Differences in flavor between espresso and AeroPress

#1: Post by HB » February 7th, 2020, 4:09 pm

Posted on behalf of a lurker:

I have an AeroPress and a Kinu M47 Phoenix grinder. I make mostly lattes and Americanos now. Me and my Sweetie love them.
I have been flirting with the Cafelat Robot. How will the flavors be different? I do understand that the Aeropress doesn't make espresso, but it does make flavorful concentrated coffee. I have had straight double shots in a good coffee shop. But in lattes and Americanos what will I notice?
I know describing flavors and what you love about them is hard, so I appreciate your replies.

#2: Post by **Goosed** » February 7th, 2020, 10:57 pm

That's not an easy one as espresso machines can create such differences in the cup. If you're using the Aeropress to make one of the popular concentrate recipes and then diluting it. Taste it before diluting. I find that it's close to flavor boldness of espresso, but immersion brewers, including the Aeropress, will always make a more rounded cup of coffee. With less flavor separation and a thinner mouth feel.

If you're near the twin cities there are a number of local shops I could recommend for good espresso. Actually tasting it yourself will give you a far better idea of whether you'll like it than I ever could with written words.

#3: Post by **ojt** » February 8th, 2020, 8:13 am

IMHO, in lattes you'll find more pronounced flavors and denser texture, in americanos not that much a difference but maybe you'll have a little bit of crema on top? Maybe also just different flavors since the brewing conditions are different.

#4: Post by **jpender** » February 8th, 2020, 10:13 am

A big difference I notice is texture/mouthfeel.

#5: Post by **drgary** » February 8th, 2020, 10:36 am

Years ago I used to live close to Alan Adler, the inventor of the Aeropress. He saw my postings on Home-Barista, long before I was a member of Team HB, and he invited me to meet him at the Aerobie headquarters nearby. After that we would sometimes visit each other, and he would attend Home-Barista gatherings at my house. I had a 2002 La Pavoni Europiccola lever espresso machine. He came over one day and we compared shots. Admittedly, I had THE expert on AeroPress making his version to compare to my novice attempt on the La Pavoni, but by then I was weighing grounds and using temperature control on the La Pavoni. Unfortunately, I didn't keep records of the brew ratio. I tended to load 16-18 gm for a single pull of the La Pavoni, so it was probably in the "ristretto" range of about 1:1 grounds to beverage weight.

He added a small amount of dry coffee grounds to his completed shot. The AeroPress, used as he does, filters the coffee through paper. Adding ground coffee to the Aero brew reintroduced coffee oils that are normally filtered out. Some people replace the filter papers with a metal disk, which allows the oils. Anyway, we were not blind tasting, but the results were different than I expected. His Aero brew tasted better than my shot, which also tasted good, using the same coffee.

If you are using the coffee exclusively for milk drinks, I don't know that it would make much difference, because you'll mainly want concentrated, properly brewed coffee as the flavoring base. People on Home-Barista, though, often drink espresso without milk. A properly prepared espresso from fresh, high quality coffee will balance sweetness with other flavors. It will not be bitter or harsh. And, you will have the capability to achieve a viscous mouthfeel that you cannot achieve without brewing the coffee under pressures that the AeroPress can't achieve. With the Cafelat Robot and many other machines, you also have the ability to vary pressure, which helps you manipulate flavor.

The Robot doesn't have steaming capacity. When it comes to milk drinks, many espresso machines are very capable at foaming milk. If you go that route, you can search this site for reviews or user experience of a machine that interests you. (Most of the consumer models in the appliance section of retail stores are not up to the standards of making consistently good espresso or microfoam.) So if you are interested in creating microfoam, it might be fun to have a good espresso machine to experiment with. Some people without an espresso machine for steaming will use a Bellman stovetop steamer. I have not tried one but have read some reports that they are a bit finicky. Some will heat milk create microfoam using a French press or or similar device exclusively designed for microfoam. I'll admit I haven't tried that either, but I've seen videos online of people pulling it off.

#6: Post by **LuckyMark** » February 9th, 2020, 7:38 am

Great anecdote Dr Gary! Quite something to learn how to use a device from it's inventor, fairly rare in modern society

#7: Post by **Jonk** » February 10th, 2020, 7:51 am

I'd like to add that the Bellman steamer is the easiest I've used for making good micro foam. I prefer it to large heat-exchangers because the steam is easy to control. I wonder what other users have found finicky.

The main downside is it's a bit slow to heat up using an electric stove - best would be to find a model with a built-in heating element unless you've got a gas stove.

February 10th, 2020, 8:21 pm

Is it compatible with an induction top?

#9: Post by **MK1** » February 10th, 2020, 8:34 pm

Personally, my favorite milk drink is a cortado, and there would be too much liquid with the Aeropress. I love the Aeropress for strong coffee, but in milk drinks, it waters them down too much.

February 11th, 2020, 2:38 am

You can use the same brew ratio as espresso. It's just water and coffee. Premeasure. You can preinfuse by inserting the plunger and turning the AeroPress upside down or maintaining it upright on a cup.