It has a built in metal screen, and then a rubber valve that gives way with enough pressure behind it.

Okay, so the key is knowing the pressure the valve opens at. I'm thinking less than 2 bar. On the site they even show it as a coffee blaster, so I also would bet high velocity coffee is an appreciable part of creating the "crema."

Tonefish wrote:Okay, so the key is knowing the pressure the valve opens at. I'm thinking less than 2 bar.

The guy behind the Prismo originally tried to market this several years ago but it didn't work out for reasons I'm not certain about. He told me in an email that the valve he was working with (at that time) would "open at a cracking pressure of approx 2-5psi", which is 0.1-0.3bar. Of course the Prismo may have a valve with a higher release pressure.

The pressure one achieves in their Aeropress could be significantly higher than the "cracking pressure" as the valve, filter, and the coffee all restrict the flow. So it also depends on how hard you push. But 2 bar is roughly equivalent to 120 pounds of force on the plunger. I think pushing that hard would be uncomfortable -- at least before I've had any coffee in the morning.

Who said anything about espresso??? I'm getting it to shoot hot coffee at my kids when they aren't eating their eggs

Why quote my post? I didn't say anything about espresso.

The Prismo is actually being marketed with the phrase "espresso-style".

Headala wrote:Who said anything about espresso??? I'm getting it to shoot hot coffee at my kids when they aren't eating their eggs

+1

Shipping notification showed up today so mine will be here soon.

Ira

Received my Prismo on Wednesday and have had the chance to use it 4 or 5 times. My initial impressions:

I dig the fact that Prismo alleviates the need to do the inversion method to do a full immersion brew and I find the included steel filter to be better/finer than any of the other aftermarket options I have tried to date. That said, I get higher pressure and a better espresso-like brew from doubling up on paper filters or even sandwiching lightly-tamped grounds between two filters with the standard Aeropress cap. Additionally, one of the Aeropress selling points was how easy it was to clean compared to a French Press. Cleanup is still fairly simple, but with Prismo's internal ridges, seal, and steel filter, there's no question it requires more care.

If Fellow could go a step further and make it easy to tamp your grounds and add a way to protect them from disruption while you pour in your water, they might have a winner on their hands. Overall, I don't really find the Prismo to make it any easier to make a espresso-like brew and once the early supporter discounts are gone, I'd have to recommend a "pass", but at the current $20, it was at least worth it for the steel filter.

Pros: Easy, full immersion brews without need for inverted method, included steel filter

Cons: Less pressure than standard Aeropress cap, negates Aeropress' innate simple cleanup, pros probably not worth the cost, fails to deliver on the "espresso-style" promise

Rating: 3/5

The right answer to get real espresso in aeropress pressing style came from Cafflano Kompresso some time ago.
I recommend you to try one, it's a worthy Aeropress complement for a complete lineup.

dhann wrote:Received my Prismo on Wednesday and have had the chance to use it 4 or 5 times. My initial impressions:

I dig the fact that Prismo alleviates the need to do the inversion method to do a full immersion brew and I find the included steel filter to be better/finer than any of the other aftermarket options I have tried to date. That said, I get higher pressure and a better espresso-like brew from doubling up on paper filters or even sandwiching lightly-tamped grounds between two filters with the standard Aeropress cap. Additionally, one of the Aeropress selling points was how easy it was to clean compared to a French Press. Cleanup is still fairly simple, but with Prismo's internal ridges, seal, and steel filter, there's no question it requires more care.

If Fellow could go a step further and make it easy to tamp your grounds and add a way to protect them from disruption while you pour in your water, they might have a winner on their hands. Overall, I don't really find the Prismo to make it any easier to make a espresso-like brew and once the early supporter discounts are gone, I'd have to recommend a "pass", but at the current $20, it was at least worth it for the steel filter.

Pros: Easy, full immersion brews without need for inverted method, included steel filter

Cons: Less pressure than standard Aeropress cap, negates Aeropress' innate simple cleanup, pros probably not worth the cost, fails to deliver on the "espresso-style" promise

Rating: 3/5

I've been thinking about it, and it seems to me they should have made an attachment that was more like a basket with a dispersion screen on top where the normal filter would go in the AeroPress--so in the aeropress column itself would just be water on top of the dispersion screen. Because of the diameter of the AeroPress, it still won't get the pressure though. You really need to go thinner, as shown by the Kompresso and the Espresso Forge. To do that you'd have to provide the thinner column to insert into the aeropress, and matching plunger... so it really turns into producing a standalone product like the Kompresso at that point. This is where the Prismo is mostly like a toy (coffee blaster, lol) and the Kompresso is at least semi-serious.