As many of you may know, I like to change it up with my content and today is certainly no deviation from that trend. I recently purchased the Aeropress Coffee Maker and decided to share with you the experience of unboxing it for the first time and using it to give you guys a sense of how easy (or difficult) it is to use.
Unlike most unboxing videos and reviews I don't ramble on (despite my penchant for rambling ;) ) about what I like about it or the quality of the coffee. It has 4.5 stars on Amazon and 5,482 reviews. It works. It's $30. You decide.
What I thought might be of more interest is seeing how fast and easy it is to go from opening the box to drinking your first cup of coffee which is precisely what I do in this video:
Yes, this was literally the first time I opened the box and made a cup of coffee with it
My Opinion
I like the Aeropress. Unlike many modern inventions it's more simple than the alternatives, not more complicated. Despite being essentially a glorified giant plastic syringe it feels weirdly futuristic. It's a simple, straightforward, low energy solution to a problem and it seems to accomplish this without any degradation in the quality of the flavor, and many seem to even argue that the flavor is superior. To a coffee pleb like myself, it tastes like perfectly normal coffee. It also has a small footprint and sturdy build-quality so I wouldn't hesitate to travel with it, unlike my cold brew carafe which is large and made of glass.
Clean Up
Commenter unrealisback brought up a great point: how easy it is to clean. This is probably the easiest coffee making apparatus I have ever had to clean. After you're done "squeezing" out the coffee, there's no dripping, so I just remove the plunger, take the tube over to the garbage, turn it upside down and dump out the coffee grounds. Then I head back over to the sink to rinse off the plunger which only has a little coffee grind on the bottom (because it creates an airtight seal), rinse off the inside of the tube which also has very little coffee ground residue, remove the filter holder and filter, give those a rinse and then set them to dry. The whole thing probably takes 30 seconds. Wish I'd thought to film that :/
The Filters
The only thing I don't love about it are the filters. One of the things I like about the aeropress is that it seems EFFICIENT. Having to throw out the small filters every time and then eventually buy new ones somewhat irks me, however, there are at least two solutions to this problem. The more sensible of these would seem to be purchasing stainless steel filters which can be reused.
But if you're a cheap bastard like me you can simply wash off the filter after you use it and let it dry. I'm sure there's 8 million reasons why this is a terrible idea, and I'll probably order those stainless steel filters immediately after hitting the "post" button, but it did seem to work without issue for my second brew.
Conclusion
I suspect that the Steemit population HEAVILY relies on the caffeine in coffee to fuel their content creation just as I do and the Aeropress seems like an effective and efficient solution to that problem. You can use it to make espresso, normal coffee, or whatever you want. I usually cold brew because I am vulnerable to acid reflux and indigestion and that method of brewing limits the amount of acid in the coffee, but so does the Aeropress and I haven't noticed a significant difference in the amount of gastrointestinal distress that results. The downside of cold brewing is that it takes 12 hours to make coffee and that coffee is cold. That's why I bought the Aeropress--for those times when I've forgotten to cold brew or I want hot coffee and as of now I certainly do not regret the decision.
This blog post is the begging of something BIG, decentralized honest product reviews :)
A+
What a time to see this, only today I was thinking there must be a coffee maker that is simple and yet effective and does not need a team for cleaning.
That's a great point. The clean up is super easy.
That was one of the trickiest cups of coffee I've seen.. Too many steps, I just use the little keurig its quicker I think, and Im married to it. Its very loyal.
Haha, sick twist on the product review. There's a real art in getting across what's most useful to know without the "look at meeee reviewing every conceivable angle" fluff and puff.
I'd really like a Yelp sort of wing of Steemit, where maybe posts have a very long life cycle so that people can reward them as they use them over time.
I LOVE my Aeropress. Have you ever tried Bulletproof coffee (with grass-fed butter and coconut oil)? It's amazing! I like to use the Aeropress to make tea as well. A little pu-erh tea, yerba maté, and the same mix of fats... super yummy and very good for you. Nice sustained energy. No crash. Cheers @andrarchy!
Yup, used the aeropress to make bullet proof coffee this morning :)
What a cool gadget!
Although I love my good old fashioned coffee percolator.
I do agree that it would be handy for travel purposes It would also be handy for visit friends or family who don't drink coffee.
What more could you ask for good coffee and people you love, sounds like heaven to me.
Oh No! I think I've just talked myself into buying it now.
nece post! it makes me want to drink coffee. but, it's time to go to bed in Japan!;(
It will neve be like a coffee from a semi automatic espresso machine
This is a good review. Something to keep in mind though - when you start with good quality coffee beans, you're not likely to end with a bad cup (unless you just burn the coffee while brewing it). And the reverse is also true - if you have a poor quality coffee, there's nothing you can do to make it taste like a premium one. The GIGO concept applies to real life.
Regarding acidity of coffee:
I can't tell you the exact figures of different coffees, but in general, the acidity levels are higher than fruit juices, tomatoes, beer, and sodas by a pH level of around 2. Coffee is generally lower in pH than saliva, but higher than any of the other things mentioned. It may not necessarily be coffee that causes the acid reflux and indigestion, but bad coffee instead. If you drink most coffees off the shelf at your local grocery store, you're likely just drinking bad coffee - low-grade, over-roasted (burnt), likely stale.
Anyway - good post. If you're a fan of coffee, you should check out my "blog." I work with coffee farmers and have been writing a series on it. It'll give you some insight into the quality/producer side of the industry.
hahah this was really funny, thank you for that! i am sure all the coffee drinkers will want to know more details :) Alla x