Customer Reviews

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker

Most of the reviews are pretty accurate. Now I have this gadget, I've reluctantly dropped my steel mini-cafetiere but still use my 'smart mug' with plunger at work. But the Aeropress is almost as quick, and better - the coffee is crystal clear (but brown - you know what I mean), no crema, but that doesn't matter too much to me, and tasty.

Here is some how-to-use-it info:
[...link deleted by Amazon] Download the instructions from the manufacturer's website for details of how to brew, if you want to check before you buy. But it's quick, and not as complicated as they make it sound - I think there is an online video.

For people collecting greenie points: A year's filters use fewer trees than just ONE newspaper. Plus - you can quickly rinse and reuse the paper filter over and over if you wish - I use mine about 6 times each - such a mean old man...

The Playce I got my Aeropress from (a while ago) INCLUDED 300 filters at a low price - Amazon may be price matching by the time you read this.

Almost self-cleaning, but it's dishwashable if you prefer. VERY heavy-duty, slightly flexible (not brittle) clear plastic. UPDATE - after almost 3 years, this is a tad stained and has very small fissures (nothing bad) near the base and the dishwasher won't bleach it. Not a real prob, though.

Needs quite a bit of slow, sustained downward pressure for 15 seconds or so - weak-wristed ladies may struggle. In the interests of balance, that goes for weak-wristed gentlemen, too. A coarser grind makes things easier, but then your coffee's not as strong and you need even more.
I've just kept on using my usual 'all purpose-grind' coffees (e.g. T.....'s Lazy Sunday, or any supermarket own brands), with no problems re strength - you have to make it strong, then water it down for an 'americano' strength. Finer-ground Italian or filter-grind brands are OK, though, too. After almost 3 years, I've started grinding my own beans but, as it's a bit of a pain, I do a week's worth at a time and keep in a vacuum tin, which probably is self-defeating.

I now never use another gadget or machine to brew coffee. So that's a waste of money on my Bodum steel plunger jugs. Cafetieres leave fine bits (sludge), but this doesn't. It's that good - and I'm usually sceptical of gadget claims. Hope all that helps.

UPDATE - I forgot to say that you can make more than one cup at a time. The side markings on the tube are for espressos, which you, if you wish, dilute to make an Americano. So e.g. for 2 Americanos, make enough coffee for 2 espressos, but plunge into 2 separate mugs (50% into each mug), then dilute as necessary.

UPDATES -
MUCH quicker than the great-looking but hard-to-find Chemex glass jug/wood collar/special filter, which I received as a gift. The Aeropress is 1 minute against 4 minutes with the Chemex for a single mug and its wasteful, single-use, giant filters.
November 2011 - no problems at all. Has been used twice a day for a year. Very slight scratching of the the tube by the plunger, understandably. Plenty of filters left as I make one last for about a week !
September 2012 - still brill.
November 2012. Very slight erosion at the end of the tube. Probably my fault for not ejecting the old coffee plug until the next time I use it, which is 24 hours later, usually. Still works fine, though. If it broke / went missing, I would immediately have to buy another one, and I don't often say that.
Spring 2013 - well, never one to give up, here's more... the latest ones are smoky grey, which should help disguise the slight staining which my Aeropress, now 3 years old, has picked up near the base. Probably my fault for never pressing out the used 'puck' of coffee until next morning. This has also led to the plastic slightly starting to 'corrode' near the base. But I really can't complain. It still works fine, don't be deterred! Birthday soon, and I think I need a new one. I'll keep the current one for holidays and emergency back-up. Because it WILL be an emergency the day they stop making these.
Thanks for the votes, everyone ! This is way more popular than my retro cubic fire review!

April 2014 - all good things must come to an end. A partial end. I couldn't resist buying one of the new tinted grey ones and retiring my 'clear' - but now stained coffee brown - old one. The old one's not TOO bad but, rather like me, it's slightly swelling around the wasitline area and cracking up a bit.
Usable, but I'll keep it as a back-up spare. But all those years for so little money and so much enjoyment? (I'm talking coffee makers; not marriage.) Well worth it!

