We’ve written so many words about the AeroPress coffee maker over the years. We’ve discussed our favorite brewing recipes, the best attachments and accessories, nifty organizer stands, alternate forms of the brewer itself, and more.

So, I won’t repeat what you probably already know about the thing. All I’ll say is that if you’ve never liked the dull gray or brown color of the more recent AeroPress models, you’ll be glad to know there’s finally a crystal clear version available once again! And this time, it’s made of BPA-free shatterproof Tritan plastic.

Look Ma, you can see what the coffee’s doing in there!

Now before you go buy this thing, you might want to know that despite costing more than previous models, the clear AeroPress no longer includes the funnel accessory, and it comes with fewer paper filters than before (100 instead of 350).

Actually, if there’s anyone whose first impressions are worth listening to about this, it’s James Hoffmann:

If those factors aren’t major concerns for you, then you can get the AeroPress Clear for $50 on Amazon.

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Similar to this bamboo organizer stand I wrote about a while back, this wall-mounted caddy gives your AeroPress coffee maker and its included accessories — funnel, coffee scoop, filter holder, and stir stick — a nice place to rest between uses. Except this time, all that stuff gets to live up off your counter, freeing up even more space!

The bamboo used to make this organizer is polished to give it a chic look that suits most kitchens, and all the pieces are easy to grab and deploy whenever the Need for Caffeine™ strikes.

Just be sure you don’t mount it too close to the underside of an above cabinet or else you won’t be able to get out the scoop and stirrer very well. Some reviewers have mentioned using magnets to mount it on their fridge, which is a neat idea.

Get this wall-mounted AeroPress caddy for $19 on Amazon.

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In our recent guide to accessories and attachments for the AeroPress, we included this nice little bamboo stand, which gives your coffee maker and its accoutrement a place to rest when you’re not using them.

If you’ve got the counter space, its bigger sibling is even more useful to have around, as it can accommodate two coffee mugs up top instead of one, and it lets you hang the AeroPress’ two plunger pieces separately for better drying. Like the smaller version, the side of the caddy has slots for the official stirrer and coffee scoop.

On top and inside of the stand are silicone mats that keep the bamboo protected from any residual heat in the AeroPress itself or any mugs you place on it. They’re easy to rinse off when needed, and even the bamboo only needs to be wiped down with a clean damp cloth once in a while to maintain its good looks.

Get this bamboo AeroPress organizer for $40 on Amazon. The smaller one is $32.

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After all these years, the AeroPress remains one of our favorite ways to make coffee each morning. It’s simple to use, works with fine or coarse grinds, is easy to clean, and you can brew with it in a number of ways that all result in a heckuva cup of coffee.

It’s a tad more expensive than it used to be ($32 instead of $25) but we still consider it relatively inexpensive when you think about how much a good coffee machine usually costs. It’s also just as portable, versatile, and easy to clean up as ever.

As good as the AeroPress is on its own, it can be made even better with the addition of a few key accessories. We’ll share a few of our favorites below.

The Able Travel Cap. ($12)

Able Travel Cap »

The AeroPress is an excellent coffee maker to take when traveling. You can slide a dozen paper filters and a plastic bag of beans inside of the plunger whenever you’re going on a trip — the only problem being that the filters and beans have a tendency to fall out.

To fix this problem, the guys at Able Brewing made a rubber travel cap that fits snugly over the open end of the AeroPress plunger, allowing you to securely store filters and coffee beans when traveling. It also doubles as a comfortable brewing grip when you’re actually making your coffee.

Able Brewing stainless steel filter disk. ($15)

Able DISK Metal Filter »

When you buy an AeroPress it comes with a pack of paper micro-filters. These work fine and are easily disposable. However, for something different, there is this stainless steel AeroPress disk.

The disk is reusable and has ultra-micro perforations so that only water gets through the filter, even when brewing a super-fine espresso grind. Many people prefer the flavor that stainless steel filters allow as opposed to the bleached paper filters. Paper filters absorb some of the oils from the coffee beans; metal filters allow those oils to pass through for richer cup of coffee, particularly for dark roasts.

Fellow’s “Prismo” attachment gives your AeroPress espresso-like superpowers. ($25)

Fellow “Prismo” Espresso-Style Attachment »

The folks at Fellow — makers of many fine coffee products — have an interesting attachment called Prismo that you can use in place of the standard cap to produce an espresso-like shot. No, it’s not actually espresso, but it’s pretty dang close, and you don’t have to buy a whole separate machine.

It’s comprised of two main features: a pressure-actuated valve and a reusable fine-mesh stainless steel filter (much like the Able one above). The airtight valve doesn’t drip unless you put pressure on it, solving the “slow drip” problem inherent to the AeroPress. Two things to keep in mind:

1. It does take more pressure to pull a shot from Prismo than you’d apply for a typical AeroPress brew, so expect a bit of an arm workout.
2. Don’t use it on a thin/fragile glass vessel.

The resulting shot is full-bodied and has a long-lasting “crema”, with a thickness and consistency comparable to traditional espresso. You can even do a bit of latte art with it. If you think tomorrow will call for some cold brew, it can do that too.

The PUCKPUCK turns the AeroPress into a cold-brew drip system. ($25)

PUCKPUCK Cold-Brew Coffee Attachment »

Another way to make cold brew with the AeroPress is with the PUCKPUCK attachment, which is more specifically designed to turn the coffee maker into a cold-brew drip system.

The idea is that you twist a compatible mineral water bottle — ideally an empty one with its bottom end cut off — onto the attachment valve, fill your newfound “reservoir” with ice water, and you then get a controlled drip over a bed of coffee grounds within the AeroPress chamber, which themselves are topped by the PUCKPUCK’s separate dispersion screen. (The AeroPress itself should, of course, be place atop a decanter of some kind.)

