Aero Press 1-4 Cup Coffee and Espresso Maker

by Aerobie

Product Features

• Micro-Filtered for Grit Free Flavor

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0018S2Y0M
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,553 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #81 in Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Coffee, Tea & Espresso > French Presses

Product Description

1-4 Cup Coffee and espresso Maker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique coffee maker makes great coffee, December 9, 2006

By 

Not my real name (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This espresso maker consists of two plastic tubes, one of which fits inside the other. The outer tube has a coffee filter holder on one end. The inner tube has a soft rubbery plunger that fits very snuggly inside the outer tube.

Steps to making coffee are:
1. Insert filter (the espresso maker comes with a pack of 350 filters) into the filter holder and screw the filter holder onto the outer tube.
2. Set the outer tube on a mug, with the filter at the bottom.
3. Add measured coffee grounds (I use fresh ground beans for each cup)
4. Add measured hot water
5. Stir gently for about 10 seconds
6. Insert the plunger and gently force the coffee through the filter paper into the mug.
7. Drink this as an espresso, or add hot water for an 'Americano'

Advantages of this maker are:
* IT MAKES GREAT COFFEE -- all the flavor and bite of a really good espresso, with none of the bitterness or residue of French press coffee
* You can use very fine ground coffee to get the most flavor out of your beans
* The hot water stays on the coffee grounds for only 10 to 20 seconds, so that none of the bitterness associated with over brewing coffee
* Easy and quick to use, can make 1 to 4 cups at a time.
* Very easy clean-up
* The plastic is high quality and the unit should last a lifetime
* No electricity needed, and no moving parts -- you can make coffee anywhere.

Disadvantages:
* The recipe as used makes very weak coffee -- I had to double the amount of ground coffee per cup
* When brewing the coffee in the maker, a very nice 'crema' forms, but this is lost when the coffee is pressed through the filter
* The unit is not dishwasher safe.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thumps up for this cool coffee device..., March 26, 2007

By 

S. Ilkay "Perfectionist" (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I purchased this gadget from [...] after reading the reviews on amazon.com and coffeegeek.com. At first I was skeptical because in the past I bought items based on reviews but I was not too satisfied with them. However, after putting my brand new Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker to use today I can vouch that it delivers the best coffee you can possibly make at home without a professional quality espresso machine. The coffee comes out very smooth and without any bitterness. I was truly amazed that such a simple and unassuming gadget will deliver such excellent results. I can tell you that there is a very strong coffee culture in my family and wherever we travel around the globe (and we do travel a lot), we search for a strong cup of coffee and try to experience new methods of making coffee. As a result I have many coffee gadgets, but Aeropress puts to shame all except my steel Piazza Stovetop Espresso Maker. Two points of caution: if you like a strong cup of coffee as I do, then you need to use two and a half scoops of coffee and not just one; secondly this product does not make an espresso, it simply makes a very flavorful, smooth drip style coffee.

This is a well made plastic product which is manufactured here in USA. However, I wish it was made of steel. I love sleek brushed steel kitchen gadgets

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Espresso Maker!, October 7, 2006

By 

Stone Mirror "Cult Leader" (Santa Cruz, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I used to use an all-glass $150 Cona vacuum pot to make coffee. Then I discovered the Aeropress. It not only makes better coffee, it's smaller, not fragile, easier to use and faster to clean.

What makes coffee taste bad is mostly the more volatile oils that get extracted from the grounds. Since these tend to be the lightest components, they float at the top of the water and grounds mixture while you brew. This is why French press coffee is usually on the bitter side: it's designed to guarantee that the more volatile oils get into the coffee.

The Aeropress is, more or less, an upside-down French press with vastly better filtering. The coffee is pushed out of the bottom of the press into the cup, and the volatile components stay in the grounds rather than getting into your coffee. The resulting brew is smooth and clear and you can taste all the nuances of your coffee.

I love my Aeropress. I bought an extra one which I keep at the office or take with me when I go on the road--that way I don't have to put up with bad hotel coffee. It even makes excellent coffee from relatively cheap beans (within limits, of course).

Highly recommended, by a serious coffee snob...