"The end result? A surprisingly robust and rapid cup of coffee with no bitterness (perhaps because of the short brewing time?). Absolutely ideal for the workplace too."
Fresh Magazine - Feb '07

"There's something exceptionally satisfying about the process that almost makes you want to wear red braces again and declare that lunch is for wimps. The Aeropress certainly isn't. Fab kit."
Financial Times: Technopolis - Oct '06

First of all, the delivery on this item was extremely fast (the day after I ordered), so many thanks to Firebox for their speedy service! Secondly, and probably most importantly - I am a huge coffee lover, so getting a decent brew is of paramount importance in my daily routine. I was browsing the site when I noticed this odd contraption. I was a little skeptical at first, but I read some reviews and decided to take the plunge - in the most literal sense! I'd like to say that both preparing to use the Aeropress, and the resulting clean-up is considerably faster than the aftermath of using traditional drip-machines or cappucino makers. And also, much faster. It honestly makes superb coffee - and in my opinion, better than is currently on offer in the 'big brand' coffee shops. I now no longer waste £2-5 per day on coffee from these stores (hey, I need my fix!). To make a (large) cappucino - at the same quality as what you buy in the stores - simply follow these instructions: 1) Buy some decent ground coffee (Illy is a good choice, as is very smooth and balanced for most palettes) 2) Buy yourself an AeroLatte or similar hand-whisking device (the milk frothing takes as little as 10 seconds with these electronic wonders!) 3) Get yourself a large mug! 4) Boil the kettle, and leave it for between 2-3 minutes to cool to around 80 degrees, the optimal temperature to prevent too much scalding of the ground coffee (which will completely ruin the flavour, so no pouring off the boil!) 5) Place a paper AeroPress filter into the small, black filter cap and attach to the bottom of the larger, transparent tube. 6) Fill a measuring jug up to 1/4 litre (or less, depending on mug size!) with semi-skimmed milk, or skimmed for a skinny drink, and pop it in the microwave for between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. 7) Place this tube on top of your mug and pour hot water in up to the desired level (3 is good for a cappucino, between 1-2 for a milky latte) 8) Stir for 10 seconds or so with the high-tech super-plastic stirring implement, then gently press the plunger down into the tube, taking care not to force it, until it reaches the bottom. 9) When the plunger reaches the bottom (and wont budge any further), take the whole unit off the mug and put to one side for rinsing. 10) Take the milk from the microwave, grab a spoon and skim off the 'skin' from the top of the milk (this will happen in most cases, so make sure you do this otherwise you'll have some rather unpleasant 'gunk' floating in your drink!) 11) whisk the milk for between 10-20 seconds to create a nice head of froth. 12) Carefully pour in the milk underneath the froth (hold a spoon over the spout of your measuring jug to hold the foam back), then when it's near the top, scrape in some of the foam to top-up the mug. 13) Take some chocloate sprinkles, and add them for the finishing touch! Cleaning up after yourself is so simple. You can usually do it as-you-go. I've also bought a handy plastic food container to hold all of the gear (including the measuring jug), so you don't have various bits and pieces getting lost! If you love coffee - then this device is an absolute must, as it will give you a store-quality (and better!) coffee, for a mere fraction of the price. TIPS: - I buy boxes of UHT milk, which is just as nice as fresh milk, and comes with the added bonus of not requiring chilling (the milk is going to be heated in any case) - When you buy ground coffee, try and go for ones in tins - the airtight seals on the lids help to keep the coffee fresher, for longer. But bear in mind that once you pop the lid - you should try and use the coffee within a week for maximum freshness. - If you want to put all of your AeroPress stuff in one place, grab a plastic food container large enough for everything, and also keep inside a spoon, tub of drinking chocolate (for sprinkles), spare filters, and a measuring jug. It's useful to keep everything together. - I mentioned before, don't use boiling water in the AeroPress - you will burn and ruin your ground coffee! Leave the kettle off the boil for a few minutes before pouring, most of your heat will come from the milk. I hope this has been helpful to some of you. I've since bought a second one for home as well, so the coffee delights can continue outside of the office!
Andy, Greenhithe, Kent - Oct '09

