Aeropress

FreddieVanHalen

Perhaps I got a dud AeroPress. Mine will not hold the water and coffee if I try it using the non-inversion method.

After a couple of times finding myself and half of the worktop covered in boiling water and coffee grounds that we're pissing out of the end of the supposedly sealed AeroPress I gave up on it.

Using the inversion method fared a bit better but the paper filter never seemed to work properly and there was never much pressure in the pressing when I pressed it and the resultant coffee never seemed better than the moka pot method.

Like I said, maybe I'm doing it wrong but I just couldn't be bothered with the faff and gave it away.

@Grangousier I have an induction moka pot, there are a few about now.

ThePrettyDamned

FreddieVanHalen said:

RaymondLin said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

Not a fan of AeroPress at all. Leaks, crap cafetière style brew, messy, pissing about with inverted brews and paper filters, nah pure 1980s kitchen gadgetry BS.

Still happy with my moka pots :-) 

I rather do V60 than aeropress.  Gave mine away.

Haven’t tried v60, might give that a try in the office where a moka pot doesn’t work.

tone1 said:

I love my Aeropress... I love basic coffee, nothing fancy just filter coffee...I use it every morning 

If it works for you great! I just thought it was a massive faff to make coffee that wasn’t any better than a much easier to use and clean cafetière.

I wouldn’t say that I was a coffee guru by any stretch but I just really preferred the stuff that came out of my moka pot than the aeropress 

Lots of other people seem to swear by them but I was like wtf? Maybe I’m doing it wrong!

Sounds like it! Just treat it like a single cup cafetiere. 

Less bits/grounds in the drink but otherwise same principle. Clean up is easier because just just rinse the metal filter, press the puck into the bin then rinse the aeropress. 

But hey, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I love my moka pot too one day I'll be able to afford a proper grinder and espresso machine. 

V60 is great, but a *lot* of faff to get the most out of the coffee. You absolutely need freshly ground beans, at the right grind, a set of scales and a stopwatch. I have a set of hario v60 scales I got from a charity shop that does the weighing and the timing for me, but you still need a steady pour from a gooseneck kettle... 

Get it right, though, and you'll drag out some amazing, sweet flavours from your beans. Definitely worth the effort for me, but only on a cold, slow morning in winter  

Grunfeld

As @ewal said, the quality of the coffee is everything.

Here's what I've noticed with my Aeropress:

There is a 1:1 relationship between the pressure you need to plunge, and the quality of your drink.

Crap coffee:  let it brew, say 3 minutes, and the plunge time is quick.  You need very little effort to depress the plunger.

Good coffee: let it brew the same time and the plunge time is much longer.  You need a lot of effort to depress the plunger.

My theory is that the crap coffee is not absorbing water as well as the good coffee and this somehow affects the resistance you meet as you plunge the Aeropress and this in turn affects taste.

I use two paper filters each brew so I can generate loads of pressure. I feel this is where the flavour comes from.

Am I correct?  Does anyone with a bigger brain know the answer?

WezV

Its the only coffee maker I have brought two of.

It was actually the first thing I purchased after leaving my wife in march. she wanted to keep the original one  

ewal

The other things that affects the plunge pressure are grind size and freshness. Cheap coffee from Tesco is a bit too course and old.

TTBZ

Looking to step up from instant coffee and Dolce gusto in the mornings, what's best for a single cup of good strong coffee with minimal faff for someone half asleep? Aeropress, V60 or other?

monquixote

The Aeropress is only £25 so it's not too big  of an investment to give it a try.

ThePrettyDamned

Grunfeld said:

As @ewal said, the quality of the coffee is everything.

Here's what I've noticed with my Aeropress:

There is a 1:1 relationship between the pressure you need to plunge, and the quality of your drink.

Crap coffee:  let it brew, say 3 minutes, and the plunge time is quick.  You need very little effort to depress the plunger.

Good coffee: let it brew the same time and the plunge time is much longer.  You need a lot of effort to depress the plunger.

My theory is that the crap coffee is not absorbing water as well as the good coffee and this somehow affects the resistance you meet as you plunge the Aeropress and this in turn affects taste.

I use two paper filters each brew so I can generate loads of pressure. I feel this is where the flavour comes from.

Am I correct?  Does anyone with a bigger brain know the answer?

A bit off. The grind determines the pressure, but pressure has nothing to do with the brew.

coarse = easy plunge but more importantly less extracted in 3 minutes. Try it for 10. 

Fine = harder plunger and more extracted in the time vs coarse. Note more extraction is not always good.

Sassafras

I've tried all sorts of coffee making gadgets over the years. I keep coming back to a cafetiere.
Easy, simple, reliable, durable and the coffee's decent as long as you use decent coffee to begin with. Nothing will make crap coffee taste good.