If you got the drip rate right — and their free companion app will help you do just that — then after a few hours you’ll come back to a batch of deliciously cold coffee that you can dress up however you like.

If sourcing a mineral water bottle sounds like a pain, the company offers a “PUCKPUCK Original” kit on their website that includes their 500mL water vessel (as pictured above).

Hexnub’s compact AeroPress organizer/stand/caddy, made from bamboo. ($32)

Hexnub Compact Organizer »

Serious AeroPress users will appreciate this nice little bamboo stand, which gives your coffee maker and all its other components (like the scoop, stirrer, and paper filters, if you’re using those) a place to rest when you’re not using them.

The company also makes a larger version ($40) that can accommodate two coffee mugs up top and lets you hang the AeroPress plunger pieces separately for better drying.

The PUCKPUCK is an interesting add-on for the AeroPress that lets you turn the popular coffee maker into a cold-brew drip system.

The idea is that you twist a compatible mineral water bottle — ideally an empty one with its bottom end cut off — onto the attachment valve, fill your newfound “reservoir” with ice water, and you then get a controlled drip over a bed of coffee grounds within the AeroPress chamber, which themselves are topped by the PUCKPUCK’s separate dispersion screen. (The AeroPress itself should, of course, be place atop a decanter of some kind.)

If you got the drip rate right — and their free companion app will help you do just that — then after a few hours you’ll come back to a batch of deliciously cold coffee that you can dress up however you like.

Get the PUCKPUCK Solo (meaning the attachment alone) for $25 on Amazon. The company does also offer a “PUCKPUCK Original” kit on their own website that includes their 500mL water vessel (pictured in the hero image up top) if you’d rather just use that instead of trying to source a mineral water bottle.

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Unibene’s bamboo coffee filter holder solves a somewhat different problem than that Chemex organizer I wrote about a couple weeks ago.

If you’re the type of coffee nerd who owns not only a Chemex but also a single-serve dripper and an AeroPress, then chances are you’ve got a scattered collection of filters and boxes in a cabinet somewhere. This holder collects all those filters in one place for easy grabbing, no matter which contraption you’re brewing with.

You can simply set the holder upright on a countertop, or hang it on a wall with the notch on the back. Either way, it’s a real nifty way to ensure your filters are always on deck.

Get it for $13 on Amazon.

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Alright fellow AeroPress nerds, this is it. The folks behind the mega-popular AeroPress coffee maker have finally developed a version of it that’s made for traveling right out of the box: the AeroPress Go.

The AeroPress Go looks pretty similar to its predecessor, except it’s a little smaller, holding only 8oz. (237 ml) of coffee versus the original 10oz. (296 ml). But more critically, it now comes with its own drinking mug (with lid) that conveniently doubles as a carrying case for the brewer and its accessories.

Watch the demo video to see how it works:

The mug holds 15oz./ 444 ml of coffee — enough for about two servings. It’s also microwaveable. The scoop it comes with holds the same 14g of coffee grounds as the old one, but it’s shaped differently so that the new folding stirrer (below, left) can nest within it for travel. The AeroPress Go also comes with 350 of the same micro-filters used by the original, twenty of which fit into the travel filter holder included with the set (below, right).

When it’s all packed up together into the mug with the lid on, the entire kit weighs only 11.4 ounces (323 grams) and fits easily into a bag. If you wanna see the differences between the original AeroPress and the Go, I’ve got the handy chart right here:

Click here to view full size.

I feel like this is a perfect occasion for watching one of my favorite videos to this day:

The AeroPress Go is $32 on Amazon, which is right around the same price of the old one. Happy travel brewing ☕️🛫

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The folks at Fellow — makers of the Stagg EKG kettle — have an interesting product called Prismo that attaches to your AeroPress coffee maker (in place of the existing cap) and produces an espresso-like shot. No, it’s not actually espresso, but it’s pretty dang close and you don’t have to buy a whole separate machine.

It’s comprised of two main features: a pressure-actuated valve and a reusable fine-mesh stainless steel filter. The airtight valve doesn’t drip unless you put pressure on it, solving the “slow drip” problem inherent to the AeroPress. Two things to keep in mind:

1. It does take more pressure to pull a shot from Prismo than you’d apply for a typical AeroPress brew, so expect a bit of an arm workout.
2. Don’t use it on a thin/fragile glass vessel.

If you’ve brewed with an AeroPress before, you’ll feel right at home using Prismo.

The resulting shot is full-bodied and has a long-lasting “crema”, with a thickness and consistency comparable to traditional espresso. You can even do a bit of latte art with it. If you think tomorrow will call for some cold brew, it can do that too.

This guy did a nice little YouTube review:

The Prismo attachment is $25 on Amazon.

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Ales Pospisil and Radek Nozicka, the duo behind the online coffee magazine European Coffee Trip, are putting on a Kickstarter for a documentary about the history of the AeroPress coffee maker.

The name? AeroPress Movie. Clever, huh?

In their own words:

In 2005, Alan Adler invented the AeroPress Coffee Maker and put it on the market. He made it out of necessity. There was no coffee maker producing a great single cup of coffee. So, he made one. After 20 years of selling his first popular invention — Aerobie Flying Ring — he and the company decided to dive into the unexplored world of coffee.

Fast forward to 2017, millions of AeroPresses have been sold, people are brewing coffee on the tops of mountains, on beaches, in forests as well as in their kitchens and offices. It enables people to be creative and invent their own ways of brewing coffee. What better proof than the World AeroPress Championship, with over 3,000 coffee lovers competing to find the best AeroPress recipe of the year.

