The Aeropress’ inability to make espresso is also the reason that it makes exceptionally good coffee: The oils and acids in coffee are trapped in the grounds that remain in the bottom of the Aeropress, instead of your cup. As a result, the Aeropress produces very low acid coffee that is smooth, clean and easy to drink black.

The Aeropress makes coffee that is roughly four times the strength of an automatic drip machine, so it is perfect for making iced coffee and iced mochas. Because of the increased concentration, I brew directly into a tall glass containing cocoa powder and Equal. Brew into glass, stir, fill with ice and milk, stir again, drink. The concentration of the Aeropress coffee offsets the dilution from the ice, and allows you to have a fresh-brewed iced mocha, instead of making one with stale, cold coffee. Beware, once you make fresh coffee mochas, you will never be able to go back.

For best results, buy good coffee beans and grind them immediately before brewing. If (with freshly ground, high quality coffee beans) your Aeropress coffee tastes flat, increase the temperature of the water to 190 F, and be sure to use good tasting water. If your Aeropress coffee tastes bitter, you are brewing it too long and the coffee is getting over-extracted. If the brewed coffee is too strong (Dad), simply dilute it per the included instructions.

The Aeropress makes great coffee, is fast and easy to use, is easy to clean and is made in the United States. On top of all that, it is a great value. I cannot recommend the Aeropress more highly – but it still doesn’t make espresso.
Rating: 5 / 5

The Aeropress is a completely manual system, which explains its low price. You espress the coffee manually by pressing on a plastic pipe that sends hot water through the coffee grounds, sort of like an upside down french press. It is very easy to use, and could easily be packed for travel.

Pros:

Cheap

Great coffee

Great espresso

Takes up very little space

No electronics to break

No high-dollar bean mill required. A regular blade grinder will do.

Right water temperature produces coffee with very low acid.

Cons:

You will go through a lot of beans because the coffee tastes so good

It takes practice to make crema

You need an instant-read thermometer to heat the water to 165 to 175 degrees

You will have to heat and steam milk manually if you like milk-based espresso drinks

No cool-looking Gaggia or Saeco espresso machine sitting in your kitchen

No excuse to upgrade your blade grinder to a mill
Rating: 5 / 5

I fill the plunger to the appropriate mark with hot tap water and place it in the microwave for 20 seconds (the experimentally determined time to reach 175). While the water is heating I place a filter sheet in the cap, place it on the chamber, and add 1 scoop of coffee. With the chamber on top of my cup, I add the now hot water, stir, and press. Cleanup consists of ejecting the used coffee into the composting pot and rinsing the end of the plunger. Then I’m ready to enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.
Rating: 5 / 5

I can’t say enough about the results, but note that the Aerobie is more time-consuming to use than either french press or drip coffee makers, more comparable to espresso makers. Well worth it, mind you, but NOT as quick and painless as the manufacturer would have you believe. This product makes espresso by forcing air through the grounds using a syringe-type plunger. You must put in a filter, add the grounds, measure out the precise amount of water, add water and stir. You then have to place the Aeropress on top of a cup to use it, exert a pretty good amount of force, and then, if you’re making two or more cups, divy the espresso up into other containers and add water or milk, if you want. So far I haven’t done it, but I think it would be really easy to push too hard, flip over the cup, and spray espresso everywhere.

Still, greatest coffee ever, no competition. If you want the best, you gotta put in the time.
Rating: 5 / 5

The whole coffee making process is explained in the products instructions.

1. Insert a filter and some coffee into the unit. A coffee scoop and some filters are included with the aeropress, they recommend 1 scoop of coffee per cup.

2. Heat the right amount of water. Markers are printed on the side of the Aeropress to show the recommended amount of water for between 1 and 4 (the maximum) espresso shots. The manufacturers recommend water between 75 and 80 degrees. I don’t know if this is correct, because I don’t have a thermometer in the kitchen, and in any case, I’m not going to stick a thermometer in water to get it to a precise temperature. I boil water in my kettle and let the water sit for a set time before use. Alternatively, you could microwave the water for a set time. A bit of experimentation and you’ll find how hot you like the water. I agree with Aeropress that boiling hot water extracts unpleasant flavors.

