A number of readers have all recommended the Aerobie Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker as being wonderful on a boat. And while I’ve never used one, I wanted to pass on the recommendation as it looks like a great solution.
Over and over, I keep hearing the same five things:
- Great coffee or espresso
- No electricity
- Plastic, not glass
- Not expensive
- Doesn’t take a lot of water to clean
Okay, the disadvantages are that it’s a hands-on system and you have to make sure to have the filters (although I’ve heard of people cutting them out of paper towels or basket-style filters in an emergency). The other option is to get a special reusable stainless disk filter — reviews are mixed on this, with some people loving it and some not, basically because it does not filter out the finest particles and oil. It also takes additional water to clean. I’ve put the link to the stainless filter below so that if you are interested, you can read the reviews and see if it sounds like you’d like it (people I’ve talked to have been split between loving it and hating it, with few in the middle).
Further, the water has to be heated separately, so you’ll need a tea kettle both to contain spills and sloshing and to conserve fuel. And if you want to keep your coffee hot for a while, you’ll need a good Thermos in addition to the Aeropress.
The Aeropress is sold in most camping stores (not the camping department of Walmart, but stores such as REI), and numerous online stores. My price check has the lowest prices in general on Amazon, although sometimes there will be a sale elsewhere.
Using an Aeropress is a little more complicated than a cone-style drip coffeemaker, but not hard. The video below explains it well — on a boat, I’d suggest putting the mug and Aeropress into the sink so that if the boat moves, any spill is contained in the sink.
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Sarah Howerton Hanson on Facebook says
Just now drinking my aeropress cup for the day. It’s fantastic for the boat!
Roland Aubin on Facebook says
I have an Aeropress and it does make great coffee and espresso. Unfortunately I haven’t had much success making more than a single large mug of coffee at a time with it. My favorite boat coffee maker is the GSI 149475 Collapsible Drip Cone which uses standard #4 filters and can make anything from a single cup to a whole pot at a time. The GSI is less than an inch tall when you collapse it and best of all guests can operate it without much explanation.
Rachael Moran Hendricks on Facebook says
I love my Aeropress. Get one. Coffee is excellent. Downside is guests can’t use it and if filter isn’t perfect it can make a mess.
Nicola says
Carolyn,
We got a vacuum insulated stainless steel french press, and love it. When it’s chilly, like now, we boil water on our diesel heater so as to save propane on the stove. the stainless fits tighter than acrylic, so no grounds (we do course-grind the beans) and it stays hot!
Rick Osborne on Facebook says
I have one. I recommend them!
Charlotte says
We really like our hand held coffee bean grinder. It has an adjustable grind and works consistently well. It takes up little space on the boat and beans ground freshly are much better than ground coffee. Good workout too!
http://www.rei.com/search?query=coffee+grinder
Warren Reinhardt on Facebook says
Can you buy them on line.
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Yes, the link is in the article . . . or you can buy it on Amazon with this link: http://fave.co/10pACC8
Vicki Melchisedeck on Facebook says
I love mine. It makes the best home coffee I have ever tasted. I have been using it for over one year and have had only 2 filter misalignment messes. I stick a thermometer into the steam hole of my kettle in order to assure the optimum brewing temperature.
Warren Reinhardt on Facebook says
Great.
idarae says
i tried it &was not impressed. that tall cylinder of boiling water is a little unstable on a rolling boat & by the time you wait the 4 mins or so to push on the unstable cylinder, the coffee is not very hot. i tried, looked like a good idea, but didn’t do it for me. Prefer french press or stovetop espresso maker!
Glorianne says
I wish I had remembered that you wrote that “on a boat, I’d suggest putting the mug and Aeropress into the sink so that if the boat moves, any spill is contained in the sink.” Mine teetered on top of a thermos it didn’t fit in and fell over twice, making a mess.
Angie Morales says
I like mine for when we don’t have the use of our regular electric coffee maker. I have used this a few times and am pleased with the fresh flavor it brews. However, the clean up can be messy if you try to clean it in your sink, ours is a single deep one. I end up using more water to clean my hands from the coffee grounds. Concept is great, but I must have more “training” lol
Patti Holma says
We use a double walled stainless French press that serves approx 24 ounces just right for each of us to have 1 and 1/2 cups love it!
