Americano out of its brew. If you’re a fan of espresso and have hot water on hand, it does a decent job at making it. It’s not going to replace an expensive espesso machine but it gets the job done.
I’ve got both a French press and an aeropress too, and I essentially never use the aeropress. To me, the paper filter removes the delicious oils that are preserved by the press (or by an espresso machine). The result tastes comparatively flat.
And yes, the shatterproof plastic French presses are the way to go! Had a glass one break in my hand and cut me (not badly), and that was the end of that.
Paper filters!? We don’t need no paper filters:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee-brewers/aeropress/coava-disk-stainless-steel-filter-for-aeropress-brewer.html
When I use the aeropress I go with that stainless filter. Easy cleanup, all the oils stay intact.
My Aeropress got harder to use: the rubber part kept coming off, and I switched to the Espro Press, a beautiful stainless steel press pot with a filter system that removes more of the particles. It is really easy to clean — just rinse thoroughly.
I’m a big fan of the Aeropress, but not the default directions that come with it. The best coffee with an Aeropress, in my opinion, is to use the “inverted method” described nicely in this short video (no affiliation, but it demonstrates the process well):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0t7p9L02nA
John
Yeah, what JohnH said. The instructions that come with the thing are pretty much flat-out wrong.
http://brewmethods.com has a bunch of, well, brew methods, of which http://www.boldbeancoffee.com/learn/brewing-guide/aeropress/ is the one I use and it works out quite well.
I just found this blog through a google search for aeropress.
I wanted to like the aeropress, but I’m a home roaster and love the taste that the oils and volatiles give to french press coffee, and the paper filter seems to remove it. The math major in me also can’t get past the huge amounts of grounds the instructions require you to use to get such a tiny volume of liquid. Maybe I’ll play around with some of the alternative instructions.
“French press” coffee doesn’t really require a press. All you need is a strainer-type coffee filter (the so called “permanent filters”) and a jar. I have a french press and a lot of the time, I just use the beaker part and a strainer because it’s easier to clean.
You could even steep the grounds in the kettle after you take it off of the burner.
You can’t beat an aeropress for simplicity and taste. The oils that are removed can be resolved by a stainless gauze or by soaking the paper filter first. I love everything about it except for when I have family around / for that I use an espro press!!