It’s not just about speed, it’s about quality.

The search for that cup has filled my head with a lot of miscellany.  Information about coffee beans, grinding methods, the ideal temperature of extraction, and so much more. After going through a drip coffee machine and a french press, I have arrived at the Aeropress. Created by American inventor Alan Adler, it is like a large plastic syringe that makes outstanding coffee. This fits in great with the strategically lazy morning routine.

While it looks similar to a french press, it uses air pressure to extract two shots of powerful espresso. With a real espresso machine you need 9 bar of press, which is a lot, but the Aeropress produces excellent results comparable with a moka pot, which is a stovetop espresso maker. If you aren’t ready to spend hundreds of dollars on a legitimate espresso machine, go straight to the Aeropress. It costs about $25 on Amazon and produces far better coffee in 30 seconds than the Krups coffee machine you find in most kitchens.

One thing I noticed immediately was that I could taste the subtle differences between different beans for the first time. To improve taste, I got fresh Yunnan Province coffee beans which were harvested within the last 45 days, along with a Hario hand grinder. The hand grinder is important because it yields a more consistant grind and doesn’t heat up (burn) the beans like an electric grinder does.

8 Steps to 90 Second Coffee

1. Wake up and put water into an electric kettle, turn it on
2. When the water has boiled, turn the kettle off and set my watch timer
3. Grind a small handful of beans in the Hario grinder, looking at my watch
4. After one minute has passed, put the beans into the Aeropress, fill it 20% with water and stir
5. Slowly press the coffee by hand, which takes 20 seconds and produces two shots of espresso
6. Add water to make an Americano, add milk if you like
7. Eject the spent coffee “puck” into the trash and rinse the Aeropress
8. Enjoy