3. Mix the water with the grounds. The grounds are immersed in water, much like in a french press, but the manufacturers recommend letting the water sit for no more than about 10 seconds. I find that this is about right, but you can experiment and decide for yourself.

4. Insert the plunger and push the water out of the Aeropress. You press the plunger down so that it extracts the water from the grounds over about 20 seconds. The Aeropress needs to be on a strong and stable container, such as a mug, for this part of the process. Pressing the plunger requires a bit of strength if you are making more than one espresso shot. You’ll need to press down for about 20 seconds.

5. Drink up, or dilute the espresso shot(s) for American coffee or mix them for cappuccino, or whatever.

I am very happy with the Aeropress. It makes great tasting coffee. It’s easy to clean and inexpensive. In my opinion the aeropress is superior to french press or manual drip percolator coffee. It is not as convenient as a machine but I’m willing to spend the effort for good coffee.
Rating: 5 / 5

The overall design and construction of the unit is first-rate for a consumer product. If Hewlett-Packard decided to start making cappucino machines in addition to their printers, I imagine they would be of similar quality and design to Capresso’s. I have two minor quibbles with the steamer/frother tube — it’s a bit short for frothing in a deep container but this also means the overall height of the machine is less, and I’m okay with that trade off, since the machine fits comfortably under most overhead kitchen cabinets. The insulating grip on the tube is quite small, however, and since it must be slid up and down to change from frothing to steaming, it’s easy to ‘sting’ a finger or two — though I’ve yet to actually burn myself.

As other reviewers have noted, I also wish there was an interlock on the pump switch to disable it if the tamping lever is not depressed. It’s very easy to forget this step for the first week or two of ownership, especially in the morning… This is no longer a problem for my wife or I, but it does mean that guests need supervision if they want to try the machine (and they will) — otherwise they’ll blissfully stand there with an expectant look on their face as they pump water into the grounds discard bin (which unfortunately looks like it has a smaller capacity than the water supply tank — I hope never to find out for sure).

The water tank is extremely well-designed; remove the cover, grab the handle, lift the tank out, refill, and replace. I’ve yet to spill a drop of water. Daily cleanup involves removing the upper carousel and hand cleaning/rinsing in the sink (forget to do this for a day or two and you’ll notice a deterioration in the quality of the coffee). The bottom front of the unit slides forward to expose the grounds bin and the overflow sump — these need emptying every few days, depending on usage (a red-light comes on when the bin needs emptying).

I’ve used Customer Service to order some of Capresso’s coffee and an extra frother tube and was quite satisifed with the service — everything shipped within 48 hours. The coffee was very smooth, but a bit pricey.
Rating: 4 / 5

1. The coffee/espresso is really good! There is a good crema layer and it comes out very strong (not too strong) in my opinion. I haven’t alwys found it to be 100% consistent, but, nonetheless, over 95% of the time it has been great.

2. The unit is kinda…. ugly! I’m sorry, but this is the truth. It’s not like soemthing you would display in a very nice kitchen – it’s a bit cheap looking. It doesn’t even look like a traditional espresso machine. Also, what is up with the blue strip on the tray? That really makes it look cheap. Nonetheless, because I am so plesed with this product, I am willing to overlook this flaw.

3. When they said semi-automatic, I thought I would have to do a lot of work. Not true! This is the EASIEST espresso/cappuccino to make – even over my sister’s semi-automatic that she paid a lot more money for (not to mention the espresso/cappuccinos taste the same, except hers is much better looking!) All you have to do is rotate the handle on top, put in coffee, rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise, push the knob down and turn on the espresso switch. When done, you turn the knob 270 degrees and it dumps the coffee. VOILA! No coffee cleanup today or tomorrow… or for a while (this is my FAVORITE part).

4. A few annoying things Whoever it was that says when you froth milk, there is first a spurt of water is correct. However, when you have frothed an entire cup of milk, you can’t tell the water was added. Also, when pushing the know down to make espresso, sometimes it has been a crap shoot and no espresso came out. I had to repress the knob down and try again.

