New Hoffman video dropped. Not sure if we have any 3rd wave coffee lovers in this community. I’ve been an avid AeroPress user for about two years now and it will be interesting to see where the company goes, though it will likely not affect me as this thing feels nigh indestructible and I can likely use it for ten years with no issues.
I’ve had mine for close to 10 years. I did replace the rubber end, all else is doing well.
And when I replaced the rubber end, I realized I should have been removing it and cleaning under it all along 🤮
Oh! I didn’t realise that either. Just looked 😬
Ha! Just checked mine now. Wasn’t too bad but definitely had some oil boild up!
Wait is it removable? I thought it was glued on there!
Wait…you’re supposed to clean it?
oh no, I had no idea that could be removed, I’m a little scared to check mine
Oh no 😭
Love James Hoffman vids, and I’m not really much of a coffee drinker either. He has a calming demeanor and voice which helps me to wind down at night. Also learn some stuff :P
Yeah, I don’t drink coffee, but I still watch all of his stuff.
I use Wacaco products, but I’ve been eyeing the AeroPress Clear since that video dropped.
It personally would not matter to me if the product is clear, frosted, opaque, or something in-between. I think clear seems to be more practical, though.
I think the clear AeroPress is definitely the most practical. Part of my AeroPress recipe relies on agitation and waiting for the coffee to sink to the bottom to form a “puck”, which is easier to see in the clear AeroPress for sure. But then also, I’ve been getting great coffee out of mine for the last couple years. I’ve just gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of the semi-opaque press that I have.
Also, I’m curious what your experience has been with Wacaco. To me the Pico/Nanopresso have seemed interesting from a travel perspective, but for home brewing don’t look too useful. Curious what your primary use case is.
I really like the flair for home brewing espresso. I have the pro 2 and it’s pretty awesome to be able to make quality espresso that’s just as good or better than what I can get in local cafes while still being able to pack it away when I’m not using it.
How much of a commitment has it been for you to learn to make high quality espresso? I’m really into the idea of getting a Flair, but between the learning curve and all the extra tools people get for their machines (bottomless portafilters, WDT tools, various types of tempers etc.) it almost seems like too much effort vs. the expected reward.
Also, I’m curious what your experience has been with Wacaco. To me the Pico/Nanopresso have seemed interesting from a travel perspective, but for home brewing don’t look too useful. Curious what your primary use case is.
I’ve got the Cuppamoka (fancy pour-over device) and the Pipamoka, but I’d really love to get a Pico/Mini/Nanopresso.
Both the Cuppamoka and Pipamoka make nice coffee, but I prefer the Cuppamoka’s results better. Technique is important, and I was getting nearly the same results before as I do now with a better hand grinder and more appropriate grind settings.
I do use these both at home, but I’m a bit of a freak with making coffee using less common methods, even thought I’ve got pretty decent espresso and Nespresso machines. LOL
I don’t know what it is about using them, but I appreciate the all-in-one nature of them both, and the fact that I don’t need a machine to make coffee.
The Pico/Mini/Nanopresso would likely be less used at home, but I’d still enjoy using one :) If I can find a way to make coffee while out on long bike rides, without needing to boil water on the go, I’d totally get one.
Now, Hoffman did have another video comparing a bunch of portable espresso makers, and he was using boiled/hot water out of an insulated thermos, which sounds like it could work. I might just try it out with the Pipamoka!
An interesting point from Hoffman is the lack of inclusion of the filter holder, as well as the funnel. I bought a new aeropress 6-8 months ago, and it came with the filter holder (and 300 filters), but no funnel. So they’ve been going down this road for a little while.
Shame, too, because that funnel would be super useful for me
I didn’t realise that they had already started removing things. That seems slightly concerning that less is being included while the price goes up.
It’s the enshittification of a physical product
Unrelated to the video, but I was just (belatedly) scrolling the community suggestions thread wondering whether it was too late to suggest a coffee community – I’m happy to see that delicious beverages can be discussed here.
I would love to find a replacement for r/coffee
I found the new r/espresso at least: https://infosec.pub/c/espresso
Have always been curious about the filters for Aeropress, my brother owns one and it’s a tank, though the disposable filters seem annoying to refill and deal with. Are they proprietary, or is it pretty easy to find replacement filters from 3rd parties for cheap? Worried about what VC money taking over Aeropress means — it’d be like if Patagonia got sold to Blackrock.