The invention of Alan Adler has been embraced and loved by the community of coffee lovers around the world. That is the story we want to share in this documentary.

And here’s the trailer:

This is the sort of coffee nerdery I can totally get behind. They’ve reached 83% of their funding goal, with 9 days left to go (as of October 20th, 2017). Back the project at the €5 (~$6 USD) level or higher to receive a digital download of the film if they succeed. At higher levels, your name will be included in the credits, amongst other things.

Back Project

When it comes to brewing coffee, no method is more classic than the French press. However, in recent years there have been many interesting takes on the concept of pressing coffee.

Below are a few of our favorites.

The AeroPress coffee maker. ($30)

AeroPress »

What, you thought we weren’t going to mention the AeroPress? Pfft, you don’t know who you’re dealing with here.

*Ahem* Anyway, the AeroPress remains our favorite way to make a cup of coffee. It’s just so simple to use and easy to clean up, plus there are lots of ways to brew with it. You can also take it with you anywhere.

Espro’s Coffee Travel Press. ($27–$33, depending on color)

Espro Coffee Travel Press »

With the Coffee Travel Press the folks at Espro took everything we loved about the original Espro Press and turned it into something you can easily take with you on the road.

The main body is your standard double-walled stainless steel insulated tumbler that can keep liquids hot for 4–6 hours. What makes it special is the double micro-filter integrated with the drinking lid, which means you can brew your coffee (or tea), twist the travel lid on, throw the whole thing into your bag, and go.

Watch their short how-to video to see it in action:

The Espro Coffee Travel Press comes in your choice of matte black ($29), brushed stainless ($27), bright white ($33), or red ($30).

+ For something in a similar vein that holds much more coffee, check out the Stanley Classic Vacuum French Press. (Temporarily out of stock as of this writing, but still worth a gander.)

The American Press coffee maker. ($80)

American Press Coffee Maker »

The American Press is a single-serve coffee maker created by a guy named Alex Albanese, with a design that falls somewhere between an AeroPress and a classic French press. That is, it’s not a full immersion brew, but more like a hand-powered percolator.

Here’s how it works:

1. You fill the internal brew basket with your coffee grounds of choice (medium-fine to coarse works best). This “pod” has micro-mesh filters (100-micron, to be exact) on both the top and bottom when closed.
2. Close the pod, thereby mounting it onto the plunger stem.
3. Fill the carafe with hot water. (The carafe is made from double-walled, air-gap insulated Tritan, meaning it’s super durable and safe to touch even with boiling water inside.)
4. Mount the plunger assembly and slowly press down. The amount of time you press can last anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on how much extraction you want.

The pressure of this brewing process forces water up through the grounds (or loose leaf tea, if that’s your thing) and into the space above the plunger, resulting in a rich, clean, and complex cup of coffee that can be poured into your vessel of choice.

Check out this video by Prima Coffee Equipment for a great overview of the American Press, plus a couple tips on ways you can experiment with your brewing:

The Manual Coffeemaker Nº3. ($115 pre-order)

Manual Coffeemaker Nº3 »

After a successfully funded Kickstarter, you can now pre-order the Manual Coffeemaker Nº3, a double-walled, hand-blown glass pitcher with a natural cork lid that can actually do any of three whole-pot coffee-brewing jobs:

1. French press (the kit includes a special cork lid with a built-in French press plunger)
2. Pour-over
3. Cold brew

Once brewed, the pitcher keeps the coffee warm for over an hour. You can also use it as an all-purpose pitcher, where the double-walled, no-sweat construction similarly helps keep drinks cool longer.

Yield Design’s borosilicate glass French press. ($85)

Yield Design’s Glass French Press Coffee Maker »

Perhaps you consider yourself something of a purist when it comes to coffee presses, and yet you appreciate owning beautiful versions of things. If that hits close to home, then you ought to check out this glass French press by Florida-based studio Yield Design.

It works the same as any French press you’ve ever used, but aesthetically speaking, it might be the most beautiful one you ever own. It’s also made from borosilicate glass, the same super durable stuff that old Pyrex kitchen products are still prized for (compared to their less-heat-resistant soda-lime glass counterparts today in the US).

This French press comes in clear, gray, and amber.

+ If glass isn’t your thing, Yield Design also offers a line of ceramic French presses.

I’m not a picky coffee person. I don’t know the difference between espressos and americanos. I’ve heard of a ristretto, but only recently heard the name. And my eyes were blown wide open when I tried a whiskey barrel pour over for the first time.

In short, I’m not a coffee aficionado.

But I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy my morning cup of coffee. In fact, it’s probably my favorite part of the day. There’s nothing quite like that first shot of caffeine after a dreary wakeup call.

Where my coffee pickiness arises is in consistency and easiness. Morning routines aren’t routines if the coffee is strong one morning and weak the next. And, perhaps more importantly, bleary-eyed Josh doesn’t want to think about making that morning cup of Joe.

The Philips Saeco Intelia is an expensive coffee machine, but man, it makes an incredible cup of coffee.

This is why the Philips Saeco Intelia sits on my countertop.

The Intelia is by no means a cheap coffee machine, nor is it made for those coffee connoisseurs reliant on all sorts of brew methods. The Intelia is an espresso maker, capable of perfect consistency with each button press, and all with absolute ease.

Really, it shouldn’t be named the Philips Saeco Intelia — it should be named Josh’s Saeco Intelia.

Design

The Intelia’s sleek black lines and simple curvature put it right at home in our kitchen. It’s a fairly large and heavy machine that you won’t want to store in an appliance garage only to pull out each morning. Instead, like the KitchenAid across the kitchen, the Intelia has its own parking spot.

