I also got an aeropress, from my mother, along with a mossy oak Bama cap. Redneckin + good coffee = +EV?

I am pleased to report that the aeropress lives up to the hype. This is an amazing product. There are not very many things out there that have this elegant simplicity. It's doubling amazing considering the rest of Aerobie's product line.

Question for hardcore coffee fiends: do you grind "on demand" every time you brew, or do you grind enough for a couple of days at a time? I'm thinking that using the grinder every time I want a cup or two is going to be a big hassle. Is it that offensive if I just grind three days worth and store it in a tupperware or something?

asked and answered, - you should grind every time you're going to make a cup, but, no, it isn't that offensive to grind for a few days worth.

I grind enough for one serving but I'm using a 16 ounce insulated mug that lasts me the whole morning. Got rid of my cheap, leaking swag mugs and picked up a pair of these * at Costco for $20. So far they are great but the opening is too small for the aeropress used directly so I found I could use the black funnel for pressing (as opposed to just filling grounds) and it works fine.

~ Rick

* As with anything at Costco the Costco version might be slightly different since they sell it so cheap.

I have an emotional attachment to my mugs.

http://www.cafepress.com/mnftiu.998356

https://shop.krispykreme.com/mugs4.html

Still loving this thing, probably best Christmas gift I've ever gotten :P Honestly, I'm not sure if its the beans I'm using, or the aeropress. I'll have to find out what the beans are so I can recommend them all to you - very very complex flavors, I love them. <3

BTW, it IS possible to make a "bad" cup with the aeropress.

This morning, I pressed without stirring (obv I need coffee before making coffee). I wasn't sure what to do, but I didn't want to start all over, so I just backed the plunger out, refilled the chamber with hot water, stirred and pressed again. The result was horrible, by which I mean it tasted like a regular cup from a mr coffee drip machine. Also, I got some (very few) grinds in the cup; I figure when I backed the plunger out it lifted the filter up just enough for grinds to get through.

I drink one to two pots a day. In the Ray Zee camp.

Lots of Foldgers grounds go into my Mr. Coffee, and I'm good to go.
Strong,black and bitter is my choice.

lolol my first day with the aeropress, my brother got the first cup (i'm a sharer, what can I say) and like, it only filled it up half way or whatever, as it does, so we're like "uhhh...time for some more" and we fill it up the rest of the way. It was like a quadruple espresso and he was shaking an hour later :P (not a coffee drinker).

So, the coffee I've been raving about here is called "Kenya AA", at my local store - whatever that means for you, I recommend it, especially with the aeropress.

triple post FTW. How do I make more than one cup with the aeropress? If you put too many beans in it gets too hard to push down.

Multiple presses... 1.5-2 shots at a time for optimal results.

P.S. Kenya AA is just the highest grade of Kenyan coffee.

The best coffee I've ever had was at the Hilton in Addis Abeba. They have a little corner between the lobby and the area that has the banking/travel/souvenirs where they brew the coffee traditionally with an open fireplace. There are about 4 or 5 little stools to sit on around the fireplace.
Just a heads up in case any of you ever happen to be in Ethiopia.
I'm well aware that some of the great taste may have been placebo though

Answering my own post is pathetic I know but I ended up getting this a couple weeks ago and so far it seems great. I'll post a follow up in a few months.

~ Rick

Great and ancient coffee tradition in that part of the world. One of my favorite coffees is Yemen Moka http://www.u-roast-em.com/coffee-beans-yemen.html

From the above link:


"Yemen Mocha is one of the most ancient and traditional coffees. This natural coffee has been famous for centuries as Mocha, since it was through that port, which has long been closed off by a sand bar, that this coffee was first shipped to the West. Mochas as now shipped from Hodeida and Adan, and exports are around 60,000 bags per year with only a small amount coming to the U.S.

