Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsGame changing. Really. (Updated with a big potential disappointment)
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2016
Stop what you're doing and make note of the date and time.
Then, buy this.
Your life will never be the same.
I can't really think of anything to say that hasn't been said before, but this is basically the iPhone of the coffee world. It changes the game:
1) Easy to use, easy to clean, doesn't require elaborate rituals
2) Makes REALLY GOOD coffee, that can be easily adjusted to suit your taste
3) It's FREAKING CHEAP compared to owning a whole counter full of coffee appliances (trust me, I've been there)
4) It's portable. You can take it on trips, use it in hotels. You can take it camping, hunting, or fishing. You can take it to your office. In fact, I bought a second one for my office. This thing can make the best coffee anywhere you have boiling water.
I'm going to keep this brief, because. Really. Just buy it already. The more time you spend reading this, the longer until Aeropress changes your life.
UPDATED - Okay, it's been maybe 4 months since I bought my first Aeropress. I liked it so much I got another one for my office. The first Aeropress has had maybe 500 cups through it, the second maybe 100. The problem is, the seal on that first unit is totally, completely shot. You can't even really push down on it, or air burps past the plunger. Worse, sometimes hot coffee makes it past, and spurts out the top all over your hand. This started a few weeks ago and has gotten steadily worse.
Googling, it looks like this does happen to people from time to time, and Aerobie do make a replacement part, but apparently you have to call and order it - it's not available on Amazon or Aerobee's website that I can find.
I don't mind replacing a worn out part, but this thing is 4 months old. There's only two coffee drinkers in my house. Yeah, we both drink a lot of coffee, but there's two of us. Two people wearing out a coffee appliance in 3 or 4 months is kind of ridiculous. I don't know how much the seals cost, but I am probably going to ask for several. I'm not going to stop using this, and I do still believe it's the single best way to make coffee, but I am pretty disappointed. Hopefully this is an isolated incident. I'll report back in a few months when the second unit has a similar volume through it, or once the first one hits the next ~500 cups. In the meantime, I'm sadly deducting a star from my prior 5 star rating.
UPDATED AGAIN - 6 months (roughly) later. The high-use unit at home is juuuuust starting to wear out again. It's been a little more robust this time but is still starting to wear. The lower-use unit at my office is still going strong on it's first rubber bit. It looks like the rubber part has a useful life of maybe 750-1,000 cups of coffee. For some people that's gonna be years maybe? For us, it's not very long. I still love this thing, I'm still gonna keep using it, but I'm still slightly disappointed. They should just bundle the rubber part with the filters. It's a little annoying to order, there is apparently one online source in Canada or you can call (yes, CALL on a phone - no online ordering) the manufacturer.
Also, I want to share a useful tip. Once the rubber seal does start to wear, if you soak it in very hot water for a minute before use, it sometimes rejuvenates it and lets it seal. So, even once it's worn you can kind of still use it, but with an extra step that only works some of the time.
