San Francisco Blog

Following The Grinder's lead, I'm totally obsessed by the Aeropress single serve coffeemaker, and the story trail surrounding it. Invented by the people who brought you the Aerobie flying ring, the Aeropress is a device conceptually similar to the French press. Only in this case, the user plunges the coffee and water down through a filter, rather than pulling up (see the demo video above) -- but be warned, you might want to caffeinate yourself with the old drip machine before attempting the Aeropress, as it seems to require a lot of torque.

But why, you ask, would I want to ditch the tried and true drip maker or French press in favor of the Aeropress? For one thing, it appears to be all plastic, making it easy to lug around in your carry-on without fear of breakage. Also, there's this news story, via Boing Boing, about the proliferation of hotel coffee makers as mini meth labs. The telltale signs include a "dark reddish-orange stain" in the hotel coffee pot, as well as a lingering chemical odor in the room. Say what you will about tweakers, but they sure are pragmatic.

-- Brian Bernbaum