Thursday Review: AeroPress brews up delicious coffee quickly

FARGO – I’ve always been a drip coffee kind of girl. It’s a simple process: Line coffeemaker with filter. Scoop grounds. Pour water. Press button.

I’ve eyed curiously French presses, unsure of how such a contraption works and less keen on the robust coffee they brew.

So it was with a bit of trepidation I tried the American-made AeroPress, a 1- to 4-cup coffee and espresso maker. It bears some resemblance to a French press, though it operates differently.

A key distinction is the use of a small, circle paper filter, which the AeroPress folks say makes the java less bitter. The coffee also brews directly into a mug, using a process called “pressure extraction.”

That 2½-inch filter fits inside a filter cap, which screws to the bottom of the cylindrical chamber. The chamber is placed on top of the mug.

To make a cup of coffee, pour two to four scoops of fine-drip grounds into the chamber and then add hot water (175 degrees is the ideal temp, the directions say). Stir for 10 seconds. Then gently press down on the plunger for 20 to 30 seconds. Voila! You have espresso.

Well, actually, an “espresso-like” beverage, according to coffee connoisseurs who have written about the AeroPress device.

At this point, you can stir in more hot water to make an Americano, or top off the mug with warm milk for a latte.

The AeroPress box is covered with testimonials claiming it makes the best coffee ever. And it is quite good – even when I used plain old Folgers. It’s smooth, not bitter. My husband, a fan of dark roasts and strong coffee, especially enjoyed the straight-up brew.

Perhaps the best part, with a little practice it takes only about a minute to make a cup of coffee – faster than either an automatic drip coffeemaker or a French press.

It would be a great device to keep at the office, assuming you have access to hot water. It’s compact and made from shatterproof plastic.

And at less than $30 (it was recently listed on Macy’s website for $29.99 and Bed Bath & Beyond’s site for $25.99), the AeroPress is reasonably priced, especially compared with a $5-a-day coffeehouse habit.

Tags: thursday review, shesays, reviews, food