It's a great method for brewing, great price and a great choice for portabliltiy
Positive Product Points
Durable plastic compact and light for tra vel fully manual easy to use and clean
Negative Product Points
paper filters requires a good bit of coffee as per instructions plunger doesn't center well until about 1/4 into it's travel
Detailed Commentary
I bought the Aerobie because I'm really interested in coffee, especially espresso and it's price is very affordable. I didn't believe the reviews that said it produced espresso as good as machines way more expensive so I didn't expect it to make real espresso and wasn't disappointed when it didn't. Still, the pressure exerted during extraction definitely produces a cup that has flavour more similar to espresso than other methods I've used including vacuum press and french press.
The advice given by the manual helps to brew a very good cup of coffee. The advice for water temp, grind quantity, steep time produces a strong but smooth cup. It was no problem for me to brew 4 cup measures with the Aerobie and stretch it out to 6 cups without any noticable difference in taste by adding heated water. I believe the paper filters supplied with the Aerobie catch most of the oil released during extraction which accounts for the smoothness of the cup. The filter also screens out sediment very well and the cup is much cleaner than a french press.
The process after heating the water is very quick and clean up is easy. Because it's made of plastic it's light and I'd trust it for portability over a glass french press. You have to supply the cup to brew in and the hot water. Because you have to provide the water at temperature, stir, steep and plunge you have direct control over the brewing variables and can not only brew a good cup of coffee but brew to your preference. Changing grind, steep time, water temperature, water quantity even the filter type is good.
All in all the coffee from the Aerobie isn't better than other brewing methods I've tried, just different. The oils that get filtered out make the coffee different from a french press brew that allows the oils to pass through. The extra pressure exerted during extraction also creates a different cup which my wife finds she preferrs over vacuum press.
Buying Experience
On line purchase was very easy and arrived within the scheduled delivery time.
Three Month Followup
I had the Aeropress for about a month. The coffee was good- better than drip- but it required a lot of grounds to make more than two small cups and brewing very strong and diluting later was a bit too involved for me. I've passed the Aeropress on to my sister along with all the filters. It was an interesting extraction method for strong coffee similar to Turkish but smoother.
Currently my main coffee extraction is espresso, french press and turkish and I don't plan on replacing the Aeropress.
