Best Single Serve Brewed Coffee - Aero Press Coffee Maker!!!

Cool Coffee Mug From Jane

 In my humble opinion, the Aero Press is an amazing invention!!!  It makes the best single cup of coffee or espresso imaginable.  The clean rich robust flavor is captured from fresh coffee beans in the Aero Press in just a matter of seconds.  No fuss or watching the clock.  It is a quick brew.  And, clean up is simple -  a quick rinse.  There is no doubt, if you just want/need one cup of great tasting coffee, the Aero Press is for you.  It is affordable and can be found online or in stores near you.  Thanks to Danny T.  for this great birthday present.  I didn't know what I was missing.  Now I use the Aero Press almost every day and I take it with me on all my travels.

So, you ask, how does this work?  Well, first you grind some fresh high quality coffee beans and put them in the cylinder.  Then you add very hot water and fill to the top.  Take your stirrer and gently mix up the grounds and water.  It should be foaming at this point.  Then, put on the plunger at the top of the cylinder and push slowly.  The air will push the brewed coffee through the filter.


 Then, Whaa Laa!!!  A great cup of coffee awaits you.  Nifty!  You can push as fast or as slow as you want to create different strengths of coffee and there won't be any grounds at the bottom of your cup or sludge floating around.  So here it is in bullet form:

• Put Aero Press on top of coffee cup
• Add freshly ground coffee beans up to the number 1
• Pour in hot water- I like mine real hot, but everyone is different.  Experiment!
• Gently stir for a few short seconds and let it sit for a few seconds - let it foam and bubble
• Next put the plunger on the top
• Then push very slowly- the air will push the brew through the filter
• Remove Aero Press
• Enjoy an AWESOME cup of coffee!

Who invented the Aero Press.....you ask? 

A Stanford University mechanical engineer named Alan Adler spent many years of research in perfecting the Aero Press.  (He is also the inventor of the Aerobie flying disk)

Factoid:  Aero Press coffee is micro-filtered. It so pure and particle-free that it can be stored for days as a concentrate.  You can cook with it or get creative and use it in other beverages.

Another Factoid:  Long steeping times (french press) extract bitterness from coffee beans.  By the way, French presses cannot make espresso or lattes.

Summary:  It has been said that the Aero Press delivers the fastest, richest and purest cup of coffee anywhere and I have to agree with that!

It takes 30 seconds from start to finish to make a cup of the best coffee ever with an Aero Press!

Lucha Libre - Firecreek Coffee Company - Cave Creek, AZ

Preparation:   Cuisinart Coffee Maker

Scores:  Scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being excellent

Aroma:    10
Balance:   8
Flavor:     9
Smoothness:   10

Likes:  Chocolate
            Easy sipping
            Smooth


Dislikes:
  

Summary:   This full city roast of different Mexican Altura coffee beans is great in the good morning!  I brewed a big pot of this medium bodied coffee and am glad I did because it is easy on the tummy and very smooth.  When the hot water hit the ground beans it frothed and bloomed like a volcano, proving the beans were extremely fresh.  There are no punches or surprises here.  No big flavors that are overwhelming.....just a real nice cuppa Joe.  Personally,  I paired this coffee with a big chocolate mousse muffin from Mimi's Cafe.  I would classify this pairing as a homerun!  Lucha Libre coffee enhanced and magnified the chocolate flavors of the muffin so much so that I almost ate the whole muffin before I could take a picture of it!!!

Overall score:  9


***  Label on bag says:  Dark and Handsome

Sunbreak - Trailhead Coffee Roasters - Portland, Oregon

Preparation:  French Press

Scores:  Scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being excellent

Aroma:     8
Balance:   8
Flavor:     8
Smoothness:  7

Likes:  Caramel
            Toffee
             Hazelnuts
             Vanilla
            

Dislikes:  Slightly bitter and acidy
 

Summary:  I was grocery shopping at Whole Foods and accidentally walked down the coffee isle.  (did I say "accidentally?")   As I gazed at the vast selection of coffee on the shelf in front of me, I ended up deciding on the Trailhead Coffee Roaster's Sunbreak morning blend whole bean coffee.  Their marketing worked!  I liked the brown bag, the picture on the bag and the name.  It just had a true Pacific Northwest feel, not to mention a clearly stamped recent roasting date.  It sold me!

Sunbreak is a blend of two origins.  One is roasted medium and the other dark.  It has all the flavors I like best, but for some reason as much as I wanted to love it........I experienced a slight bitterness that combined with a little too much acid didn't make it to my five star rating.  I will definitely give it another shot with a different brewing process and even try some of their other beans. 


Overall score:   8

***Trailhead Coffee Roasters are very committed to their community and the environment. They donate a percentage of their profits back to the coffee growers and programs supporting women in Africa.  Check out their website for more information.

Rue De La Course - New Orleans, Louisiana

3128 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA

WHERE Y'AT! -   (The traditional New Orleanian greeting)

The Big Easy is definitely a fun place to visit!!!  Walking down Bourban Street last night was quite an eye-opening experience..... By the way, I read that natives never refer to New Orleans as The Big Easy, so if you want to blend in.......... maybe say you are in Crescent City?

Today, we (Steve, Danny and I) decided to take the St. Charles streetcar, the oldest continuously running streetcar in America, and head on over to Magazine Street and explore a different part of town called the Garden District.  It is a great street to walk down and people watch - not to mention the cool shops, bookstores and pubs.  I highly recommend it!  It didn't take long before we came upon......a coffee shop! Now, keep in mind I didn't do any research beforehand, so this was a hit or miss.

                                    

Rue De La Course

Danny was game so we went in and checked it out.  There were lots of youngish looking people inside in deep concentration with their computers sitting at tables lined up as if it were a school house.  It was oddly quiet and a bit dark considering how bright and sunny it was outside.

So, fast forward........Danny ordered an iced coffee.  Curiously, I asked the Barista what kind of beans are used for the iced coffee.  She said, "Iced Coffee Beans".  Then I asked her again, "but what kind of beans are the iced coffee beans?"  Then she said again, "Iced Coffee Beans".   Next, she pulled out the bag of beans and sure enough, they were labeled "Iced Coffee Beans".  (??????)  And that was that.

Danny and I left with our coffee and I have to say that I didn't like my brewed stuff.  It was watery.  Danny's was better, but he did put lots of cream and sugar in his.  Next time, I think I will order something else.  Those iced mochas looked interesting....

We left with coffee in hand and noticed the Bulldog Pub down the block.  It wasn't long before I exchanged my coffee for a different kind of brew.
 

The Bulldog Bar and Grill has more than fifty beers on tap and a hundred more in bottles.  We tried a few and loved the place.  Definitely worth going to!!!!  Great atmosphere!!!!
3236 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA

Stay tuned as I did find a great little coffee place in the French Quarter that would be very easy to miss if you didn't know what you were looking for.  The coffee was outstanding!


***Yat is a dialect of English spoken in the Greater New Orleans Area