Roland

Been there. Tried it. Drunk it. I’ve even been reduced to putting coffee grounds in a mug and pouring hot water on them. My sons works in the coffee business. He’s tried all the gadgets and settled on a filter. I’ve tried all his gadgets and prefer a cafetière. Two things we agree on. Use good quality beans, and grind them yourself just before making the coffee.

MattBanshee

Aeropress is only just about one step above "teaspoon of cheap instant in a chipped mug" in terms of coffee preference.

I use a full-pressure espresso pump machine at home (with Lavazza black), a moka when I don't have access to that, and a cup-top filter for when travelling (and anyone who calls it a "V60" or whatever belongs in a Soviet prison)

MattBanshee

TTBZ said:

Looking to step up from instant coffee and Dolce gusto in the mornings, what's best for a single cup of good strong coffee with minimal faff for someone half asleep? Aeropress, V60 or other?

Neither. The Dulce Gusto beats an Aeropress, and a cup-top filter will not necessarily make a strong coffee.

Stick with the Dulce Gusto unless you want to treat yourself to a Delonghi or similar espresso machine. Alternatively, get a moka pot. I wouldn't call it a faff, but it takes a little longer.

ThePrettyDamned

MattBanshee said:

Aeropress is only just about one step above "teaspoon of cheap instant in a chipped mug" in terms of coffee preference.

I use a full-pressure espresso pump machine at home (with Lavazza black), a moka when I don't have access to that, and a cup-top filter for when travelling (and anyone who calls it a "V60" or whatever belongs in a Soviet prison)

You absolutely misunderstand the aeropress. It's a cafetiere but cleaner brew, less bits. 

Espresso has its place, but there are other ways of enjoying coffee. The V60 is excellent but it makes a coffee nothing like an espresso, nor like an aeropress or a moka pot or a cafetiere.

There are other methods too, like the show-stopping syphon. All have pluses and minuses. The moka is probably objectively the worst way to brew coffee - I use a moka pot all the time though, because with practice you can get a decent coffee (although it is inferior to a true espresso, with carefully set pre-infusion, pressures, dosage and temperatures)

It's a minefield. I really like coffee. It's sad but I'm owning it anyway. 

I agree on strong coffee recommendations though - a moka pot is easy, fairly faff free and gives a very potent, caffeine-filled morning drink that's great with milk. 

RaymondLin

Coffee should not be brewed with boiling water, it burns the beans and you get an bitter effect, so Moka pot with boiling water is technically the worst way to make coffee.  

Some people like that taste, that's fine but speaking from a scientific point of view, Moka pot is not an ideal condition for coffee making.

LastMantra

Can boiling water actually burn beans? 

shrinkwrap

Cafetiere for me.

It's easy to clean - tap plunger on bin to get big chunks off, use a dirty fork from the dishwasher to scoop some of the grounds out of the glass bit - rinse - no soap or detergent needed.

Had to look up V60 - err, right, filter coffee as became popular 40 years ago.

I don't think espresso should be discussed in the same thread. It's a different drink, along with the Turkish brew method.

RaymondLin

LastMantra said:

Can boiling water actually burn beans? 

https://blog.lacolombe.com/2016/03/31/is-boiling-water-bad-for-your-brew/

Perhaps "burn" is not the correct term but it is too hot for coffee extraction, which is the thing you are trying to do.

ThePrettyDamned

LastMantra said:

Can boiling water actually burn beans? 

It's called burning, but in reality I think it's a temperature based over-extraction. It may also adversely affect some flavours that come out - typically, moka pot coffee is far less sweet and has a bitter edge, whereas carefully controlled pour over or espresso would be described as sweet, smooth or fruity/nutty etc, and isn't actually particularly bitter at all.

Some coffees are blended or roasted to bring more bitter - this can help cocoa or toffee flavours cut through the milk. Typically, these are the Italian blends, where they add robusta (itself a horrible smelling and tasting coffee - like burnt rubber). 

EricTheWeary

The moka pot is a pretty standard way of making coffee in households across Europe. It's not an espresso but it's pretty simple and makes a nice drink. 
People have bad experiences with it as there are a country of nacks to it without which you will get nasty coffee. But, once learned you can do it whilst half asleep.
Certainly better in every respect than the Nespresso pod type stuff. 

crunchman

MattBanshee said:

TTBZ said:

Looking to step up from instant coffee and Dolce gusto in the mornings, what's best for a single cup of good strong coffee with minimal faff for someone half asleep? Aeropress, V60 or other?

Neither. The Dulce Gusto beats an Aeropress, and a cup-top filter will not necessarily make a strong coffee.

Stick with the Dulce Gusto unless you want to treat yourself to a Delonghi or similar espresso machine. Alternatively, get a moka pot. I wouldn't call it a faff, but it takes a little longer.

Aeropress tastes much better than Dolce Gusto machine to me.  It's a lot better for the environment as well, not to mention cheaper.