Aeropress Espresso Maker

I was just reading some of the posts in the Google Coffee Forum and saw mention of the Aeropress Espresso Maker. It seems it has a lot of fans as of the 33 reviews posted at Amazon.com at the moment, 29 gave it 5 stars, and 3 gave it 4 stars. I'd be interested in any comments from readers who have one or who have had coffee made in an Aeropress.

The product description at Amazon states:

Make 1 to 4 cups of coffee or espresso in less than a minute with this easy-to-use press-style coffeemaker. Quickly brew a variety of coffee drinks including an Americano or an espresso-style shot for use in lattes or cappuccinos. Its total-immersion system permits extraction at a moderate temperature and a short brew time. Water and grounds are mixed together for 10 seconds, then gentle air pressure pushes the mix through a micro-filter in just 20 seconds, which avoids the bitterness of long processes such as drip brewing. The air pressure also gently squeezes the last goodness from the grounds, further enriching the flavor. The total brewing time of only 30 seconds results in an exceptionally smooth brew. The micro filters ensure grit-free coffee--unlike other press-type coffeemakers--and 350 filters are included. Washing the unit by hand is recommended. Made in the USA, the coffeemaker measures 5 by 5 by 11 inches.

History of Paper Coffee Filters

Coffee was introduced to Europe and England by traders returning from Arabia. By the early 1600s, there were coffee houses in London where the coffee was made by adding finely ground coffee to a pot of boiling water. Ever had "Turkish coffee"? Well, that's exactly it. Once the ground coffee had settled to the bottom of the pot, the coffee was poured off into cups. Just like with Turkish coffee today, there was always a residue of coffee grounds in the cup. To prevent this outcome, the "coffee sock" became popular which was quite literally an old sock in which the coffee grinds were wrapped and then added to the pot to prevent the ground coffee ending up in your cup. The one unwanted outcome of this, however, was that the taste of the coffee was typically tainted with the flavor of the fiber, be it burlap, wool, or cotton. (No, not the taste of smelly feet; let's give them the benefit of the doubt that the sock was washed before being put into service!)


Credit for the modern-day paper filter goes to a German woman called Melitta Bentz who patented a paper coffee filter in 1908 after experimenting with various paper types and finally settled on her son's blotting paper used for keeping his handwriting from smudging. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember and have used blotting paper as a kid at school, though I'm sure many younger people reading this will have had no experience of using blotting paper). You can still see Melitta paper filters today. They are the flat paper coffee filters that have to be opened out before placement into your coffee maker. In 1975 the Mr. Coffee brand was released and these are identifiable as the open filter with the flat bottom and slightly scalloped sides; you probably use them in your office coffee maker at work.

Debate rages in some quarters over whether the nice white paper filters which have been bleached are a health risk or impart a flavor to your coffee. Dioxin, which is a known carcinogen, is a byproduct of the bleaching process. Unbleached fliters appear less white. I have no idea if there is really any risk to your health from the bleached paper, but personally I always use unbleached paper filters on the ocassions that I make coffee with my filter coffee maker.

One alternative to get around this debate if you are a regular filter coffee maker is to buy a gold mesh permanent filter for your machine. Gold being a totally inert metal imparts no flavor to your coffee and is health-risk-free.

Good Coffee and Dykes Too!

According to the comments that go with this photo at Flickr, Blend Coffee House and Cafe at 2327 E Burnside St in Portland, OR is the place to go if you take dykes with your coffee. In the words of Erika Moen she loves the place mostly because it's "Dyke Central". Erika, when you get to read this post, please post some comments about the coffee at Blend. From your photos, they are obviously good at latte art at Blend, so I'm intererested to know more. Erika is multi-talented and an accomplished cartoonist. Oh, and another thing, Erika, can we post a picture of you and one of your cartoon here?



Follow up: Erika agreed and here's a snapshot of one of her comics. Read the full comic by Erika Moen. And can you believe that Erika doesn't drink coffee! It takes all sorts, but Erika, send us your coffee snob friends who patronize Blend to let us know what we're missing in the coffee line.

