I love the Aeropress. I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to make a bad cup with it. It seems so forgiving, yet you can really dial in a recipe at the same time.
My baseline recipe is 20g of coffee ground on the Encore (18 for light, 16 for med, 10 for espresso) and 200 ml water just off boil. Mix inverted for 2 min, stirring 3 or 4 times. Add 150 ml hot water in cold weather or right from the tap in hot water.
The only other brewer I bother with now is the OXO pour over, which is a good hands off brewer that makes me a very satisfying and consistent cup without the involvement of the Aeropress. It makes what it makes though. I use the same 20g coffee ground at 16-18, unbleached filters, and all 350 ml of water at once. I typically get evenly brewed grounds, but if I’m feeling so inclined I’ll check it’s getting all the coffee evenly, but whether I touch it or not, I feel I get the same result, so it’s more piece of mind than taste that is affected.
Questions: what are the perks to using this vs a pour over system (which is what I currently use when I’m out of cold brew)? Is this easy to use if you have limited hand dexterity and strength?
Aeropress is more forgiving and produces more body. Pour over, being a percolation brew, will have higher extraction at the cost of being a bit more sensitive to technique.
So what’s the benefit of an aero press over a French press? I’ve used the French press for years and I always see people loving aero press. I’m curious what the differences are.
Looks like they’re made of plastic, for starters.
Is that plastic? Gonna be a hard no for me Dawg
They’re working on a glass-and-metal premium version. But it’ll cost a premium price, though.
That would be amazing. The device is cool, and seemed to work well from the reviews, but the plastic prevented me from buying it.
It’s made of polypropylene, partially recycled, extremely durable, and again fully recyclable if it does reach end of life at some point. It’s also certified BPA free - as opposed to the very first version (that was transparent and used a different plastic). BPA doesn’t leech into water unless exposed over a very long time anyway, and the average brew time is about 3-5 minutes; but it’s good they made the change anyway. If I remember correctly, BPA became an issue mostly due to being in baby toys that are chewed on, or bottles for beverages with a very long shelf life (e.g. water, that practically lasts forever) where it can leech out over time.
To me it’s the ideal travel brewer, since I can pre-grind my coffee and keep it in a tin box, where I can also put a stack of filter papers in to keep them from getting wet. Glass just wouldn’t work on the road, the risk of damage is simply too high. And you’ll anyway need to have a plastic plunger, or at the very least a plastic coated one, since you need to have a 100% tight seal.
At home I don’t use it often since I have a decent espresso machine, but I can see the merit as a daily driver in a small kitchen.
Edit: Oh btw, if the body was made of glass, I can totally see how it would shatter someday while applying force. You have to push with quite a bit of power the water through.
Oh boy, a mug of hot plastic water. Yumm.
This entire thread is full of shills.
This contributes nothing to the conversation and comes off as conspiratorial.