From top to bottom: espresso brew, standard brew, and pannarelo options.

The front of the Intelia is simple enough — six mushy buttons are set apart by a retro-looking green LED that displays the Intelia’s range of settings. On the left are the Intelia’s brew options: the top and middle buttons are for two customizable brew methods, and the bottom button activates the pannarelo (the milk frother).

From top to bottom: power, brew strength, and the decalcifier process.

On the right of the display is the power button, a button to change the Intelia’s brew strength, and a button to start the decalcifying process. As a whole, there is little to be afraid of on the Intelia’s face.

The spout is adjustable, but still doesn’t sit high enough to brew into larger mugs.

Below the display and button panel is the Intelia’s actual brewing console: two, single stream spouts that are built inside an adjustable compartment. This compartment can be moved up and down to accommodate for larger cup sizes, but even the highest setting isn’t high enough for bigger mugs. This low brewing console effectively eliminates the ability to brew straight into a travel mug and instead forces you to brew into a separate cup before pouring into your travel mug of choice. The manufacturer claims the lower console is to help keep your coffee hot during the brewing process, but I think the quick boiler is impressive enough to allow larger cups to fit underneath.

On both sides of the adjustable spout are two reservoirs for fresh water and used coffee grinds. The water reservoir is made of clear, hard plastic and has a small filter built into the bottom to improve the cleanliness of your water. I use straight tap water all the time. Unfortunately though, the reservoir is a bit small for my liking. Between left over water spilled into the bottom tray and the actual brewing process, I can get about four to five cups of coffee per reservoir. This isn’t bad, but I find I’m constantly refilling the reservoir before hitting the brew button.

On the right is the used grinds compartment. After the brewing process is complete, the used grind puck is jettisoned into the compartment and a nice red notification pops up on the display when it’s time to empty. This compartment can get pretty dirty, but because it’s made of hard plastic, it’s super easy to clean and rinse out. That being said, like the water reservoir, I often pull out the grinds compartment and wonder why it can’t hold more. It’s a small nuisance, but a nuisance nonetheless.

I’ll admit, I’m far from a barista and the pannarelo is a foreign tool to me. One day, I may understand it. For now, it just gets in the way of pulling out the water reservoir for a refill.

A quick word of caution: When using the pannarelo, make sure to avoid bare-skin contact with the small piece of exposed metal. This metal gets extremely hot and I’ve burnt myself a few times when experimenting in the past.

Just above the water reservoir is the pannarelo, activated by the bottom-most button on the left button panel. I’m not much of a barista (if any at all), but I’ve never been disappointed with its steamed milk. If you’re not a barista like me, the pannarelo also shoots out boiling water for a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate. Just be sure to avoid the exposed metal portion of the pannarelo — it gets extremely hot and I’ve burnt myself a few times by accident.

 

The right side of the Intelia opens up to the actual brew group inside. The entire group can be removed and rinsed out, making maintenance quick and easy.

The entire right side of the Intelia is a large door that is easily opened to expose the machine’s actual brewing contraption. The contraption can be removed entirely from the machine and can quickly be rinsed in the sink. This could be one of the easiest machines to clean that I’ve ever tried, and it’s all thanks to this removable contraption.

A power button and a plug-in are on the Intelia’s backside. That’s it.

The back side of the Intelia is simple and boring, really. All you’re met with is the power outlet and an on/off switch. The bottom of the Intelia is no different; the spill tray keeps left over water off your counter and has a floating orange indicator to tell you when to empty the tray.

The drip tray keeps all the leftover water from messing up your countertop. Unfortunately, the stainless steel top scratches very easily.

As it turns out, the Intelia is as much about design as it is about consistency. There are only six buttons to press, ensuring the machine is easy to setup and use within seconds. Both the water reservoir and the used grinds compartment are seamlessly built into the Intelia’s body, as is the wonderfully easy-to-clean brewing contraption inside the Intelia. I appreciate how such a powerful, advanced machine has no superfluous features hanging off its sides.

How it Works

I left the Intelia’s topside for the How it Works section because this is where the Intelia’s magic begins.

The machine’s first steps are to clean itself before getting to the nitty gritty. There is a cleaning process before the Intelia enters standby mode and there is a cleaning process after the Intelia exits standby mode. This ensures only fresh water is used for your cup of coffee.

First, you hit the power button. The Intelia has many features packed into it, and the first is the Intelia’s self-cleaning system. Pressing the power button pushes the Intelia into ridding itself of leftover, stale water caught in the machine’s veins. While it ejects the bad water, the Intelia also uses its quick heat boiler to rapidly pull water from the reservoir and prepare it for brewing. I still question how I can pour cold water from the faucet into the reservoir to having boiling water only 30 seconds later. It’s remarkably quick.

Unlike the water reservoir and used grinds compartment, the grinder up top has plenty of space and holds a substantial amount of beans.

Once the machine is ready to go, it’s time to dump your favorite beans into the Intelia’s top bean grinder.

The first thing I did after removing the machine from the box was remove the safety guard in the grinder. The guard causes the grinder to clog up and it takes up a lot of space. Proceed at your own caution, but I just make sure I don’t have my hands anywhere near the grinder when I push the button.

Out of the box, the Intelia has a hard plastic safety guard screwed into the grinder that both clogs the grinder and takes up tons of space. The specialist I purchased the machine from recommended removing the safety guard and to re-screw in the bolt. There is a sensor inside that won’t let you brew unless the bolt is reapplied. It’s a workaround, and one that you have to do at your own risk, but it’s eliminated any issues I’ve had with the grinder and it eliminates many of the bad reviews you can find of the Intelia on Amazon.

