I’ve been on a quest for some time to improve the quality of brewed coffee I make at home. I learned there’s lots of factors. The coffee of course, but how (and when) it’s ground, the water, the coffee maker, how long the coffee sits, whether it’s a coffee maker with a hot plate under a carafe (terrible!), or whether it’s made with some other kind of device altogether (e.g., french press).
On a recent trip a friend showed me what was claimed and he claimed to be the tool to make the BEST coffee. A lofty claim. But you know, it seems to be true!!!!
Meet Aeropress. A manual device that at first glance seems like a French Press and a large veterinary syringe!
It comes with little single use round paper filters (or you can get a ‘permanent’ type filter separately). You put a filter in a bottom cap that has holes in it for the brewed coffee to flow through. You screw the cap on the bottom of the main clear part that sits on top of a coffee mug. You put in coffee, a little hot water (up to a number on the side, typically the ‘2’ mark), stir (with included stirrer), then the syringe like plunger is put in the top and gently pushed down to the coffee to exert pressure on the coffee/water, forcing it through the filter. That’s it, you’ve just made a double espresso! This can be diluted with hot water to a regular American style coffee or hot milk to make a latte.
And the result? It’s EXCELLENT!
Even better, the clean up is amazing. Remove the bottom cap and push the plunger further to push the hard and pretty dry ‘puck’ of coffee and filter out, and into your trash or compost or wherever! Clean the bottom of the rubber plunger and that’s it.
If you love coffee, get one now!
I have had one of these for two – no 3 years and I love it! I just wish there was a milk steamer to go with it so I could have lattes. It’s great at the office, but I still use my espresso machine at the house.