# Espresso machine now redundant?



## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

Confusing really. Reading readers reports about the complications of owning one of those expensive shiny espresso machines plus the dosh, available space and so on quite put me off.

So I concentrated my mind on making a decent cuppa using a French press and later a pour over filter. I reckon I've now got that sorted nicely especially with some guidance from Forum Members.

I have also been reading Members comments about the AeroPress which seems to be very highly recommended and lo and behold I've found a Thai Coffee expert who actually stocks them. More worrying, I can easily afford one! Even more worrying, he stocks a good range of imported coffees so any visit will undoubtedly be more expensive.

So is the AeroPress really that good for Espresso making?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Don't believe the packaging. It's brewed coffee, not espresso. But it's fantastic brewed coffee if you hit on a recipe and technique that suits your tastes. Like all manual brew methods, it takes a few goes with different parameters to find what works for you. I'm loving it at the moment. My fave brew method right now.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

How much coffee per cup does the aeropress use? I spend a kilo of coffee a fortnight and would like a cheaper way of feeding my addiction! Is it better than the French press?

Today's dangerous as I'm at home (my little girl is not well) and I've already ordered more coffee from Has Bean and from Coffee Bean Shop and it's only 10.00am.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I think people tend to put about 17g-20g of coffee per brew. That gets me about half a mug which you can easily water down to make into a full mug of tasty coffee.

Just a word of advice. Try lots of different techniques until you find one that suits you. Don't just dismiss little changes in technique thinking that they won't make any difference. You'd be surprised


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

If you drink only Americanos then yes the Aeropress could make the espresso redundant - although not strictly an americano true to the recipe - you can get a similar (well actually better) end result with a super concentrate brewed coffee, diluted. Brewsmiths in Birmingham follow this practise!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I use 12-14g depending on the coffee... often 13.5g. That's with around 215g of water. Lower dose than espresso.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

garydyke1 said:


> If you drink only Americanos then yes the Aeropress could make the espresso redundant - although not strictly an americano true to the recipe - you can get a similar (well actually better) end result with a super concentrate brewed coffee, diluted. Brewsmiths in Birmingham follow this practise!


I recently made an AeroPress coffee that I planned to dilute. It was a TDS of a whopping 2.52%. But I tasted it straight, and it was delicious. Sweet and not overdeveloped. Maybe the fact that it was brewed at 80C helped avoid any of the usual problems with 'overextraction' (or whatever term is preferable).

14g, 145g of water, a Hario Mini Mill set on 5 clicks I believe, so quite a fine grind, finer than usual. Had to push the plunger a bit firmly. Mmmm! Didn't bother to dilute. I guess this might be called espresso, but it obviously didn't meet the usual definition.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Its a great piece of kit. Pity it looks like a p3n1$ pump.


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## lucky13 (Dec 30, 2011)

anywhere online doing them at a good price?


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

No 8 of the AeroPress instructions states "you have just made an Espresso" and it's marketed Worldwide as capable of such. As I understand it the principles are virtually the same although the Espresso machine uses higher pressures.

Some Members don't agree that it can be called an Espresso and that's really the reason I started the thread. I would honestly like to know what the differences are?. Does it taste different or are we just talking technically that it doesn't comply with the recognised and well established method or is it the same/similar drink made using a slightly different method?

Of course I appreciate that the AeroPress is more suitable for home use rather than a business.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

marbeaux said:


> Of course I appreciate that the AeroPress is more suitable for home use rather than a business.


I wouldn't say so. I'm planning to serve AeroPress coffee in my cafe.

As for the name, espresso has certain characteristics which result from the brewing conditions. If those conditions aren't met then what you get isn't espresso. As far as I'm concerned that's the case even if you use an espresso machine. If the machine is too cool, if the pressure is too low, if the grind isn't right... what you get is a badly made black coffee, not espresso. But there are no laws preventing the word espresso from being used. I can piss in a cup, throw in some Nescafe granules and call it espresso. Doesn't make it espresso.

At least with the AeroPress it's not piss... usually


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

MikeHag said:


> I can piss in a cup, throw in some Nescafe granules and call it espresso.


Where can I buy this?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Any Caffe Nero


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

Hahahaha that made me laugh like nothing else. I've been to Caffe Nero once and never returned!


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

i like Cafe Nero lol


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## robmx (Dec 20, 2011)

garydyke1 said:


> Its a great piece of kit. Pity it looks like a p3n1$ pump.


Haha, this is one of the reasons I'm worried about buying one for work.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Check out Cream Supplies, CoffeeHit or Has Bean - all three are forum advertisers who stock Aeropress

I love my Aeropress and bought the first generation Coava Disk to use instead of paper filters

Here's a *blog post* I wrote about it a couple of years back now


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

I remember the first (or one of the first) Neros in Kensington, it was great. I can't remember what it was called at first but it was really near my house on my returns to London. That was years and years ago when I first started working outside the UK. I still liked Nero until about 12 years ago but since then I have not really been impressed with the quality control.

As for the AeroPress I think I'll try it, or maybe dig out my French Press. At least I can make a litre of coffee at a time that way!


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

I seem to remember reading some threads on this subject on HomeBarista.

Basically compared to other brewing methods, espresso uses pressure to obtain normal levels of extraction from the coffee using a much smaller volume of brew water. Using other brewing methods, including the Aeropress, this level of extraction would not be possible with such small volumes of brew water.

Following the instructions that come with the Aeropress, results in a very short coffee drink of a similar volume to espresso. According to the tests carried out on HB this coffee is very strong (high TDS) but in comparison to espresso is under extracted so tastes underdeveloped and lacks some of the complex flavours.

Lots of people no longer follow the supplied instructions and instead follow different processes with the Aeropress to make longer coffee drinks that are better extracted. HasBean has a video of one such process on their website which is fairly popular.


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks jimbow. That was a good explanation of the difference with an Espresso machine which I was trying to discover with my thread. I was really struggling to get a handle on it.

Personally, I don't believe I could actually identify the differences in extraction as you describe them although there has been some improvement since my coffee brewing has got better.

I think, after reading the comments here and elsewhere the AeroPress will indeed satisfy all my "espresso" desires and I now plan to buy one.

Thanks everybody.


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