Does GMCR Censor Reviews of its Beans

Earlier in the week I posted a review of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Dark Magic Espresso Roast. If you read the review you'll find that I was less than impressed and did not recommend the beans. Essentially the beans do not produce much crema and the taste is unpleasantly bitter. Since the Dark Magic Espresso page at GMCR asks for reviews I posted one there too. Of course I didn't make mention of any competetors on this review, but simply stated my two reservations mentioned above. I said I wouldn't recommend it to friends and I ranked it 2 stars out of 5. I should really have only given it 1 star, but hey, I'm a nice guy after all! I then also submitted my name and email address as a "verified reviewer" and got the confirmation email from their site. However, 4 days later there is still no sign of my less-than-rosy review of the beans. There are still the same 3 glowing reviews there though. Could GMCR be censoring negative reviews of it's beans? Have you had a similar experience?

Update 3/31/2007 - Someone alerted me today to the fact that my review has been published at GMCR since I published this post. So if you post reviews there, it seems they take a while before they get published.

Starbuck's Losing Its Soul

In February the former CEO of Starbuck's circulated an internal memo questioning whether or not Starbuck's is losing its soul.

Some people even call our stores sterile, cookie cutter, no longer reflecting the passion our partners feel about our coffee. In fact, I am not sure people today even know we are roasting coffee.

What soul is there when coffee is made with dial-up espresso machines and automated milk steamers? Despite the black aprons of the "master barista" at Starbuck's, there is little art left in the art of making good espresso coffee at Starbucks. But judging from those I work with, it's just as popular as ever. My belief is that it's just that people have never known any better. Experience truly great espresso drinks like you will get at the independent coffee houses in Seattle, or the cafes found the length and breadth of New Zealand, and you will understand how far Starbucks has strayed from its soul and the art of espresso-making in their drive for economies of scale. I'm all for them making a profit, but they could be doing just as good or even better if they had stuck to the art of espresso coffee roasting and brewing. Just look at the syrups and flavors that are thrown at their drinks to meet the demands of many of their customers who obviously mustn't like the taste of their coffee.

Review of Dark Magic Espresso Blend by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

It is several years since I bought coffee beans from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters based in Vermont so I thought I'd give them a taste test. I actually found it hard to locate their espresso roasts, and searching for "espresso" on the site did not appear to return any results. Eventually I found their Dark Magic Espresso Blend by navigating through to their dark roast blends. The beans cost $6.79 per 10oz bag, and I ordered 4 bags.

The three reviews on the site were all positive although one reviewer stated he or she was using the beans for filter coffee, which is surprisingly a suggestion made on the website by GMCR themselves which struck me as a bit odd.

The beans arrived in a timely manner; I chose 2nd day delivery to ensure they arrived fresh. As expected for a dark roast the beans were dark and oily. In using the beans, however, I have found that the beans do not produce much crema despite winding down the grind finer that I would normally. And the taste is unpleasantly bitter so I am rather disappointed. Perhaps I'll do as suggested and use them for filter or French press ("plunger"). Meantime, my personal favorite continues to be Espresso Vivace Roasteria's "Vita" blend.

See my follow up post Does Green Mountain Coffee Roasters censor negative reviews of their coffee beans?

McCafes from the Golden Arches

While in New Zealand recently I saw McCafe signs all over the country (yes, the burger chain) and just found information about McCafes on the New Zealand site for McDonalds. I wonder if coffee-loving New Zealand served as a test market as I am yet to see one in the U.S. and could not turn up a similar page on the McDonald's USA site. I know you can get "premium" coffee from McDonalds in the USA, but this is simply drip coffee, but in New Zealand it's the full-blown real McCoy of espresso coffee drinks. However, the above linked story published today in the Daily Tribune from Royal Oak, MI, indicates that they may have in fact been launched in the U.S. I guess I will have to venture in to see for myself. It can only be as bad as a Starbucks after all.