One of my Christmas presents this year was a coffee maker called an Aeropress, much enthused about by Cory from
Boingboing and other coffee geeks.
To be fair, it's not espresso - although the coffee that it makes arrives in espresso-like shots and it is made under some pressure, there's no crema on it. Having said that, topped up with hot water as an Americano, the coffee that this thing makes knocks the spots off anything that I can get out of a filter machine here in the office where it now lives. I'm mail-ordering packets of Union hand-roasted organic natural spirit and savouring every sip. It's wonderful.
To get the very best out of an espresso-ground coffee, you need to use water well off the boil - 80 degrees is about right. For a few quid, you can get a very usable kitchen grade digital thermometer and it's a crucial accessory that ought to come with one of these gadgets. Fortunately, my Christmas present included one.
In the box, you get 350 paper filters, each of which can be rinsed and reused, so it's easily a year's supply. You also get a coffee measure, a stirrer and a funnel for oddly shaped cups. Mine fits fine as you can see. You can make up to four single shots at a time and I usually make doubles and add a good slosh of hot water. There's a technique for using it; the coffee must be a fine grind and although you don't leave it to steep, you need to give it a quick stir before putting the plunger in and pressing the syringe together. Other than that, it's really easy. Even better, it takes next to no cleaning, just push out the puck of used grounds and rinse through.
If you're into good coffee, this is such a neat idea. It makes very acceptable espresso-substitute and would be awesome as a campsite luxury when cycle touring.
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