I bought a reusable metal filter so that’s not an issue for me. There aren’t really third party filters available, which is strange given how popular of a device it is.
There are a few 3rd party paper filters out there but I didn’t like any I tried; off flavors, bad fit, suspect origin and materials. Plenty of 3rd party metal filter options though.
And once upon a time saw a 3rd party reusable cloth filter, which seems like WAY too much effort to me.
Didn’t like the metal filter because I found it made the coffee grittier than a paper filter.
Thankfully I haven’t noticed any issues with the unbleached 3rd party paper filters I got - especially since I bought a pack of 1000 lol
The only third party filters I know of are metal filters, cotton filters, and of course the rubber gasket metal filter that comes with the prismo
I’ve had my aeropress for around 5 years, and i reckon i’m about half way through the pack of paper filters that came with it. I use them until they get a hole in them (or hopefully just before), which is maybe 5-8 times.
I’m happy to see less plastic involved in it.
- Filter holder - I use a reusable metal filter
- Stirring thingy - I have a spoon
- Scoop - I measure coffee by weight and not volume
- Funnel - I just like, pour the coffee grounds directly into the Aeropress.
That being said, the price increase seems ludicrous, especially since they’re packing in so fewer items.
The nicest thing he can say about it is that it looks nicer, but that’s pretty subjective. I think it looks a little low-budget compared to the dark-tinted ones.
I think the original AeroPress packaged with the accessories is a good starter kit for a new user who may be completely new to coffee. When I needed to replace my old one this year (too much wear and tear) I costed buying replacement parts vs getting a completely new one snd it wasn’t much of a difference… but now I have two funnels, two scoops, two filter holders. Though as someone else commented, increasing the price and also removing the extras doesn’t sound right. Having the option to buy only the AeroPress (and pay less) would have been my preference.
Having said that, the accessories are versatile. I use the scoop to transfer beans from the bag/tin to the dosing cup for weighing, and the funnel fits almost perfectly on top of my grinder.
The funnel is more for making coffee into mugs the AeroPress doesn’t fit on. I never use the storer or the scoop, the filter holder is very handy, but the funnel is critical infrastructure some days
(for anyone who doesn’t know, the hexagonal top of the funnel mates with the hexagonal bottom of the AeroPress)
In the video he showed a bottom valve (for lack of a better term) from Fellow. That seemed interesting to me as my main problem with the Aeropress has historically been that all the water leaks out as I’m brewing and there isn’t enough time for infusion. Does anybody have any experience with that? It’s only $25 so I might buy it just to see for myself.
That’s the Fellow Prismo, which prevents drip without inverting and also adds a little pressure (AeroPress have also recently released the Flow Control cap which aims to do the same but is apparently not as reliable). I don’t trust myself to try inverted. I got a Prismo after I left my filter cap at a B&B and the first coffee shop I went to didn’t have spare caps but did have Prismos. Never looked back. I add a regular paper filter above the Prismo’s metal filter so the coffee is less muddy. I’ve also rediscovered Fellow’s “espresso” recipe for the Prismo which does come kind of close to real espresso.
+1 for the fellow prismo, makes brewing with the aeropress foolproof and easily repeatable. I use it exactly the same way as you, but if I want espresso-style coffee I use James Hoffmann’s aeropress recipe for it (18g/90ml)
Have you tried the inverted method to brew?
I’m personally not a fan of the inverted method, moving parts around early in the morning before I’ve had coffee is a recipe for disaster. I’ve considered getting a prismo (the fellow attachment), but haven’t bit the bullet because a little bit of drip doesn’t bother me. But I know that it works well for stopping drips.
Yeah but I’m always worried I’m gonna spill coffee everywhere. I will say it works well when I’ve done it, it’s just nerve wracking. The Aeropress isn’t my daily driver so I don’t get a ton of practice.
I do the inverted method a lot and after the first few tries I haven’t had a spillage at all. Big thing to be careful of is make sure the plunger isn’t too close to coming out of the press.
