I've got an Aeropress. I use it occasionally. It makes good coffee (though I prefer my Sowdon or my Duo). But, it's plastic. I do try and avoid plastics when brewing, though I think it's great for storage (my beans are stored in plastic). I'm not so plastic-averse that I refused to buy the Aeropress, or refuse to use it, but I don't use it often (perhaps weekly).

Anyway, I've gotten interested in the Presse/Impress Coffee brewer, and it occurred to me that any of the inverted Aeropress methods could be replicated with the Presse, (though the grounds would be trapped at the bottom of the Presse, which would make me worry that it would over-extract, though many people say it doesn't seem to be a problem).

Thoughts?

I suppose you could think of it this way, the Presse is going to taste different due to the metal filtration (you'll have more mouthfeel and suspended solids in the brew), I never really go the Presse to work well with Aeropress paper filters. I don't find that the trapped grounds below the metal filter of the Presse lead to overextracted flavors, but if your concerned about it you could pour off the coffee after you've pressed down the inner sleeve.

The coffee is forced through the grounds in an Aeropress. The grounds act as a filter in addition to the paper or metal filter you're using. This is true with an inverted brew as well unless you figure out how to press it while it's still upside down. With a Presse the coffee grounds are on the bottom and the coffee liquid passes only through the filter on top. And it's a fairly coarse filter.

I filtered a Presse brew by pouring it into an Aeropress with paper filter to get a sense for how much silt was in the coffee:



Even with an Able standard metal filter in my Aeropress I never get this much sediment.

I made a small ring out of thin silicone sheeting to hold an Aeropress filter in the Presse plunger:



It works okay and produces a much cleaner cup of coffee. I'm not sure I like it as much though. And for whatever reason it still tastes different than my Aeropress coffee.

I think the closest you'll get to an Aeropress brew with the Presse is to do the Presse version of an inverted brew. This means that you put the sleeve in before adding the coffee and brew water. Instead of pressing down to finish the brew, you pull the sleeve out. I usually knock whatever crust of floating grounds remains down with a spoon before pulling.

Be warned that this can be a bit dangerous. It sometimes takes a lot of force to pull the sleeve out (just like pushing water through the grounds takes force with an aeropress). It is possible to lose control and end up with hot burning coffee all over the place. On the upside, you do sometimes get the same satisfying hissing sound that you get with an aeropress.

What's leftover in the bottom of the sleeve does sort of resemble a puck. I tried to take a picture of the results of the cup I made this afternoon with a super lightly roasted Ethiopian, but the puck kind of fell apart while I was unscrewing the basket from the sleeve.

The resulting cup is not the same as an aeropress, but it is very good. I suppose if you put an aeropress filter in the bottom of the sleeve you might get a more similar cup, but the amount of force required to pull the sleeve out might get ridiculous.

I also tried the "French pull" technique with my Presse -- only once. Too much effort.

What's the point of replicating Aeropress coffee anyway?

jpender wrote:What's the point of replicating Aeropress coffee anyway?

I believe the OP wishes to avoid plastics when brewing.

Yes of course, but why try to replicate the Aeropress coffee specifically?
Why not aim for coffee like the Sowdon or Duo produce?

I think it might be fairly easy to replicate the coffee either the Sowden or or Duo, especially if you brew inside the plunger, and pull it out before drinking.

But... I got the Aeropress to experiment with other styles of coffee, using a finer grind, and a short brew time, stuff like that. So, I wondered if I could make aeropress-style coffee with it. Especially since I would prefer a shorter (rather than longer) brew time when making coffee to go (I'm more interested in pressing the coffee underneath the plunger, and cleaning it out later).

I see. You're not trying to replicate the coffee so much as the process. What you really want is a non-plastic Aeropress.

I have never tried using a fine grind in my Presse. When I've used a paper filter it made it harder to press even with a drip grind. I think the reduction in filter area due to the combination of the built in metal filter and the silicone ring slows filtration down a lot. Also the top down filtration means that there are no grounds to pre-filter the silt before it hits the paper. You'd have to try it to see if the pressing speed/difficulty is acceptable.

It would be nice if there were alternative filter baskets available for the Presse.

jpender wrote:I see. You're not trying to replicate the coffee so much as the process. What you really want is a non-plastic Aeropress.

Yes, that is an excellent way to put it, both to the process, and to the non-plastic Aeropress.

I wrote to the Aerobie company asking them to make one, but they don't seem interested.

I also like the to-go quality of the Presse, which none of my other methods of brewing replicate. Because I live with a coffee-hater, it works best if I either: a) clean up the grounds before I leave (in which case, there is no point to the Presse for me), or b) take them with me. The latter would be faster for when I'm in a hurry.