Been given an Aeropress to try on my hols. Before I head off to the LCS what type of coffee do you get best results, espresso or normal blend

Bean to cup machine man so new territory for me, or just take my French press and be done with it.

Shit coffee is available on site so I’m told.

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/brewers/products/aerobie-aeropress

its just a french press by another name.

get what ever you would prefer to use in your press 😉

just tell the woman at macbeans youll be sticking it in an aeropress and she will grind to suit 😉

I use espresso grind, more than normal amount.
I drink shots, not technically espresso but better than bad espresso.

I recommend using it upside down too.

I use an expresso grind usually. But TBH it would probably work OK with a french press grind too.

Stop 😉 at me it scares me much.

Or are you squinting 😉

I did find that if you poured water in it would almost always have run out through the filter before you got to the point of needing the compressor bit to squeeze it through.

which is why you do it upside down WW.

Upside down method, 20g 1min (small amount of water and a stir to wet the grinds fully) grind is between espresso and filter on home grinder.
It’s not an espresso and it’s not the same as filter it’s aeropress.

If you are travelling get yourself a porlex mini to go with it.

+1 for upside down method and same grind as for the espresso machine

I think it can’t be beaten for convenience and good coffee. Going to get a second one for the office.

A finer grind will help with that… with illy from the can (espresso grind, I guess?) – only about a tablespoon goes through before you put the press but in – and that pretty much stops any more escaping.

(Edit as I’m too slow – that’s to help with the coffee escaping before you get a chance to press it..)

Ive never understood the Illy fandom. I find it a pretty harsh, un-aromatic grind. Dry and sharp, no real oilyness at all.

which is why you do it upside down

I might go back to it for camping next year.

The instructions that came with it only showed it being used as you;d expect – the right way up.

WW:#
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_8MMWZ_mW4[/video]

Ive never understood the Illy fandom. I find it a pretty harsh, un-aromatic grind. Dry and sharp, no real oilyness at all.

Illy is just overpriced mass produced over roasted stale coffee, unless it has a roast date not a use by date it’s always going to be mediocre.

Ive never understood the Illy fandom. I find it a pretty harsh, un-aromatic grind. Dry and sharp, no real oilyness at all.

+1

Buying an aeropress or espresso machine and then using Illy is like buying an Aga to cook fishfingers in.

cheers stoner, will give it a go.

If your funds will allow a porlex hand grinder, that will make a huge difference. All preground coffee is stale!!! Whole beans stay fresher longer and you’ll get a much better tatse in the cup.

its a nervous tick from too much caffiene.

i bought illy once – as it came in a nice little tin handy to keep my ground in on the desk.

pretty grim stuff – tasted just like the stuff in french airports :s rough and bitter

Get one of those little battery whisks for latte etc. Occasionally I forget and end up with a flat white…it just isn’t the same 🙂

+1 inversion method grind a little coarser than espresso about two clicks on a hario hand grinder which is very easy to carry!
http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/coffee-brewing/hand-coffee-grinders/hario-mini-mill-slim
Fresh beans from hasbean or monmouth.
These guys take it seriously!
http://www.worldaeropresschampionship.com/
Completely different cup to a french press I use both but for when I want a hit of coffee without access to a decent barista I use the aeropress, French press for me is post dinner slow drinking!

And the Coffee-Snobs(TM) strike again. 😉

(Actually sneaks off to order an AeroPress, cos I’ve been meaning to do it for a while after having grim coffee whilst on holiday and a mate who I bumped into on the beach had one and invited us for coffee on the beach and it was bloody great)

Actually sneaks off to order an AeroPress

I bought one after reading the hype – waste of money IMO. It’s awkward to use – you have to use it upside down due to the design flaw of the filter paper not sealing the end of the tube, and the coffee doesn’t taste any better than what you get from a caffetiere.

Love the Brewing Guide video on that webpage:
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/brewers/products/aerobie-aeropress

Aeropress coffee in 12 simple steps!

They do seem to take their coffee pretty seriously at HasBean. Did you see them describing how to make an espresso on GCN:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2slAkzww0s[/video]

Blimey!

*sups quietly at half pint mug of instant Douwe Egberts like the philistine he is*

another upside down here, but would also recommend popping over to ebay and buying a metal filter, the paper ones are an oil absorbing nonsense. Use ours every day and 10+ we know have since bought them!

Duralt burr grinder set just slightly a bit, no a bit more coarser than fine espresso grind.

you have to use it upside down due to the design flaw

They do it upside down in the Brewing Guide video – so isn’t that just the way it is supposed to be used, rather than a design flaw?

I bought one after reading the hype – waste of money IMO. It’s awkward to use – you have to use it upside down due to the design flaw of the filter paper not sealing the end of the tube, and the coffee doesn’t taste any better than what you get from a caffetiere.

In what way is it awkward to use?

I use my most weekends on the side of a mountain and don’t have any problems. Plus it’s easier to clean and carry than a cafetiere. Using it upside down is even better/easier, since once you’ve stirred it you can pop the filter/cap on and it won’t go everywhere if you knock it over.

Love mine. Use it daily. Way better than any cafetiere I’ve used.

I love my aeropress muchly.

They do it upside down in the Brewing Guide video – so isn’t that just the way it is supposed to be used, rather than a design flaw?

Not here: http://www.aeropress.com

In what way is it awkward to use?

Because it requires you to use quite a lot of force while holding a hot thing, or else pressing down hard on a potentially fragile cup rim.

DrJ, there’s nothing to stop you deviating slightly from what it says on the website in order to get an even better cup of coffee, it won’t explode or anything 🙂

Agreed that it’s probably not the best present for someone who is 5 or likes to drink coffee from fine bone china.

Incidentally, if you find you’re having to press down too hard, the grind is probably a bit too fine. If I try to use coffee which is ground for my espresso machine I can barely make it depress more than a couple of inches. Filter grind seems to work best for me, or just cafetiere.

I’m not averse to deviating from what it says on the website – just find it strange that you HAVE to do so in order to avoid leakage.

I’m not 5 and i find it awkward. I don’t use fine china but I do sometimes use a glass or a paper cup.

Likewise, I use espresso ground.

Other than that, I agree with you 🙂

This leaking issue is pretty easy to solve by putting something underneath it…. if only such a thing was immediately to hand….

Im going to invent something like that, I’ll call it the ‘catcher under press’ if thats too long to fit on the box i’ll shorten it somehow.

Likewise, I use espresso ground.

Seriously though, if you use espresso grind with it, it will be a nightmare to compress. Try a more coarse grind and you’ll find it goes down without much effort at all (cue Katie Price jokes)

All this upside down talk is very amateurish, every one who knows anything about coffee knows it’s the inversion method [/i]

Upside down and Hot Lava Java does it for me. Espresso grind is a pain as said previously.

Aeropress twice a day for me. Inversion. And a Subscription to Has Bean coffee. It’s another world to the (roasted 3 months ago) stuff in the supermarkets. That said I have found some ok beans in Booths.

I’ve found this non-inverted method works well

[video]http://vimeo.com/16261120[/video]

Soaking the filter paper looks a smooth move. Off to find Barry White on Spotify …