I got an AeroPress for my birthday a few months ago and I have to say it is fantastic. In my view it makes beautifully smooth and tasty coffee that is superior to a cafetiere, Moka or cheapish - ie �100-�150 - home espresso machine. For what it's worth, I use a technique explained to me by a barista in an excellent London coffee shop (Prufrock). This has the benefit of using significantly less coffee than you would use when following the instructions and (again in my opinion) makes a better cup of coffee. This is as follows: use 15g of coffee with 230ml of boiled water that has been left to cool for around 30 seconds. Stir for 10 seconds, then leave to stand for 1 minute 50 seconds, before plunging. I was also advised to use filtered water - I've tried this and I think it does improve the smoothness, but perhaps not sufficiently to warrant the extra faff. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that get very technical with timings, temperatures and measures. Much fun to be had.

This is totally unlike any other coffee maker I've ever come across. It's quicker and easier than a cafetiere or percollater, and a lot less trouble to clean. Definitely the thing to go for if you like espresso and don't want to pay thousands of pounds for a decent espresso machine! And you can always top up with hot water or milk to make a big cup.

It maybe uses slightly more coffee each time than you would with another type of coffee maker. But definitely worth it for the taste - very smooth, and not bitter or too strong as long as you don't use water that's too close to boiling temperature.

I first heard about the Aeropress several years back and actually bought it on a trip to New York when prices here were MUCH higher than they are now. It's interesting to read how this company have made a habit of looking at established products, stripping them down to find what makes them work and then re-inventing them.

What the Aeropress produces is a very smooth, flavoursome cup of coffee with very little bitterness. At the risk of sounding disparaging the coffee could be described as inoffensive; I say this because many friends of mine who are not big coffee drinkers have loved the coffee that it produces and several have gone on to buy one for themselves. The reason why it works so well is that all the coffee grinds get a rapid, full and equal saturation unlike, say, filter/drip coffee machines that tend to over-saturate the grind directly under the water spout and under-saturate the grind to the side. I'm sure that the filter paper plays a part in this also, as well as (allegedly) reducing the cholesterol.

The attention to detail in the product is very good. You get a funnel so that you can pour in the coffee grind without it spilling over the work-top (though I rarely bother with it) and a stirrer that is so designed that it will just hover above the filter paper and so wont damage it. I was concerned that the the rubber bung that is essential to maintain the pressure during plunging might prove to be a point of weakness but there is no sign of wear and tear after three and a half years of constant use and it does the job as well now as it did when I first bought it.

Cleaning it is a doddle: I simply plunge the spent grind in the bin or composter and rinse under the tap.

I have given five stars but it is not the answer to all your coffee needs: it is not suitable for making coffee for more than three or four at a time. The instructions suggest that you should make a small amount of very strong (espresso-strength) coffee and then divide into several cups and dilute with hot water to produce Americanos. I really can't be bothered with all that and simply serve full-strength, full-volume mugs of coffee; but doing that for more than a couple of people at a time is tiresome so dinner guests get the French Press.

This is a safe purchase that you will use again and again. I strongly and enthusiastically recommend it.

I had got a bit tired of instant coffee Used it for convenience, and the 'Gold' versions a re beet tan the cheapo type, but still nothing like the real thing. Had (still have) a filter machine, but a) it takes a long time and b) the results always seemed just a little lacking somehow. I'd seen more elaborate machines, steam pressure and all that but they were quite expensive and I was concerned about being locked in to some kind of capsule system

Anyway, I then came across this device. It seemed to tick the boxes - good quality coffee and fairly quick to use, also got good reports, so I went for it. Having had it for a while now I can only say that I am well pleased. It works great. The coffee it produces is more tasty and aromatic than the drip machine, it is is easy and quick to use and is a reasonable price. Sorted!

I suppose it might be considered a bit small for making coffee for several people, so if you regularly have big dinner parties it might not suit. However, it's quick to use so you could make more than one 'batch' fairly quickly. In reality I usually make coffee for just me, or me plus one, so it's not an issue.