Just a quick post to say, I ordered this yesterday lunchtime and it arrived at 9. 30 this morning, fast as always. I haven't had a chance to open the product yet as it's a present for someone else, but I'm looking forward to a quality cuppa once it's opened. Thanks again Firebox!
Oliver, Northampton - Aug '09

Great product, saves me £10 a week on high street coffee. I microwave half a mug of milk, whisk with an aerolatte, use a good coffee such as Illy and aeropress it over the milk, stir and enjoy! Just off to buy the fake take away coffee mug off of Firebox for the complete DIY takeaway coffee experience. Lattetastic.
Stu, Exeter UK - Feb '09

I bought this as a 'new toy', and wasn't expecting great results from it. I was very wrong. It beats the pants off my cafetiere, my Tassimo and my big clunky filter machine. There's practically zero cleaning, complete control over the capacity and strength, it fits in my briefcase, and it takes seconds to use. Now I just need to get myself some of that there Weasel coffee....
Wes, Glasgow - Nov '08

Epic bit of kit, takes literally 2 minutes from reading the instructions to pouring. The coffee's a lot smoother and cleanup is practically non-existent. Can't see myself buggering about with a French Press again anytime soon.
Will Pearson, Leicester - Oct '08

Don't leave home without it. It takes up very little room, and makes seriously good coffee with very little clean up so no more out of date instant sachets in corporate hotels that should know better for me. You could even take it camping or hiking, imagine the luxury of decent coffee half way up a mountain or in the middle of a muddy field, provided you take some way of heating the water of course, maybe one of those neat little portable gas stoves from Firebox.
Andrea, Hampshire - Aug '08

Got to admit, I was dubious.... . Before I tried the machine.... . MUCH better than more expensive machines, easy to store after use, takes, literally, 5 SECONDS to clean.... I bought a microwave milk frother from Amazon for getting the 'steamed' milk for Cappucino (how the hell do you spell that?) which cost approx £10, which works really well. You will NEVER by those cheap packet ones again! The coffee it makes is a good comparison to any of the retail chain coffee houses on the high street! So after about 20 or so coffees, it has paid for itself! The only problem now is, I wanted to cut down on my coffee intake... but now I'm seriously addicted! If there is one drawback, it is trying to find ways to get the correct temp for the water.... You can't just use boiling water, it has to be a lower temp to get the best results....
Richard Poynton, North Waled - Feb '07

I have tried every device known to man for making good coffee- the Aeropress knocks the socks off everything. The simple instructions told me a lot about where I was going wrong; I had my first really good coffee about 2 minutes after opening the box. The machine at work takes at least 10 minutes to do a barely passable coffee!
Bob Edwards, Pontarddulais, Wales - Feb '09

No relation (AFAIK) of Mark in Edinburgh, but we Macrae's like our coffee. I was looking for a cheap cafetiere to take to work, when I was given an Aeropress as a birthday gift. It's a fine bit of kit. The ease of cleaning is particularly nice. No glass to break, no metal filter to clean. I microwave milk for thirty seconds in the mug before pressing the coffee. I experimented with grind sizes and found adding a couple of spoons of coarse grind to a bag of fine makes it easier to depress the plunger.
Alastair Macrae, Glasgow, Scotland. - Jul '08

I love a cup of coffee, but the Starbucks in the deli at work was severely eating into my pay packet. So I bought an Aeropress, and didn't expect it to be any better than 'all right'. But, to echo all the reviews here it makes a fantastic cup! If you love to spend your day floating on a sea of caffeine then this is ideal. There really is no need to spend a penny more on a coffee maker. The only downside is that it does tend to resemble a device for the... how can I put it... Enlargement of one's member! It's caused a few comments to that effect from colleagues!!
Dan W, Bath, UK - Jul '07