The Intelia comes with an adjustable ceramic grinder that continues to impress me with each cup of coffee. From the Intelia’s product page:

Different coffee blends require different levels of granularity for the full flavor to unfold. The grind granularity of this espresso machine can be adjusted in 5 settings, from the finest grind, for a full bodied espresso, to the coarsest, for a lighter coffee.

Mine is set to the default medium grind, but as my taste buds evolve, I’m finding I like finer and finer grinds.

If you want a very specific grind that can come only from a dedicated grinder, you can insert the grinds directly into the chute on the front right. Just make sure you use the middle button on the right panel to cycle to the pre-ground option.

If the Intelia doesn’t have your grind of choice, you can pre-grind your own beans and insert your grinds directly into the tube beside the built-in grinder. Once you insert your own grinds, be sure to hit the button below the power button on the top panel to ensure the Intelia knows you are using your own grinds.

Beans are in or grinds are inserted? Good. Next, hit one of the two brewing buttons on the top left panel and you’re off to the races. That’s it. The Intelia roars to life and proceeds to grind your beans to the grind setting, funnel them into an espresso puck where boiled water is pushed through and into your cup below. The grind is fairly noisy and generally wakes my wife up first thing in the morning. You can help quiet some of the sound by putting the lid on top of the grinder (this is also a nice safety precaution seeing as we’ve removed the actual safety guard). Once the brew process is complete, the puck is jettisoned into the grinds compartment. And your taste buds can enjoy the most consistent cup of coffee ever.

If you have company over, brewing two cups of coffee is as simple as pressing the brew button twice. The machine goes through the grind and brew process twice on its own. Press the button twice and walk away. It’s that easy.

On the left, you can see how the Intelia brews two cups of coffee at once. The spouts are positioned fairly close together, so you have to make sure the cups are aligned properly to avoid losing coffee brewing into the drip tray.

Do you need to brew two cups of coffee for yourself and a guest? Easy. Place a cup under each spout and press the brew button twice. The Intelia goes through the brewing method twice on its own — first, a grind, second, a brew, and third, jettisoning the puck. Wash, rinse, repeat.

You can take things one step further: both brew buttons are customizable. It’s very easy to follow the manual to precisely set how much water you want pushed through the grind puck. On my Intelia, the top brew button is set for a quick shot of espresso — perfect for a cappuccino — and the middle button is set for a standard 8 oz. cup of coffee.

I wish you could see the look on my face as I write about the Intelia’s incredibly easy process. I love how I can roll out of bed, wander aimlessly across the house, and hit a single button for a perfectly consistent cup of coffee. It’s the same routine every morning. Hit the button and guzzle the cup of coffee. Then, depending on how tired I am, maybe I hit the button a second time.

It’s so easy, a non-coffee-aficionado like me can do it.

Consistency at its Core

The Intelia’s raison d’être is not ease of use, but consistency. Each process and feature built into the machine is designed to ensure each cup of coffee is identical.

As mentioned, the Intelia’s greatest asset working towards a consistent cup of coffee are its self-cleaning processes.

And to me, the Intelia’s consistency begins and ends with the self-cleaning process. As mentioned, the Intelia turns on and ejects stale, unused water from the prior brew. It also makes sure to enter standby mode (all on its own, might I add) by pulling a little water from the reservoir to clean the system. This might explain why the Intelia goes through so many water refills, but it ensures no silty water is left in the system during standby mode. The Intelia’s lines never get clogged up and only fresh water is used to brew.

It goes a step further in the decalcifying process. After so and so many brews, the Intelia notifies you of the need to enter the decalcifying process. Simply dump in some decalcifying solution (I use half of a Keurig 2.0 descaling solution because it’s what is available at the store; the manual recommends you use actual Saeco solution, which is far more money and less readily available), hit the button, and let the Intelia clean itself.

This is where the Intelia’s fundamental consistency is found. The machine is always clean. If it’s not, it asks to be cleaned. Just a little maintenance every month ensures the machine works just like its first day out of the box, which in turn ensures a consistently smooth cup of coffee.

Drawback: Price

Aside from the small reservoirs I complained about earlier, there is only one other aspect worthy of complaint: price.

The Intelia isn’t a cheap coffee machine. It’s an $800 premium coffee machine. I can imagine this price tag would cause at least a few eyebrows to raise.

But it isn’t very hard to justify such a price tag after a little thought and consideration.

 

Here in Canada, the de facto coffee option is a “double-double” (two cream, two sugars) from Tim Hortons. Tim’s hasn’t succeeded south of the border, but every little community north of the border has its own Tim Hortons brimming with coffee drinkers. A large double-double runs you $2, and I know many people who purchase a $2 double-double each day. If, like me, you have to have your cup of coffee each morning, it would only take just over a year for the Intelia to pay for itself.

And the kicker is the fact the Intelia’s brew wipes the floor with a double-double.

Consider also the lifetime of a machine like the Intelia. My boss has a Saeco machine of his own that has brewed cups of coffee for well over six years. In comparison, my wife and I purchased a Keurig machine and it kicked the bucket about a year later.

Right off the top, $800 is a tough pill to swallow. But when you consider how expensive coffee can cost with daily trips to Starbucks (or Tim Hortons) and when you consider the durability of a premium machine, that $800 starts to look like a bargain.

Conclusion

I have an abnormal love for my Saeco Intelia. I’ve reviewed many things on Tools & Toys over the last year and a half, but none of those products surpass the Intelia in terms of quality and ease of use. The Intelia is the beginning of my day, and without it, I’m not sure what kind of Josh walks out the front door for the office.

I have to acknowledge the price a third time though. You can’t just shrug off the $800 price tag, as this is, at best, a luxury-like product; you can get perfectly fine coffee at the local coffee shop or from less expensive machines.

