Original Coffee and Espresso-style Maker, Barista Level Portable Coffee Maker with Chamber, Plunger, & Filters, Quick Coffee and Espresso Maker

I am starting to get older and the energy is starting to dwindle. I always hated going to those trendy coffee places to spend $4.73 for a latte. I am not a huge fan of coffee, but I have found myself loving cafe mochas. I don't love the price of them. I was shopping for something else when I saw this and clicked on it. I was kind of skeptical and don't usually buy fad stuff. I don't usually buy many things period. I must say though that I am extremely pleased with this purchase. The parts are very simple. 1. Coffee filter holder 2. Coffee stirer 3. Plunger 4. Filter piece 5. Coffee and liquid holding tube 6. Funnel 7. Measuing spoon I went to Costco and bought some decent whole bean dark roast Cameroon coffee for $10 for 2 pounds. I already own a coffee grinder. My recommendations for required items to make a good espresso and lattes: 1. Buy the filters on Amazon. They are cheap and work quite well. 2. Thermometer. I prefer a digital thermometer. Ideal water temperature should be 175 degrees. 3. Something that boils water. A simple pot will do. 4. Optional: something to whip the milk. A stick blender works good and a regular blender will work nice. You can also get one of those batter powered milk frothers. If you want a hot latte you will need to steam and froth the milk. 5. Optional: Chocolate syrup or cocoa powder and sugar to make your own if you want a cafe mocha. 6. A mug I grinded the coffee pretty finely. I used a basic electric grinder for 45 seconds. At the same time, I started to boil filtered water and placed the programmed themometer to beep when it hit 170 so i had enough time to get to it. I prepped the mug measured out one of the provided cups of coffee. It was about 1 tablespoon. I prepped the tube and plunger. I poured the hot 175 degree water in the tube and stirred for 10 seconds. I then inserted the plunger and slowly pushed down. As soon as you insert the plunger, air is forced down on the coffee and the filter and espresso comes out. You should aim to have the entire plunger pushed down so that it is on top of the coffee in 45 seconds (like I said...slowly). Bingo! I had my shot of espresso. I simply topped it off with about a cup of cold milk and I added some chocolate syrup and stirred. Wow, the latte (cafe mocha) was fantastic. It was so good that I made myself another and had a fantastic buzz that kept me up past midnight. Consistency wise, it was not the same as a coffee shop. I would suggest whipping the milk and pouring the mix over ice. The taste was superior to a coffee shop. It was not one of those close enough deals. It was clearly superior. The overall cost was about 60 cents including the chocolate syrup, milk, and coffee by volume. The total prep time was about 10 minutes from out of the box, washing, water boiling, etc. My second run took me about 3 minutes of prep and cleanup not counting the water heating time. I simply watch tv, read, or go online while the water warms. Overall, this is a fantastic product that is easy to use and clean and it is cheap to operate. I would not spend $300 plus on a espresso maker unless you are an elite coffee snob. I also would not waste money on comparable cheap espresso makers that cost $25 as those work horribly. I do not work for this company. Look elsewhere if you cannot follow directions. If you cannot follow directions, no coffee maker will offer coffee shop like experiences to you. Just go to your local coffee shop. After 7 cafe mochas, my device has paid for itself. Another bonus is that you can control everything. Soy milk anyone? Super low cal chocolate syrup made from scratch anyone? Cafe Mocha with calories I made? 5 for coffee, 120 for milk, 5 for chocolate syrup = 130. Simply awesome. Half the calories and one-eighth the price.

