Aerobie AeroPress Espresso Machine & Coffee Maker

Espresso is a strange, nearly mystical substance. The mystical part is that you'll rarely find two people who will agree completely on any aspect of its production or consumption. Some people sweeten, some would rather die. Some people insist on straight up, others drink elaborate brews only distantly related to the original espresso shot. Some people swear by their little stovetop models, others turn up their noses and insist that this isn't espresso at all. It's bewildering.

For the record, espresso is coffee produced by forcing water through coffee grounds under pressure. This definition is of course simplistic to the point of uselessness, but it's really the only thing you'll get everyone to agree on. Commercial espresso is achieved under high pressure, roughly nine atmospheres. Why is this important? I haven't the faintest idea, but it's the rule. To accomplish this in the home you generally need two things: a good machine, and a good grinder. The trouble is that both of these things, if you really want to do it up right, are hideously expensive. You can easily pay $1000 for a decent espresso machine, and believe it or not, you'll pay in the hundreds for a grinder to make that machine worthwhile. Home espresso has never been for the faint of heart. You need to be a fanatic, and then you need a trust fund.

Into this strange and complicated world comes the AeroPress, by Aerobie, a company that makes flying toys. Not appliances, toys. I saw the AeroPress in the local high-end kitchen store, and to say the least, I was intrigued. For one thing, it's not nearly expensive enough. Under $30? For an espresso machine? That's silly. But that's only one of the rules the AeroPress people disregard. They recommend a water temperature that is much too low. They give you permission to use your regular old drip grind coffee. And instead of complicated machinery, you get two main pieces, both of which look about as interesting as a measuring cup. None of this should work. It shouldn't even be worth discussing.

But then you make coffee with the AeroPress, and the ridiculous truly becomes sublime. Because what you get out of this thing is espresso. Smooth, rich, complex, satisfying espresso. There is absolutely no reason this should be.

The process works this way. Coffee is added to the larger of the two tubes, which is placed over the cup you're using. On the bottom of this tube, a simple paper filter is held in place by a screw-on cap. Hot water is added to the tube, and the resulting mixture is stirred for around ten seconds. Then the smaller tube, fitted with a rubber plunger, is placed inside the larger one, and pressure is applied by hand. The trapped air forces the water out of the mixture and down through the filter into the cup. Drink as is, or top off with hot water to make an excellent Americano.

The quality of the coffee produced is more than enough to recommend this little machine, but its designers really seem, in this case, to have thought of everything. The stir stick, included, is stopped by the top of the tube before it can reach and disturb the filter. The paper filters can actually be rinsed and reused, so that the 350 that come with the machine will literally last for years.

Cleaning, ordinarily trying at best, is a snap here. Unscrew the filter, push the plunger to eject the coffee, rinse the end of the plunger and you're done. The brewing action actually cleans the inside of the brewing tube. No matter how much you like a product, at some point you find yourself making excuses for something that might have been done better, or something that should have been thought of and wasn't. I can't do that here. Every new thing I notice is right, everything is covered, and then there is that coffee. I actually had to go out and buy decaf beans, because I can't stop playing with the AeroPress, and I was in danger of ruining my health.

Coffee snobs will have trouble with this machine. If you need to go out and spend a fortune on a brewer and grinder, knock yourself out. But for those of us who aren't independently wealthy, and just want a reliable, high-quality cup o' joe, the AeroPress is a little miracle. Give it a try. No one will blame you for scratching your head.