AeroPress Original Coffee Maker | Coffee in Under a Minute

I picked up the AeroPress coffee maker with the intention of having a packable, go-anywhere alternative to make a quick cup of coffee in the office, on the road, or out hiking or camping in the great Alaskan outdoors. I didn’t expect that it would quickly become my primary method of getting my morning fix.

What is the AeroPress?

The AeroPress is an all-in-one coffee maker that seems too simple to be effective. Its main mechanism is a plastic cylinder with a screw-on filter, plus a plunger that gets inserted into the cylinder. That’s it. It works as you might imagine: coffee grounds get placed into the cylinder, right on top of a paper filter. You simply pour in water (hot, cold, or room temperature depending on what you want), stir, and plunge away. What you get is a concentrated espresso that can be taken straight, mixed with more water for an Americano style coffee, or milk for a latte. When you’re done, a quick rinse is all that’s needed to get you back to square one.

“AeroPress is a simple, easy-to-use coffee maker that consistently brews better tasting coffee and espresso drinks. It’s an espresso maker, a drip coffee maker and a French press, all rolled into one!” ~aeropress.com

The simplicity had me figuring that this would be great in a pinch. When I didn’t have access to a conventional coffee maker or a Starbucks/coffee stand/gas station. But the taste of the coffee this produces is outstanding. The coffee-nerds who created the AeroPress identified that the science behind their brewing process results in a much lower acidity and bitterness level than conventionally brewed joe. I typically take a tiny splash of cream or milk in mine. Just to take that edge off but found myself drinking the AeroPress’s Americanos and Espressos black.

What’s Included:

PRODUCT DETAILS:

• No acidity, bitterness, or grit: Rapid brewing eliminates bitterness and acidity while micro-filters remove the grit typically found in other presses. Goodbye French press!
• Brew in under one minute: Just add coffee and water, stir, and press. Clean-up takes only a few seconds.
• Brew American or espresso style coffee: Brews one to three delicious cups with one press. AeroPress can also make cold brew coffee as well as espresso-style coffee for lattes, cappuccinos, and more.

Now there are some drawbacks here. If you want hot coffee, you need hot water. That’s not always possible when hiking or camping, especially if you’re packing light for long trips. A Jetboil or MSR Whisperlite can quickly solve this problem if you have the space. However, even if you only use room temp or cold water, you can still get a delicious caffeine fix if you need it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the AeroPress has a bit of a learning curve to it. The company holds the World AeroPress Championships each year, with the winners publishing their “recipes” on the website. The level of detail is astounding. Small adjustments in the texture of the coffee grounds, water temperature, number of filters, exact number of seconds to stir, and so on, result in differences in the end product. So, know that it may take some adjustments, and a few tries to figure out exactly the way you like your coffee. But I can definitely say that there is no combo I’ve made that I haven’t enjoyed.

“Brew the best coffee you’ve ever tasted in under a minute”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, the AeroPress has been great for me. It comes with some accessories and my version came with a nice zip up tote that you can toss everything into. I ditched the funnel and the stirrer to make room for a bag of coffee grounds. Which gives me a grab-and-go loadout of everything I need. I throw it in my work bag, my suitcase, or my rucksack for military field exercises and I’m good to go. They even make a smaller version intended for travel. One that comes self-contained in its own mug if the all-in-one approach is your main goal. The AeroPress may not be for everyone, but for $39.95, it’s hard to beat for the quality coffee it makes.

About the Author: Mike McGovern lives in Anchorage, Alaska. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Forward Observer and Paratrooper with the 1-501^st PIR at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and currently serves as an Alaska Army National Guard Military Policeman. He has deployed to the Middle East as part of a Protective Services Detachment (PSD). And is a DOD Non-Lethal Weapons Instructor. In the civilian world, Mike works for the State of Alaska as a Supervisory Probation Officer. He takes in all that Alaska has to offer, enjoying fishing, hunting, camping, kayaking, and hiking with his wife and two young sons.