And don't let the article fool you, there are really only three important factors: water temperature, grind size, and steep time. Varying these can get different characteristics from a particular roast, and it's fun to experiment! What I found most surprising was how differently the same roast can taste from an AeroPress vs. an expensive espresso maker. If I don't like it from one, there's still a good chance it will be delicious from the other. Very strange!
I still keep the AeroPress around though — who knows why — affectation maybe.
This is the usually recommended one: http://departmentofcoffee.com/product/able-disk/
I ended up going back to my manual drip cone; I feel like you can't get any more stripped down than that.
My go to for all this stuff is Sweet Maria's: https://www.sweetmarias.com/brewinstr/brewing.inst.drip.php
On the off-chance that you're not trolling... which Nespresso flavours have you found to be "rich and tasty" (by which I take it you mean comparable to freshly-ground beans from a specialist, along the line that a barrista would use)?
It's not as good as my machines do, but way better than your comment implies.
That said, I still prefer well-executed pourover (once I got the hang of my pourover method) to aeropress coffee but I think that's more of a personal preference thing. Nowadays I travel with the aeropress (and a nice travel grinder that fits inside) and do pourover at home.
Having read this, I feel I must again tinker with the Aeropress.
Likely case of "Doing it wrong."
After second cup I switched to inverted and haven't switched back.
Just so many different brews with the same coffee with inverted with steep time, amount of water, coarse, find grinds.
I have only had the plunger slip out once. Trick is u dont need to flip fast. I like to meet cup with press while flipping... Coffee barely drips and if it does into cup
I do not pre moisten filter. Usually there are a few drops from rinsing cap.
I do like the paddle unless you put too much water in.
The scoop can be awkward but I put the whole thing in the aeropress and turn to put the grinds in.
Finer grinds are better IMO. Otherwise increase steep time or add more coffee.
Edit: I forgot to mention, I totally get that some people like the fiddlyness, the experimental aspect, etc. I completely respect that, and am that way about a lot of things myself (some far sillier than coffee). Coffee just doesn't happen to be one of them, so that aspect of the Aeropress is not a plus for me.
I have an aeropress, but I rarely use it. Maybe I'm just a clutz, but I always have to wipe the counter down after using an aeropress (especially with the inverted method), while a french press is pretty much mess-free. The aeropress is very fidly. That's great if you're in the mood to experiment but not so great if you just want a decent cup of coffee. I do like the results of the aeropress for making iced coffee, but generally prefer the flavor of french press coffee. Paper filters remove a lot of coffee's flavor-rich oils.
The one deal-breaker that some people have with french presses is the sludge they let through, especially when used with a low quality grinder that doesn't produce grounds of uniform size. If you can't stand sludge and have a crappy grinder you pretty much have to use something with a paper filter.
I don't know whether I've been pressing too hard or what, but I've noticed that my cylinder is expanding.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AeroPress/comments/2r06e1/stress_fra...
I do think that contacting the company though might help.
I've had mine 4 years, use it daily, hand-wash it, and never seen any stresses on the plastic.
Edit: came across this which looks promising http://handground.com/
Portable and electric are also mutually exclusive for car travelers, campers, etc.
Take a French press. Replace the fine metal mesh with paper (so no grit gets thru). Use a much finer grind (French press requires coarse grind). Finer grind means much shorter steep time (30 seconds instead of 4 minutes). Put the filter on the bottom of the container, replace the filter plunger with a rubber plunger (so instead of pushing all the grounds to the bottom then pouring coffee out, it's more like a pressure-assisted syringe-shaped drip).
Idea is paper gets all the grounds out (no grit in cup), fine grind minimizes brew time, short brew time makes sweeter results, syringe style is accidentally self-cleaning.
I bought it thinking it would be a novelty item. I was mistaken.
Recently I've started doing cold brew coffee -- starting it Friday night and then diluting it with hot water in the morning. For me it tastes noticeably better and less bitter.
Just a course grind into a French Press full of water. Leave it on the counter over night, and press in the morning. At first I was letting it steep in the fridge, but found that it steeps stronger and faster at room temperature. Sometimes I'll throw it in the fridge in the morning and let it steep longer while chilling if I know I'll want iced coffee later in the day.
Cold brew definitely seems to maintain far more flavor. And I agree that it tends to be less bitter, though I've found lowering my water temperature (regardless of method) has removed most of the bitterness in my [near-]boiling brews.
They're also a huge pain in the ass to use.
Update: Thanks for the downvote. I get the message. I should never answer a stupid question. Apologies.