Yeah, it’s an expensive coffee machine. Maybe I’m spoiled. Regardless, I love the Intelia. It’s easily my favorite kitchen appliance and I’d buy another one if mine ever brewed its last cup.

What does $800 buy you? It buys you the most consistent cup of coffee I’ve ever come across. It’s the exact same thing, each and every morning. $800 also buys you a long life with appropriate maintenance, extra capabilities like the trusty pannarelo, incredible one-button-press ease of use, and a wide range of grinds, brew strengths, and customization.

I gulped a big gulp when swiping the card for the Philips Saeco Intelia. I wasn’t sure if I’d be looking at a wonderful morning routine, or the largest lemon in my kitchen.

Instead, I now gulp down an incredible cup of coffee each and every morning.

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It’s not the caffeine, it’s the routine.

To say that my morning coffee is mission-critical is to understate its importance. Like many many of us, my process is specific: freshly ground beans of my favorite roast from our local co-op, brewed in an Aeropress whenever I get the chance. For years, I’ve had my morning coffee in a travel mug by Contigo. They are quality products that keep coffee warm enough to enjoy for several hours. Just never quite enough hours. And it’s terribly unfortunate when I reach for a soothing sip of coffee during the class I teach in the hour before lunch (seventh graders, who’ve just come from P.E.) only to find it tepid. Sometimes, on a busy day, there might even be half a mug left after lunch. What then? Cold coffee, that’s what.

Enter the Zojirushi.

The Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug is a premium mug capable of keeping your drink warm (or cold) for hours on end. In my experience, the Zojirushi almost does its job too well.

On a recommendation from a friend, with these very limitations of the Contigo in mind, I picked up the 16oz version¹ of the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug (SM-SA48-BA). Though the name and model number don’t necessarily scream “style,” my motivations were for function first. So, how did the new mug perform?

Too well.

That’s right. The Zojirushi was so good at keeping the coffee hot for extended periods of time, that it was in fact too hot for too long. This marks the first time I’ve criticized a product for doing its stated job too well. An hour after pouring the coffee from our daily-driver drip coffee maker, it was still hot enough to burn my mouth. Two hours later, I could stand it, but it certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience, and by that fourth period class of seventh graders, I could’ve enjoyed the coffee at a “fresh out of the pot and into a standard mug” temperature, but by then my tastebuds, mouth, and back of my throat were so scalded that I could hardly appreciate the flavor. After lunch, and well into the afternoon, the coffee stayed hot, and even at the end of the day the Zojirushi held a temperature similar to the Contigo at 10:00am.

Wow.

This model comes in a matte black finish, but you can pick up a Zojirushi in a variety of colors.

Of course, my students had a ready answer, though I’m pretty sure a few of them delighted in seeing me scald myself repeatedly (I mean, what teenager doesn’t appreciate a little teacher torture once in a while?). Their solution was simple: add a couple ice cubes when pouring the coffee in the morning. If the mug was so good at holding heat, the drop in temperature shouldn’t be enough to set it back to Contigo levels. The coffee would still be plenty hot pre-lunch, perfectly tolerable post-lunch, and enjoyable into the afternoon as well — should I make it that far without drinking it all.

The coffee snob in me, indignant at diluting my precious morning beverage with ice-cubes, resisted the idea at first, but when it became clear that my students had by far the most practical temperature management strategy, and after I had spent a few more stubborn days mouth-burned and irritable, I gave it a try. Turns out that with a couple of normal sized ice cubes from the in-fridge ice maker, one can bring the temperature down enough to drink pleasantly throughout a whole morning and, if the mug stays closed, the whole day. Also, if the method diluted the coffee, I couldn’t perceive it.

Mark that as a win for my students. And a win for the Zojirushi.

The lock on the side of the mug keeps liquids in and away from your car’s cloth or leather seats. Too often mugs slightly leak, making this lock a well-executed necessity for the Zojirushi.

I chose the mug to keep my coffee hot. It keeps it really hot. The remaining design details round out the experience. The matte black finish looks nice and hides water spots. There’s a simple lock at one side of the cap that keeps the beverage inside, and has protected the upholstery of my car multiple times after the mug tips over in the seat next to me or in the bag that I use to carry my lunch. The lid mechanism opens every time — no fiddling with the button is necessary — and closes with a satisfying (but not annoying if you open and close it dozens of times in a quiet classroom) click. While open, the lid flips back to sit parallel with the spout and rotates a bit further into a notch that keeps the rubber stopper far enough away from your face that you don’t end up with a droplet of coffee on your nose (which does happen, by the way, if you haven’t discovered this feature).

The Zojirushi’s spout is unique looking, works well, and is comfortable to drink from. The only issue with the spout is its size — you won’t be able to quickly pour from the Zojirushi to a secondary cup. Any beverages inside the Zojirushi are best drank from the Zojirushi rather than transported by the Zojirushi.

The spout itself is wide and comfortable to drink from. If you’re thinking the Zojirushi would make a good thermos which you could use to pour into a regular mug, the opening in the bottom of the spout just isn’t large enough to pour very quickly (my guess is that this design detail is intentional to avoid actual burns if the contents are as hot as ,say, boiling water used to make tea or an Aeropress cup of coffee).

Lastly is the price. For about two-thirds the amount of money, Costco sells a 2-pack of the Contigo. Whether this means the Zojirushi is too expensive depends on what you’re hiring it to do. If you’re just looking for a vessel that won’t spill and keeps coffee nice and warm for a couple of hours because you’ll have it empty by then anyway, the Contigo is probably a better bet and certainly a better value.

The Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug is a premium mug with a premium price. You can pick up multiple Contigo mugs for the price of one Zojirushi. However, if you need to keep liquids hot for as long as possible, there may not be a better mug than the Zojirushi.

However, if the task is to keep that morning coffee as hot as possible for as long as possible, the Zojirushi seems almost like black magic to the point that a sip out of it, say, 20 minutes after pouring seems hotter than a cup poured straight into a ceramic mug on a weekend. How? I’m not quite sure, but it’s hard to complain when the product seems almost to defy logic in performing its intended function.

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A while back, the folks at 3sixteen teamed up with their friends at Teranishi to produce this travel coffee case, hand-cut and sewn from 4oz. Horween chromexcel and sporting brass hardware.

Originally, it included a kit of travel-ready coffee gear such as an AeroPress and a Porlex Mini grinder. Now it is simply sold as a case alone. Even so, it’s a pretty great bag for anyone considering putting together a travel coffee kit of their own. In addition to an AeroPress and hand grinder, it can fit a bag of coffee beans and a portable kitchen scale. Two interior leather dividers help keep things organized.

The case comes in two colors: “Natural” (pictured above) and “Havana” (pictured below).

Each bag is $200 at 3sixteen.

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This morning, the Apple Watch embargo lifted and the in-depth reviews have already started pouring in.

We and our fellow Apple nerds have a lot of reading ahead of us, so here at Tools & Toys we figured, why not put together a list of our favorite AeroPress coffee-brewing recipes and other related miscellany? By the twentieth reading of the word fluoroelastomer you’ll be glad you were caffeinated enough to push through.

Just be careful about trying all the recipes at once. Our goal isn’t necessarily to have you seeing in new colors or vibrating into higher dimensions. Pace yourself and enjoy in moderation.

Brewing Equipment

Before we get started, here’s what you’ll need for brewing:

• An AeroPress, of course. We love this brewer because it’s simple to use and easy to clean.
• Fresh coffee beans. We recommend starting up a Blue Bottle Coffee subscription to continually have fresh beans delivered right to your door.
• A coffee grinder. If you don’t know which one to pick, you can’t go wrong with the Baratza Encore.
• A digital scale to weigh the beans and water. Luckily, as of this writing the Ozeri Touch 12 lb. Digital Scale is on sale for just $20 (down from $25).
• A gooseneck kettle for accurate water pouring.
• A timer of some sort. Here are some good suggestions for iPhone.
• And last but not least, a great coffee mug.

P.S. It never hurts to emotionally prep yourself with Adam Lisagor’s video tribute to the AeroPress:

Now, onto the recipes!

AeroPress’d Americano

Essentially a standard AeroPress brew, with some additional hot water at the end.

• 16g finely ground coffee
• Add 125 ml. of hot water (about 195°F.)
• Stir quickly, then slowly press the coffee — taking approximately 60 seconds for a total brew time
• After the coffee is made, add hot water to taste (about 100ml works for us.)
• Enjoy

Inverted AeroPress

This is how we prefer to brew most of the time.

Note: To brew a cup of coffee with the AeroPress inverted, place the rubber plunger into the top of the AeroPress until it’s even with the “4” circle. Then, set the AeroPress upside down so that what is now the “top” is where the filter and cap screw on.

• 15g of medium-grind coffee
• Begin a timer / stopwatch
• Quickly add 50 ml. of hot water (just off boiling)
• Let bloom (i.e. don’t touch it) until the timer says 45 seconds
• Add 200 ml. more of water (thus making a total of 250ml.).
• Stir, the add the filter cap and let sit until the timer says 90 seconds
• Flip over the AeroPress and press the coffee, finishing up by the time the timer reaches 2 minutes
• Enjoy

2012 World AeroPress Championship Recipe

A trusty favorite.

• 18g coarsely ground coffee
• Slowly add 225 ml. of hot water (just off boiling)
• Stir, then slowly press the coffee, stopping the press as soon as you hear the “hiss”
• Enjoy

You can find more AeroPress Championship recipes here.

The “Just Add Water” Method

This is another “inverted”-style recipe, but less finnicky than the one above. The video was recorded by the guys at Tonx before they were acquired by Blue Bottle.

• 14g finely ground coffee
• Add 220g of hot water
• Start a timer for 1min 30sec
• Stir the coffee
• Flip AeroPress over, then press slowly and evenly into mug until you hear the “hiss”
• Enjoy

Jeremy’s Winning AeroPress Recipe

Jeremy Moore, founder of Bonlife Coffee, won the 2014 U.S. AeroPress Championship with this recipe.

• 17g of coffee, ground mid-fine (during the competition, Jeremy used Peru Cecovasa from Stumptown Coffee Roasters)
• Pour 260 grams of 202°F water slowly over coffee in a circular motion, taking approximately 46 seconds
• Stir once
• Place plunger onto AeroPress and let brew for another 47 seconds (don’t push just yet)
• Plunge slowly for 48 seconds
• Enjoy

Verve Coffee Roasters Method

Another simple inverted brew.

• 14g of coffee, ground a little finer than drip
• Add 200g of hot water (as the video says, pour “viciously” to really mix everything up)
• Give the mixture a good stir
• Cap the AeroPress, then leave it for one minute
• Flip AeroPress and plunge for anywhere between 15 to 30 seconds, and as always, stop when you hear the “hiss”
• Enjoy

Heart Roasters Method

View this recipe as a nicely-formatted PDF here.

