Mad Professor

I love my aeropress. I've used it for about a month now, and I won't go back. Be sure to grind your coffee really fine, and experiment with dilution ratios for the Americano-style coffee with water. I should take my old style drip press to the thrift store, Becuase I'm not going to give up counter space to one again.

I've got the same problem as the last time I read about this... nowhere to buy it. No information on where to buy it.

It's a French Press.

I think it is more accurate to say that the Aeropress is based on the French Press, but is a big improvement.

It's very easy to clean. You unscrew the cap and push out the coffee grounds (which are compressed and resemble a hockey puck) with the piston.

Many places sell it online. Just search froogle.com

Yeah but how far does it fly?

That is remarkably similar to the way that Automatic Products vending machines make coffee. ( The big differance is the stirring. )

seems like a lot of work for a drink.

The video shows your web site URL as

www.madprofessor.net

at the beginning, but as

www.madprofessor.com

at the end.

The second URL is way cooler, they have ...

REGGAE!

You just have coffee.

Sorry, Mark, you lose by a whisker

You know, you should buy a Bialetti and drink real coffee :)

Actually it's very little like a french press. It has more in common with an espresso maker, and even more in common with a vac pot. The core idea of the french press is that the coffee steeps and then it removed from the column, but you still have essentially un-filtered coffee. It's raw and intense and gritty. And those are good things. There's no pressure extraction.

Here, you use water under pressure; there's almost no steeping. As with espresso, you're forcing water through fine-ish ground coffee.

The only similarity to french press other than shape is the fact that it has the word 'press' in it.

My question, for those who've used both, is this - how's the coffee compare to french press? The device is a cool idea, though I don't like the idea that you have to microwave it. I don't like microwaves, I'm a luddite like that, I'd rather use fire to heat my water.

This is similar to the metal drip filter used for making Vietnamese coffee... minus the disposable paper filters. Instead, the VN coffee uses a perforated metal screen that you can rinse out and reuse. No waste.

Also, because it doesn't use a paper filter, the tasty coffee oils don't get filtered out. There's a screw top to compress the grounds to adjust the strength of the coffee, too.

There's an illustrated guide at http://wanderingspoon.com/feature-coffee/vietnamese_coffee.html

I love my aeropress, I have two, have bought them for friends (who then bought more for more friends). Great coffee, smooth, delicious and potent.

Lynn, you were so close: the url is actually given at the end as "www.madprofesssor.com". With an extra S. Nicce.

Is that the luminaria from electroplankton for the Nintendo DS? I am pretty sure it is - and if so, excellent way to create a soundtrack.

"Is that the luminaria from electroplankton..." Yep!

Darn . . . Quicktime refuses to play the video part. What codec are you using, Mark? (I had the same problem with the video you shot of the Throwie bus.)

I am just using the Share/Quicktime option in iMovie. Are you using Windows or Mac, Stefan?

I had a problem playing the video portion the second time around in Safari. It worked fine the first time.

Nice demo, Mark. Just think, for another $7970, you could get a Clover 1 and it would do the squeezing and sucking for you. You'd still need to stir it though.

Me too - sound but no video even after finally letting QT update itself - that's on Win2K with Firefox 1.5.

hey, very nifty kit-- i like it

something that occurred to me though, re your specific technique: you'll almost certainly get a more-intense coffee flavour by NOT stirring with plasticspoonthing but by immediately capping the cylinder with its sealing piston.

reason: the bulk of "the coffee taste" comes from volatile oils: these are drawn out of the grounds by the hot water. a lot of them will actually boil off as gases. the longer you stir, the more of the fresher oil you will lose.

you can easily mix the sealed cylinder by either shaking it (better), or by swirling it fast alternately anti-/clockwise 2 or 3 times (as good as stirring).

the ideal is to actually see a layer of separated oil on the surface of your coffee, and this oil will pucker your face and water your eyes and fill your mouth with saliva by its sheer delicious pungency. (this is rare but very verrrrry memorable)

I'm not sure I'm buying that idea about volatile oils being drawn out and boiling off, but being a James Bond fan, I do like the idea of shaken, not stirred.

in fact, i think i'll have a coffee martini now.

I heat my water on the stove and reuse the filters. It performs pressure extraction through a disk of 2 inch micro-filter paper. It extracts at 2x potency and then you dilute the liquor when serving. Combine with a milk foamer for cappacino. It produces no sediment so the liquor does not become bitter if used later. It is easy to clean and dry for reuse. There is no residue or flavor imparted by the press if you clean, wipe and let it dry. The plunger is air tight like a syringe and allows complete pressing leaving a small puck of grounds, however it does not require much force to express the coffee liquor. The unit elegantly organizes the neccesary procedures required to make a smooth non-bitter coffee extraction.

You can buy it online here:

http://www.localsonlycoffee.com/ShoppingCart.asp?ProductCode=Aer01