Watch profile of Alan Adler, inventor of the Aeropress coffee maker

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In the video he is a sweet older gentleman.

The photo makes him looks like he is the Heisenberg of coffeeā€¦breaking caffeine.

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I have one at home and I was never able to work with itā€¦ The water starts sipping out of it, which ever filter I use (reusable or paper) and when I finally start pumping coffee my cup is already half fullā€¦

Do you still use your PIDā€™d espresso machine?

Aeropress is perfect for control freaks who monitor water temp, quantity, and contact time. Aeropress gives complete control and is pretty good at saving even mediocre supermarket coffee when away form a good roaster.
That and firing the used grounds puck into the garden is kinda fun.
Alan Adler, things that fly and great coffee coffee,
Gooble Gobble One of Us We Accept Him!

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Not ā€œlikeā€¦ā€ he looks exactly like Heisenberg! All he needs is the tighty whities.

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I always joke that that guy has the early morning dog acrobatics market sewn up.

You should try the inverted technique. It gives you much more control over the brew time.

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Is is supposed to work in non inverted fashion with an espresso qrind? double filters?

I use the inverted method, hoping that I donā€™t scald myself again in the process.

I had that problem too, it was really frustrating. The main thing to do is to ā€œbloomā€ the grounds first ā€“ just a few drops to make them swell before putting in the rest of the water. That prevents the water from seeping through so much. Youā€™ll still get a few dribbles.

I use the ā€˜invertedā€™ method myself, though, itā€™s easier.

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The Aerobie Pro is one of the best things designed by a human. One of the singular objects that brought me the most consistent joy for the longest time, since I was a teenager. I can throw one over to a friend a hundred yards away and he doesnā€™t have to take one step from his position to catch it.
Thanks, Mr. Adler!

If my Nespresso machine just wasnā€™t so damn convenient Iā€™d get an Aeropress as well. Actually Iā€™ve spent quite some time researching coffee grinders for that purpose, but still canā€™t justify it.

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You probably need to tweak your grind setting. If the grind is too coarse, water will quickly drip thru. A little drip is normal but too much sounds like a overly loose grind. Try a finer setting. It doesnā€™t need to be espresso fine, it can be more like loose sand. You can also use the inverted method (my preference) but the regular method should work too. Experiment. Thatā€™s part of the fun of using the Aeropress!

I was gonna say breaking beansā€¦ So, yeah. Letā€™s go with yours.

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Sounds like a winning invention. :smile: i kid, i kidā€¦ seriously though, iā€™ve considered getting an aeropress in the past but have been so happy with the simple pour over that iā€™ve never made the leap.

I use a ceramic pour over with a reusable gold filter, quicker, super easy to clean, works with any grind or bean type, works with any size mug or amount of coffee, makes good coffee every single time, takes up less space when travelingā€¦

can one of you explain how the aeropress is better? i love coffee and i love gadgets, i just am not getting what makes this better. thanks!

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Does anyone else feel like a kind of crazed idiot when making aeropress coffee? I have to push mine down so hard, it looks like iā€™m trying to take a dump while squashing a giant bug or something.

Couple of small improvements Iā€™d like to see to make it easier to take on the road.

  1. A waterproof cover for the plunger so you can store filters inside or a couple of dayā€™s worth of grounds and a scoop. There are a couple out there from people like http://ablebrewing.com/collections/products/#travel-cap-for-aeropress but it should be designed in.
  2. You canā€™t leave the plunger partially down the main body or the rubber bung loses itā€™s seal. So you have to push it all the way through. But then you canā€™t attach the filter holder. There needs to be some way of attaching the filter holder with the plunger pushed right through so thereā€™s just one piece in your bags not two.

In my experience, itā€™s not really ā€œbetterā€, itā€™s largely a matter of preference. Every coffee making method makes slightly different coffee. I have a pour-over cone and a Chemex, and the coffee they make is very ā€˜cleanā€™, for lack of a better term. The coffee from an Aeropress is halfway between drip/pourover coffee and espresso ā€“ thereā€™s pressure involved that extracts more flavor from the grounds and thereā€™s a film of ā€˜cremaā€™ on top. An Aeropress is also self-cleaning, just needing a quick rinse. And once you have the method down, takes about 30 seconds to brew. You can brew a small cup or a large cup, itā€™s very flexible. And it takes up a tiny space for travel.

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Thanks, makes sense!

I love my Aeropress!
I bought one very early after its release and used 2x it every day at work.
Funny but the Prop Department made the coffee for the all of the stage crew, and I worked in the Prop department yet never drank what commercial coffee machine puked out and then boiled.
Coffee snob? I do not think so.