Aeropress Original Espresso and Coffee Maker

R 999.00

In 2005, Alan Adler, president of a plastic toy company called Aerobie, designed the AeroPress, and he probably had know idea what a cult he was about to begin.

The Aeropress first took the speciality coffee scene by storm, with its ease of use and fool proof flavour extraction, and it is fast becoming a must in any kitchen.

It is certainly unconventional and quite peculiar looking,however it's one of the fastest and most flavourful methods of brewing coffee around. You just have to Google AeroPress and you find thousands of videos of cult followers, novices as well as experts like Gwilym Davies, World Barista Champion 2009  posting how they wield their AeroPress to create the best cup of coffee.  So fanatical is its user base you'll find AeroPress being made in the craziest of places like cockpits of airplanes. It even has its own "Mile High Club" of users making coffee in flight, and its own international professional competition.

It even has its own international professional competition.

How AeroPress Works
The AeroPress' unique dual brewing method, uses emersion brewing (as used in a french press or plunger),and then adds pressure (like with espresso) to squeeze even more flavour from the coffee. It is this unique combination of brew methods that provides fool proof quality for any user, and for the barista in you, a highly customisable barista tool.

It's as easy as...
1. Lock in the filter,
2. Dose a measured spoon of ground coffee,
3. Add hot water,
4. Stir well
5. and pressure plunge.
6. enjoy

Coffee establishments such as Origin Coffee Roasting, Espresso Lab and Seattle Coffee Co. all serve AeroPress on their menu as a specialty coffee drink, because of its unique ability to highlight subtle flavours, especially from exotic single origin coffees

We spoke to LoveJoy Chirambasukwa, SA Barista Champion 2013, from Origin Coffee Roasting, about his AeroPress.
"It's really a remarkable brewing tool. It's amazingly consistent, virtually unbreakable, and great baristas can really create amazing results. There are so many ways to fine-tune and perfect your method, depending on the coffee being used, and your preferred strength and flavour extraction.

LoveJoy continued to share the secrets of brewing the perfect cup, "you need to understand your coffee, and basic brew parameters". These are:
- Water quality and temperature
- Grind consistency and coarseness
- Recipe (ratio of coffee to water)
- Immersion (how long you allow coffee to brew before pressure plunging)
- Pressure (how long and hard you plunge your brew for)

Water quality and temperature
Working with subtle flavours demands very clean and neutral water in order not to interfere with the flavour of your preferred coffee. Using a water purifier is recommended. The temperature: the lower your water temperature, the more subtle flavours can be extracted. However, the lower the temperature, the longer your brew period. NEVER use boiling water. I typically use water between 80 and 90 degrees.

Grind consistency and coarseness
The finer your grind, the stronger your brew. But strong is not always good if you're trying to highlight subtle flavours. I find that with very sweet and acidic coffees, a coarse grind works much better because you can dial bitterness right down, and those beautiful flavours can shine through. I also like to use a coarser grind when using lighter roasts for the same reasons.

Recipe
I play around with this but for a fully dosed AeroPress, which is roughly 180ml of brew, I'm typically using about 18-21g of coffee. I also like to weigh my water, as water expands when heated so I can be more accurate with my recipe that way.

Immersion
You can increase the time the coffee is immersed in hot water by using the reverse method. To do this you brew the AeroPress upside down. This way I can contain the brew for longer.  (show picture). In AeroPress circles it is referred to as the steep time. You can create your ideal cup by combining steep time with pressure applied when plunging.

Pressure
So if you're wanting a subtle extraction, you'll steep longer and push softer on your plunge. If you're going to be pushing your plunge really hard, then steep time can be reduced. So anything from 0 - 2 minutes.

What's in the box
x1 Aeropress, x 1 Funnel, x 1 Filter holder, x 1 Scoop, x 1 Stirrer, 1 x 350 Aeropress paper filters