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  • Personally, after using one for years in the office, I don't really rate the aeropress. It's a real jack of all trades master of none so I don't mind owning one, and could be convinced to press it into service in the right situation, but I would almost always rather use something else. At home an actual v60 or mokka pot, and at work a clever dripper. On the road I would either take a 1 cup plastic v60 and pulse pour a normal kettle or just take a grinder and rely on wherever I stay having a cafetiere (most places do in my experience)

    I can see the case for using an aeropress in any of the above, and I think it's a supremely well engineered piece of gear (though why are the numbers on the side printed as circles instead of lines? And why numbers instead of mls?); I love the way the funnel can be used to express the drink into a container with a very wide mouth, and the way the inner plunger can be filled with water and gives quite a controlled pour. However in terms of consistency it falls flat for me. If you apply too much pressure you end up spraying fine grinds out from the side of the filter, which go into your drink then slowly over extract, if you use it inverted you have issues with grinds sticking to the plunger, if you use it "right way up" you have issue with water leaking out during your steep, it has terrible thermal properties (which is why for years all the "world champ" aeropress recipes have had wastefully high doses with very low extractions) and although it does pack quite small, it's huge compared to a collapsible v60.

    In the end, they're fine, and if you want to make an "espresso style" shot in the office, probably the best tool for the job. But for almost everything else, I'd rather not.

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