Very simple to use, makes nice tasting coffee in quick time, and is very easy to clean, just a rinse and your done! A tip is to rinse the filters and you can re-use them about 6 times, although they are not expensive to buy. You can use ready ground coffee from the supermarket or grind your own if you wish. Experiment with how long you leave it to steep or how much coffee you add and you can get a really nice flavour. If you add hot milk (which I warm in the microwave so no pans to clean!) it makes a really nice latte or add frothed hot milk (I use the Aerolatte milk frother) to make a great cappuccino. It makes one decent size mug full of cappuccino or two smaller size cups. Recommended as it's so easy and quick, and much nicer than coffee from a jar. Really pleased with it and glad I didn't waste money on an expensive coffee machine when this is just as good!

Normally I'm not one for reviews, and I'm definitely not one for over-exuberant ones about something like coffee. It has to be said though, this is really very, very good.

After tasting it, you realise how grainy french presses are, and you get to taste the coffee much more with much less bitterness, and no gunk in the cup. I've not used any fancy or freshly ground beans yet, but I was surprised how many extra flavours I could taste from just your average packet-ground coffee.

It may sound a bit complicated to use but it really isn't (just twist the bottom to put the paper filter in and re-twist it shut, pull the plunger out to put the coffee and water in and then put the plunger back in, wait 20 seconds for it to brew, then push). It's also self-cleaning too, apart from a few granules which two seconds under a tap will remove.

There's only two 'bad' things really. Firstly, that it probably uses a bit more coffee than you'd use normally, but I'll use less than what it recommends as it was a bit too strong even for me, and I'm really not a fan of weak coffee. The other is that if you want to make a brew for lot of people, you'll have do it more than once. That said, it's very quick and I'm that impressed by it, I'm not going to mark it down for that.

No exaggeration, I'd say the improvement in taste between this and a french press is as much of a step up as from instant to ground beans. For the amount you pay for it, this is by far and away the best value-for-money purchase you can make for coffee.

OMG. Now i make espresso everywhere! I use it at home and at work all the time. I can use any king of coffee i like. It's even great for holidays when you are away from home. ECO friendly too!

As others have said, this machine doesn't make espresso. Even if you put espresso grounds in at one end, what comes out the other end is just black coffee. It's pretty good black coffee but, without the crema, it's not espresso.

I bought the Coffee Lovers kit from Amazon which, for about 50p more, contained 250ml Taylersons Malmesbury Syrup and 250g Fairtrade Organic Coffee. The coffee was espresso and, therefore, a very fine grind. Maybe it's just me but I found depressing the plunger very hard. Less coffee making and more aerobic workout. The instructions tell me to apply gentle pressure - I tried but without success, I'm afraid. Perhaps a coarser grind would be easier although whether it would give as full a flavour remains to be seen.

I normally use a Nespresso machine and, to be honest, the Aeropress isn't in the same league. Also, to be honest, I wouldn't really expect it to be at this price. It is, however, pretty good at what it does and the coffee is loads better than Tassimo/Senseo etc. Good value for money.

When I seen the aeropress I thought "yeah, right?". Then I read the reviews and read other reviews as well and thought "All these people can't be wrong". Then I purchased it, it arrived and I approached my first cup of coffee with some scepticism. I am happy to say I was wrong. The coffee is fantastic with a wonderfully rich flavour (though obviously you need to use decent coffee - doesn't matter how much you polish a turd, and all that).
I was impressed on a lot of levels.
Number one is the quality of the final coffee, which is some of the best I have ever tasted.
Number two is how easy it makes cleaning up. You literally push a solid disc of coffee grounds into the bin and rinse the end of the device - job done that is it
Number three is the quality of the materials used. They could have used cheap plastic but what they have used feels solid and robust. This is not going to break the second, third or hundredth time you use it.
I would recommend the Aeropress to anyone I know and am considering a second one already for the office.
Buy it you won't regret it (unless you also own a �200 coffee machine and you will be kicking yourself)