This small, round, irregular olive green to yellow bean is still grown as it probably was over a thousand years ago. Planted in irrigated terraces clinging to the sides of semiarid mountains, water is directed through little rock-lined channels to the roods of the plant. To protect the plants from hail and cool night temperatures, the plants are shaded with poplar trees.

Most coffee from Northern Yemen is processed naturally. Dried with the fruit still attached to the beans, the dried husk is later removed by millstone or other primitive methods. This accounts for the rough, irregular look to the bean.

Of the market names that most often appear, Mattari usually represents a more acidy, winey version that the lower toned, more balanced Sanani.

Since Mocha is such a disctinctive coffee, everyone has something interesting to say about it: Unique, sharp flavor… mellow body…creamy….rich….distinctive winey flavor… chocolaty undertones. Give it a try and see what flavors your palate detects. "

__________________________________________________ ________

I purchase Yemen Mocha, roasted whole beans, from a local coffee roaster and it is superb. Five Stars.

-Zeno

I want to buy an Aeropress.. what else do I need to get to make the delicious coffee happen?

A grinder. I use an el-cheapo blade grinder. Ultrasnobs will tell you to get a burr grinder, but they're much bulkier and more expensive. There IS a difference imo, but it's very small. Start with a blade grinder, eventually you may decide the incrimental improvement is worth the extra expense and counter space.

Then you just need some beans. The great thing about the aeropress is that even if you use crappy el-cheapo Kroger store-brand beans you still get a pretty damn good cup of coffee.

thanks. anyone have the Aerolatte frother that Amazon is trying to sell to me?

If you put cream/sugar in your coffee, experimenting with the different types can have a marked impact on the quality of your coffee.

Very good advice/points. The $20ish blade grinder also tends to produce a fine grind which is ideal for an Aeropress. I also took a small, round paint-brush (or you can get an actual kitchen brush) to get the ground beans out of the grinder and into the Aeropress. Without a brush beans (especially oily beans like French Roast) stick in the corners and are hard to get out.

Aeropress will even improve pre-ground coffee but starting from freshly roasted beans will give you a big jump in quality.

Bean storage is another issue. Originally I'd re-wrap the beans in it's original bag and then place that in several freezer weight plastic storage bags to keep out air (I'd do this while "pulse grinding" the beans I'm using for that brew to keep heat down; generated heat while grinding supposedly hurts the beans flavor). But this is a bit of a PITA and perhaps not perfect but the idea of reading the 6000 pages on bean storage in the various coffee geek sites made my head hurt.

Right now I really like that $40 Coffee Vac mentioned a few posts above but until it works for a year or so (without using too many batteries; apparently a problem in the old models that's now been solved per Amazon reviews ranked most recent to oldest) I can't yet vouch for reliability.

Anyway, all this is written while playing a couple donkaments and enjoying one fine thermos cup.

~ Rick

WRT bean storage: I've started just buying about half a pound at a time. The aeropress uses more coffee than normal makers, plus, I'm drinking more coffee because its amazing, so I go through it pretty quickly anyways.

With the Aeropress I've been able to control my tendency to overdose on coffee by making one thermo cup instead of a full pot (and usually drinking more than half a pot the first day). I'd like to see the maker invent a double sized Aeropress for the evenings my gf comes over. Right now I revert to the coffeemaker and the coffee just plain sucks by comparison.

~ Rick

Two places you can get both great coffee and the aerobie aeropress are:

Zaccardis.com for the aerobie aeropress
as well as replacment filters and premium espresso blend coffee.

You can also find the press at Coffee and Kitchen

This thing really works great - I bring it with me when I travel

this thread makes me sad

i basically quit caffeine (i still drink pop and the occasional cup of tea) about 3 weeks ago. my habit was giving me nasty headaches if i didn't have a couple cups every 3-4 hours and since i'm too lazy to make coffee that often i was sick of popping caffeine pills just to get rid of the headaches.

the first few days were horrible because i quit cold turkey but after a week or so i was fine, the headaches were pretty much gone and i didn't feel groggy for the first half of the day