We are a coffee crazed nation. Most of us (except the stubborn ones) have swapped Nescafe Gold and International Roast to our snobby Nespresso pod machines or some other bean grinding, wand filtering, milk frothing wonder. And for day-to-day life this is more than okay. Trouble strikes when you head into the horizon and you know you don’t want to have to stop and pay Steve the Barista at every roadhouse or café along the way. So how can you have your fancy coffee and drink it too?
Meet AeroPress
With it’s cult-like following you will be pressed to find someone who has used this innovative Aussie gadget and not loved the results. The ingenuity yet simplicity is astounding with it only having several parts that can fit easily in your caravan ready for your next trip.
It’s actually so simple to use that we can include a run down in this blog post:
- Place micro filter into the cap
- Twist the chamber and place over the mug
- Put two to four scoops of ground coffee in
- Fill with hot water (corresponding to the number of scoops)
- Stir for 10 seconds
- Press the plunger down gently for 20 to 30 seconds
- Sit back and take a sip
And cleaning the AeroPress is even simpler, just a quick rinse is all it takes.
Beans and buzz
You can use your favourite barista coffee beans (or any store bought ground beans if you don’t have a preference) and this means your AeroPress coffee each morning will give you that feel-good-coffee-buzz we have all come to know and love. No more resentful sips that give you goose-bumps as you sit in your camping chair admiring the sunrise.
How about the wallet?
So I bet you think this little device is going to set you and your budget back? Think again. You can buy and AeroPress online or at a variety of independent coffee shops for as little as $12 (on ebay) or up to $40 - depending on the individual retailer. Even if you consider the more expensive end of the spectrum, that’s only about 8 café bought cappuccinos until you’ve made you money back. While it’s a little more than your everyday plunger from aisle 8 in Woolworths, it certainly doesn’t come close to the price of your Nespresso machine back home.
We all agree on it
The AeroPress doesn’t come with a milk frother or anything like that (at least not yet) but it certainly gives you the flavour and strength of any other expensive device designed for DIY at home baristas. With its compact size, durable design and portable capacity, it will be the caravanning and camping companion will never want to go without once you’ve become acquainted. The AeroPress is one device that most coffee hipsters can agree on. The only thing left to do now is to try it for yourself. Just a word of warning, it does only make one cup at a time so if you have a number of impatient connoisseurs on your convoy it may be worth getting two.
DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.