I finally caved and picked one up after hearing many favorable reviews. I've followed the stock directions, tried the inverted method, played with dosing, and adjusted water temps, which IMO is ridiculously low if you follow the directions. Each time it produces a "dull" cup, in particular lacking brightness.

This is really a matter of taste, but I'm interested in hearing why so many like it. Especially from those who also use a Clever Dripper which is my go-to brewing technique.

The Aeropress extraction seems to be aimed precisely at those who don't want an "acidic" (for which, I believe, read "bright") cup. So if bright is what you're after, it's probably never going to be to your liking. The most prevalent description of Aeropress coffee is "smooth", which is almost the antithesis of "bright", it seems.

Agreed. So perhaps the question is: why do so many serious coffee aficionados prefer a coffee with no acid?

I had the same experience with the aeropress initially. All my cups tasted muted. Alan adler likes darker roasted coffee(his temp tests were done with French roast, all though he seems to prefer full city plus). Anyway after he told me that, I gave the aeropress another try with a darker roast(city plus plus/416) and got pretty tasty results. I tried a few more coffees at thee recommended 175 and also at just off boil. Got better results on a couple coffees at the low temp, and one at the higher(obviously this is a very limited test, and not a recommendation for either temp).

The cups always do seem a little thiner than other brew methods... but I do like that its easy to brew small cups with.

I've had cups all over the map with the Aeropress. That's why I like it. You have control over the grind, temperature, dose, extraction, timing, everything. So if you like a full-immersion flavor profile, use it like that. Use a coarse grind, longer steep time. On the other end, I've found with a fine grind and shorter extraction time, I get a more vibrant, fruity cup.

I've really found that there's no one "Aeropress flavor profile." I've been able to tweak it so much and get such a variety of flavors out of it. That's why I like it.

-Randy

I usually grind a little finer than you would for drip. brew inverted and use water just off boil. no brightness lacking (using the able metal disk) assuming the coffee is a bright variety to start with. I don't like it as well with the paper filters.

I've had one for a couple of years, and I find it's rarely what I reach for. It lacks the clarity and snappiness of V60 as well as the oily richness and body of a good cup of French Press. Maybe I need to try with a much finer grind.

That said, for travel / camping it can't be beat.

I had a delicious Kochere from Coava this morning in the Aeropress. It had very nice acidity and a lot of fruit. This was the drill, mostly copied from Heart's method:

1. Grind 17 grams slightly coarser than you would for espresso. Dosage is sensitive; play with 17-19 grams in half gram increments. Lighter roasts usually like lower doses.

• Add paper filter to Aeropress and rinse with boiling water. Pour out (in all methods with paper filters, it seems like letting the rinse water run all the way through can slow the drawdown by blocking the filter pores with loose fibers). Add coffee and shake to level. Put Aeropress on top of cup with filter down, and place both on top of scale.

• Bring water back to boil, then let it just stop bubbling. Pour quickly and start timer at the same time. When water is near the top, stir for a few seconds with the Aeropress paddle. Then quickly finish pouring 275 grams of water and seal with plunger inserted a few millimeters.

• At 58 seconds, remove plunger, and start stirring at 1:00. Stir for five seconds.

• Plunge over 20 seconds, which with handling time should finish at 1:30. Stop when air starts to go through.

• Stir coffee.

The fine grind is crucial, since you are extracting in a short time. The ease of clean-up is a bonus, of course, but it's great on the strength of its brewing for some coffees.

Best,
David

How in the world do you fit 270 grams of water in this thing? I just double checked on mine, and with out any coffee I can barely fit 270 grams of room temp water in there. I find that even 200 grams of water, with outgassing coffee hard to manage with out multiple stirs.

I assume the instructions are intended for the "normal" non-inverted method, where the water is dripping through the grounds the whole time.