Save Money and Enjoy Better Coffee With an Aeropress

Brewing coffee with aeropress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have always enjoyed my morning cup of coffee. Even in college I never missed having a few cups a day. Back then my only choices were Dunkin Donuts or coffee at the quickie mart. Now the choices abound. Starbucks has opened the flood gates on coffee enjoyment. No longer are we stuck with a cream and sugar coffee, today the choices and flavors are endless. They are also expensive.

To save a little money I went the way of the single serve coffee brewer it's worked very well. I probably save $15-$20 a week making coffee at home. I have been completely satisfied with this for several years. But I have been exploring ways to do better. 

My exploration has brought me to a device called an Aeropress. Which is basically a French Press, only better. This little machine has given me an even better cup of coffee than my single serve brewer. Like a single serve machine it makes only one cup at a time. This is the theory for brewing the freshest, best tasting cup of coffee you ever had.

I started with the "AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker" I purchased from Amazon. It comes with the coffee press, 700 filters, a bag to carry the stuff in, and all the tools to brew coffee. The 700 filters should allow you to make 700 cups of coffee, what a deal! 

Here's How To Use The Aeropress:

1. Place a filter disk in the cap and attach the cap to the chamber. Place the chamber, with cap, on top of your favorite coffee mug 
2. Place your ground coffee into the chamber. Use one included scoop per cup of espresso or per cup of coffee wanted, to a maximum of four scoops.
3. Now heat the water. You can actually heat it in the plunger, since it is hollow, or heat it any other way desired. The manufacturer recommends 165 - 175 degrees F. (75 - 80 C). First, wet the grounds with the water slowly, then add the rest of the water. There are markings on the chamber as well as the plunger for how much water to use. Stir gently for about ten seconds.
4. Wet the rubber seal on the plunger, insert it into the chamber and press slowly, it should take about 20 seconds for all the water to pass through the grounds, depending on how much you are making. 

The results of this work is a cup of "Expresso Strength" coffee. This is arguable, but the fact is that you have a very smooth, concentrated form of coffee. If you are after a more "classic" cup of coffee, you can add hot water to the output of the Aeropress, diluting it with 2 to 3 times the amount of hot water to espresso.

Link to World Aeropress Championship 2012 Recipe Competition

Now the coffee is ready to drink so flavor it as you usually do. I have found that sometimes I can't drink the amount of coffee made so I have stored it in the fridge for later. It still tastes as good but the aroma is substantially lost. Many people do not mind this so they make up an extra batch and keep it in the fridge and report it is still good tasting weeks later.

I believe that good coffee is as important as good personal finance. Try the Aeropress for a great cup of coffee.

AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker with zippered nylon tote bag and an Extra 350 Micro Filters (700 Total)