So far, this coffee maker has lived up to expectations and then some. I already own two drip machines (had one and got another as a gift), and I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I had mixed feelings about buying another. But I liked the thought of it being so easy to use and clean, not to mention making a better cup of coffee, one without the grinds in the bottom of the cup. I can't really speak to the quality of the coffee since, again, I'm not a big coffee drinker, and I have been using a bag of "expired," pre-ground, basic coffee. But it certainly does keep the crud out of the cup. Another thing I've noticed is that it is much easier on my stomach. Typically whenever I drink coffee, my stomach is upset the next day. I have yet to experience this when using the AeroPress. It's likely due to it removing so much of the acids from the coffee, but whatever the reason, it's great. I suspect caffeine itself is also to blame, as I've also had the issue with energy drinks, but not as often and, again, not with this. Another reason I decided to get this was for using it for traveling and camping. It's great for that, since it packs up fairly compact and all you need is your coffee and when you're ready to have some coffee you just heat up some water. I also like the idea I read in another review about making it really strong (which you can't do with a drip maker) and using it as concentrate, diluting it with hot water later to heat it back up and turn a thermos-full into several cups of coffee. I don't use the measuring cup or the stirrer (I just use a spoon, and you could even gently shake it), and I can't figure out what the top center piece in the picture is even for, so all I take with me when I go somewhere is the main unit and the funnel. They just fit, along with my coffee, into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. You can even stick the coffee into the center of the plunger piece to save room. I just wish they would make the funnel shorter (1/2 to 2/3 the depth) so it would stow away better. If they made the main part snap into the funnel, it would make the whole setup more secure when using and would allow the funnel to be shortened, I think, without negatively impacting it's performance. An oval version would also be great, allowing it to be packed flatter/better. That might require a removable round adapter to better fit a mug, or better yet make the top of the funnel oval, so in the flatter dimension it would be the same width, but it would pack flat and still work just as well. One thing I've learned is that you don't want to press all the way to the grounds. This seems to make them stick to the plunger so they don't fall out when opening the bottom over the trash. If you leave about 1-2mm of space between the plunger and the top of the grounds, they dump right into the trash as a solid chunk. Which is another great thing about this thing: no more trying to shake out the grounds from a drip maker filter then having to rinse the rest out in the sink, which isn't good for the disposal or septic and can cause clogs, not to mention is a pain. One final note. For those concerned about BPA, there are some things to keep in mind: - BPA has often been replaced with BPS, which is thought to be many times worse - The water is only in contact with the plastic for less than half a minute, so not much leeching will occur (though to be fair, it is hot water, and heat is what causes leeching) - Most, if not all, coffee makers have plastic parts which contact the water, and many even have reservoirs where the water sits for (relatively) long periods (again, to be fair, at least this is cold/lukewarm water) - Many homes have plastic water supply hoses that the water sits in while waiting to be used (again, cold water) That all said, a stainless (or better still, titanium) version of this would be great.

easy to use and hassle free. original product and very sturdy

It's great

Kahve gayet güzel, espresso americano tarzı kahve seviyorsanız tam size göre. Ben daha çok dripper tarzı kahveleri sevdiğimden tadı biraz acı geldi ancak kahvesinden ya da yaptığım çeşitten falan olabilir hala denemeler yapıyorum illa sevdiğim bir tarz bulacağım. Kahve ölçeğini şöyle anlatayım, normalde kahve öğütücü ile bir kişilik seçeneği seçip dripper ile kahve yapıyordum. Bunun ölçeğini doldurmak için 4 kişilik seçeneği seçmem gerekti.

I am a bit of a coffee snob and have spent the last few months getting better at it. I typically drink espresso or French press coffee, and decided to try AeroPress. I got good results straight out of the box using the included instructions, but if you google the AeroPress world championships you'll find a number of recipes / techniques that produce exceptional coffee. Basically, you brew strong (about 1:4 ratio coffee:water) using a coarse grind for a short time (about 2 min) using the inverted method and then dilute to taste with water or milk. For milk drinks using a finer grind and/or a one-minute longer infusion time produce more 'espresso-like' results that I find pleasing. I've had better results with paper filters than metal screens, but I don't notice much difference moving up to the premium Aesir filter disks. Total coffee production time, including boiling enough water, is probably five minutes, faster than espresso (at least considering my machine's heat-up time) or a French press. I have now more or less retired my French press, and only get the espresso machine out on weekends. Also: clean up is shockingly fast and easy, a big difference from espresso or French press (at least if you're like me and make some effort to clean the elements each time you use it). I've also been learning to do V60 pour-overs, but getting good results from a manual percolation method requires practice, whereas an infusion method like AeroPress is more forgiving and easier to master (even if you're careful about grind, coffee and water weight, etc.). So, if you want to improve your coffee experience at home (without buying or pulling out an espresso machine or spending a lot of time perfecting your pour-over technique), AeroPress seems to me the way to go.

I use it every day. Good coffee easy and fast