All in all, I give this a B+ because it is ugly and a bit cheap looking. However, if I rated it on taste, it would be an A. If I rated it considering that I got a great price on it and relative to other units and prices, A+!
Rating: 5 / 5

I live alone and retired a year ago, and was used to having my two cups of coffee each day while at work, but since retiring, making even a small pot of coffee was not something that I wanted to do, because of the mess and bother – and waste! Of course, having a pot of coffee sitting around until it gets used, always results in it ending up becoming too strong to drink, and sometimes boiling down to a black sludge when you forget to turn off the machine. NO MORE!

Recently, I saw a Melitta One:One brewing system on sale at Wal Mart and decided to buy it. I think it was a good decision!

I knew that the cost would be more per cup, due to my not being able to purchase in bulk, but there is NO waste, the coffee is always the same in quality and taste, and clean up is almost completely eliminated.

Melitta makes six different grinds, all prepackaged and individually sealed for freshness. Other coffee makers put 18 pods in a bag and forget about freshness after you’ve opened the bag for the first cup. As with all other coffees, you must seek a flavor that pleases you, but that shouldn’t be too hard. They also make several teas, but because of the high product cost, I suggest that you use the unit to heat the water and then use a conventional tea bag.

If there is a negative to this system, it is that the product line is costly, at least in my point of view. I would like to be able to buy in bulk, and have a larger selection of product coffee brands to purchase. As for now, we Melitta people are basically forced to buy only the Melitta brand products in 18 pod boxes. Some competition would bring the prices down. Amazon.com has the best prices, and if you buy enough product, can get free shipping.

When I first got the Melitta system, I, as with others here reviewing, had a problem with machine leakage. When the machine leaked, the coffee was stronger because the leakage water didn’t make it to the cup. I experimented and determined that by pushing the pod down in the pod holder, so that the edge of the pod didn’t inpede contact of the machine lid to the pod holder, the leakage no longer occurred. A tighter seal was obtained. The coffee flavor was uniform and the leakage mess was no more.

Also, a tip for users: I don’t like either too strong or too weak a brew. I also want a full cup of coffee, and neither 5 or 8 ounces is enough. Instead of choosing either a 5 oz. or 8 oz. brew, I do both! First I do the 5 oz. and before removing the cup, allow the water to reheat and then push the 8 oz. button, thus giving me a 13 oz. cup of coffee, from the same pod! That suits my taste and gives me the quantity that I want!

Would I buy the Melitta system again? Probably not, but only because of the monopoly regarding the product line, not for any shortcoming of the system itself! I might try one of the other machines put out by other makers, but would definitely know more about which coffees were available and how much selection and cost of product would be. Single service coffee makers are definitely made for me!

Additional comments:

After making the above review, I found that you can use ANY of the store brand coffee pods (Senseo, Home Cafe, etc.), even though they are of a larger diameter and do not fit the Melitta machine pod holder as designed. You have to crimp the off brand pod, using your fingers, and jam it into the Melitta pod holder, but it will fit, and a good cup of coffee can be enjoyed. The secret is to make sure the Melitta lid makes contact with the Melitta pod holder, so that a good tight seal is assured. I know this works, because I bought a bag of Folger’s pods, and they didn’t fit the Melitta machine. Since the bag was open, I couldn’t return it, so I decided to try to make a pod fit, and it did! Thirteen cups of Folger’s later, and I haven’t had any problems making this accomodation!

If you don’t like the Melitta brand coffees, and it seems, from some of the reviews, that there are many folks who don’t, try other brands using my crude product adaption method, and you should be able to make any other coffee pod product on the market fit your machine. If you then still don’t like the taste, there is nothing more to try. Single service coffee machines might not be for you.
Rating: 4 / 5

I was slightly concerned about the fact that the largest size cup this will brew at once is 10 oz, which is a regular-sized mug. I have a few larger mugs and I have found it is very easy to brew two 8 oz cycles using two k cups into my larger mugs.

It is super easy to operate and requires very little maintenance. The k cup brews quickly and is hot. I am thinking about buying a larger model for myself eventually. If you like coffee, I do recommend this system.
Rating: 5 / 5