• 18 grams of coffee, ground a bit finer than filter drip
• Start timer and pour 270g of hot water (between 200°F and 205°F)
• Pull water off of the boil, and wait 45 seconds to a minute, or until the water is 200-205 degrees Fahrenheit
• Stir coffee, then place plunger in just enough to seal the top (which prevents the “bleed-through” issue people tend to have with non-inverted methods, where some of the coffee drips into the mug before you’re ready to plunge)
• At 50 seconds, remove the plunger, and stir for five seconds. Then place the plunger back onto the AeroPress (again, to prevent any bleed-through)
• At about 1 minute 45 seconds, remove plunger again and stir for another five seconds
• Place the plunger and slowly push down for about 20 seconds, until you hear the “hiss”
• Enjoy

Let’s assume you’re interested in brewing awesome coffee on a regular basis.

Making great coffee from home is almost entirely a matter of having decent gear, fresh beans, and a recipe.

The bulk of this guide focuses on the gear. But first let’s take a quick look at where to find fresh beans and good recipes.

• Fresh coffee beans: Coffee beans are at their freshest within the first 2 weeks of being roasted. If there is a local coffee roaster in your town, your best bet is to buy about a week’s worth of freshly-roasted beans from them. Here in Kansas City there are several excellent local roasters, and when getting beans I always just ask what’s been roasted most recently.

If you don’t have anywhere local to go for beans, there are many places you can order online. I’d start up a subscription with Blue Bottle Coffee (formerly Tonx) since their entire business model is focused on shipping you coffee beans as soon as they’ve been roasted.

I keep my coffee beans in a 64-oz. Airscape coffee canister. The Airscape has an adjustable internal “plug” that you press all the way down until it’s flush against the top of the coffee beans. This forces out most of the excess air and helps keeps your beans fresher, longer.

• Coffee Recipes: There are a plethora of great recipes at brewmethods.com. Start there, find a recipe you like, and make small variants on it if needed.

Recommended Coffee Gear

If you just want to make a good cup of coffee every morning without going nuts about gear, then I recommend these two starting basics: a good burr grinder and simple coffee maker.

• A good conical burr grinder: In my kitchen is the Bodum Bistro. It’s an attractive and inexpensive conical burr grinder that uses a clear glass catcher for the grinds.

The reason you want a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder is because the former will produce a consistent grind without damaging your coffee beans. Blade grinders don’t actually grind your coffee beans, they chop them and give you a combination of tiny dust specks, medium bits, and larger chunks all in there together. Brewing this jambalaya of coffee grounds means some of the coffee will get grossly over-brewed while some of it will be under-brewed.

A good burr grinder is arguably the most important piece of gear to start your home coffee brewing adventures off on the right foot. I’d get the Bodum Bistro or the Baratza Encore. These are the best of the inexpensive conical burr grinders, and you really don’t want anything less.

If you’ve got an extra $100 to spend, the Baratza Virtuoso is a good upgrade. It has nicer burrs, more settings for adjusting the grind of your coffee, and grinds at a slower speed than the Encore or Bistro.

• A simple coffee maker: For anyone just starting out with brewing coffee from home, I highly recommend the AeroPress. It’s inexpensive ($25) and extremely versatile. You can use fine or coarse grinds, and brew it right-side-up or inverted, for all sorts of combinations of different types of brews. Also, the AeroPress is extremely easy to clean up.

Other Awesome Coffee Makers

• Clever Dripper: This coffee maker can brew up to 500ml (17 oz) of liquid. You fill it up, let it sit for a few minutes, then set it on top of your mug and the coffee filters through. It’s great for making coffee when the AeroPress’ 250ml capacity isn’t enough.

• Hario V60: If you’ve ever been to a coffee shop that does pour-over coffee, this is probably what they use. It makes a delicious cup of coffee and cleanup is a piece of cake.

• Espro Press: Hands down this is the best version of a French Press pot there is. The Espro Press has a double-walled steel canister to keep your coffee hot, and it uses a micro double-filter basket to help keep coffee dust out of your coffee after brewing. It makes for a delicious, full-bodied cup of coffee without the “grit” common to standard french presses. I have the large Espro Press, which can brew up to 1,000 ml of coffee. It’s my go-to brewer when guests are over.

• Chemex: Another type of pour-over method (just like the V60 above), but with much larger capacity. If you regularly brew more than a single cup of coffee at a time, then I would get a Chemex with filters.

• Siphon Vacuum Pot: Now we’re just having fun. My siphon was a gift that I keep in the cupboard and pull it out on special occasions. It makes a full-bodied cup of coffee like any of the above full-emersion methods but with a brighter taste. Not only is the coffee from the siphon delicious, it’s the most “dangerous” and exciting to brew. Make sure you get a butane mini burner and a can of butane fuel.

The Rest of Your Arsenal

• Electric Gooseneck Kettle: You’re going to have to boil your water somehow, and a variable-temp electric kettle is the most convenient way to do so.

This variable-temp electric gooseneck kettle is the best of both worlds. For any of the pour-over coffees, and even for the AeroPress, a gooseneck kettle is designed to make it easier and more consistent to pour your hot water over your coffee. Since the water is pushed out from the bottom of the kettle, rather than sloshed out from the top, you have a more controlled, consistent pour.

• Kitchen Scale: Now that you’ve got the right gear and freshly roasted beans, making an awesome cup of coffee is just a matter of science. A simple kitchen scale lets you weigh the right amount of coffee and add the right amount of water every time for great coffee every day. Not to mention a scale can be used for much more than to weigh your coffee and your water.

• Airscape Canister: As mentioned above, coffee beans stay fresh for longer when they’re in a cool, dry, dark place with no oxygen. The Airscape vault fights off all these enemies to fresh coffee.

• Double-Walled glass mugs: The double-walled construction of these delicate mugs work wonders to insulate your coffee and keep it hotter for longer. Hot coffee has been known to make your morning better and your day a little bit brighter. And between you and me, that’s something we could all use more of.