Lynn Kaak says
If it is the Thermos ones we have it, too. And they will send replacement screens!
Chris Bart says
I have been using my Aeropress for over 5 years…love it! Makes the best coffee and clean-up is easy.
Kristi Thomason says
We have used Aeropress for about a year now…LOVE it! (And we live aboard)
Ed Starboard says
Aero Press is so much easier to deal with aboard vs a french press. Much easier to dispose of the grounds and much less water use in clean up. We tossed the french press.
Lynn Kaak says
Still fond of our Thermos French press coffee maker. Keeps the coffee hot for a decent amount of time, it is stainless, they will send replacement filter screens, and we like the coffee!
Anne Ellingsen says
Sounds interesting
Mark Lawlor says
Use it almost every day .. and a hand grinder to boot.
Margie Tainter Hilburn says
We have one we take on overnight bicycle rides/touring. Easy to pack, as you said non breakable, all you need is your hot water!
Laura says
I really like ours. I boil water in an old percolator and then pour it into my AeroPress. I need to use a filter for each cup of coffee but I bought extras before we went cruising. Then disaster struck, so of course I had to post about it on our blog. http://knottycattales.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-happy-crew.html
Sarah Karo says
I love AeroPress coffees and their smooth, tea-like consistency. And so full of flavour each and every time.
Margot Maull Partridge says
My husband loves his – it went cruising with us last summer
Marge Cunningham says
My husband loves the aero press, says it’s the best cup of coffee.
Carolyn Goodlander says
Drip is good too.
David James says
I have bought one for the boat but I’ve been using it at home while the Nespresso unit stands idle . That is until we go back to the boat with our Aeropress :))
Paul Wyand says
Really good. But it does take some technique. I still prefer a good pour over but it is leagues ahead of french press.
tami says
imo Aeropress is best for situations like ours, where only one of the people aboard drinks coffee. If I had to make more than a cup or two, I’d go back to the big French press.
Don Longmire says
We use this on our boat. Make two presses into a thermos and good to go.
Heather Reimer says
We have one too. You can tailor each person’s desired strength, which is a bonus.
Peter Robertson says
Call me old fashioned, but my Asparagus steamer still makes a great cup o’ joe!
Chantal Nicole says
We sell these at my work. They’re quite amazing.
Kevin Baerg says
Love ours when on the hook! Keurig at the dock for pure ease.
Jim Allen says
Tea 🙂
The Boat Galley says
My stepmother prefers tea, too. Sorry, not my cuppa . . . (bad pun, I know)
Karen Griswold Horton says
Aero Press = silky smooth coffee; beats French press, Keurig & all Auto drip. Use my aero press every day!
Dave Skolnick says
I still will stick with my stainless steel percolator and Melitta perc filters.
Ed Starboard says
The aero press is excellent. Anyone who sees one in action, buys one!!!! Do not discount the ease of cleaning, using minimal water for cleanup is the biggest advantage on a small boat.
Anne Whiting Richardson says
I’ve been using the AeroPress for over a year and I bought an extra just so I don’t have to ever go without it. Annie in Turkey
Candace Thersby says
Have it. LUV IT!
Margie Tainter Hilburn says
We use ours for bicycle touring!
Tony Gariepy says
I love my Aeropress!! Made sure and bought the one in a bag so I can take it with me camping!
marie says
Using instructions from aeropress we make a liter of coffee in one press. We put 5-6 heaping spoonfuls of coffee in the device, and place the aeropress on our insulated coffee pot. Put in the boiling water, wait, press, and you have a very intensive coffee which you can then dilute to normal coffee. Fast easy and tastes great.
Marie Raney says
The aero press is our favorite in a long line of coffee makers on board. It takes almost no water to clean – substantially less than a French press with its curly spring that catches the coffee.
Multiple cups at once:
And it’s easy to make a liter at once, we put in 4 times the amount of coffee for one cup and drip the boiling water through. Then remove the coffee top part and dilute the espresso you’ve just made. We call this the espresso press!
Carafe:
Amazon carries several insulated carafes that you can press directly into from your aero press. Get a one
liter model and you can fill it in one espresso press.