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Comment by csours | Hacker News Reader

I would like to "hack" together a stainless steel AeroPress, at least the outer tube, I think the press is fine.

I don't know whether I've been pressing too hard or what, but I've noticed that my cylinder is expanding.

Mine has been stress-cracking from heat expansion and contraction. Definitely thinking of giving it up in favor of my glass french press.

You don't seem to be the only one:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AeroPress/comments/2r06e1/stress_fra...

I do think that contacting the company though might help.

Had mine for 3 years now. It's looking cracked/scratched, but still works just fine. Not bad for £25; I'll buy a new one in a heartbeat if/when it breaks.

If it's cracking your probably using water that's too hot. I've used mine almost daily for years with no issues at all.

Same here. I never use water over 180 degrees Farenheit and never put it in the dishwasher.

For most coffees you're going to want to be a little higher, around 198-203 degrees for proper extraction.

Very good choice to never place it in the dishwasher, it takes just a few seconds to clean and it lasts a lot longer

The standard recommendation for the Aeropress, including from Adler himself, is to use 175F water, much less hot than you'd use in other preparation methods.

In Seattle at least, there is near-universal consensus among every coffee shop I've been to using an Aeropress that 175 is much too low. Most go closer to 200.

What’s your definition of “proper”? You get a different flavor profile if you vary the water temperature. My favorite for single origin light roasts is very fine grind, not too much 170–180° water, and short steep time. It requires somewhat more beans to get strong coffee compared to a brew using more, hotter water and a long steep time, but the resulting cup of coffee is much tastier IMO.

I have an early one, use it a lot (near daily for years), no cracks (only issue is the rubber plunger head pops off often when removing). Those with problems, can you indicate which material it is? (BPA, BPA-free, translucent gray, big lettering on side, etc.)

If you leave it full of grounds for any length of time, it starts to corrode the interior of the tube (it starts to look 'scratched'). This can lead to seepage.

You also shouldn't store the plunger in the cylinder.

I've had mine 4 years, use it daily, hand-wash it, and never seen any stresses on the plastic.

That's a good point. If you wash it immediately after use, you can push the plunger all of the way into the cylinder (with the filter cap off) until it pops out the other end. It will spin freely and not put any pressure on the cylinder during storage. Then you can just rest it on top of the filter cap in a small dish and drop the accessories in the top. Of course, you can argue this adds unnecessary stress by doubling the number of plunges, but I haven't had any issues with it.

Even a Pyrex one would be interesting.

I'd prefer that to any sort of plastic, based on my own non-scientific but resilient worries about leeching chemicals.

Same. I've had my eye on the AeroPress for a long time and I'm very intrigued, but I can't get past the "hot water in plastic" thing. I'm sure there are at least ten other worse things I do every day, but ...

This might be the ticket: the reverse french press http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/10162

(I also like that it sounds like some sort of judo move.)

I've tried something like this before, and the coffee tasted weird, but I may have done something wrong.

It may have just been a matter of waiting longer.

Heh, that's the traditional way of making coffee. Eg Turkish, or how it's used to be made here in Norway:

* Put kettle on, bring water to boil (now, the rough frontiers-type pours in coffee right away, enjoying the bitter, ruined taste that comes from too high temperature)

* take off heat (the hipster adds a thermometer, the scientist adds a thermometer, and takes the time, notes down the time, and uses a stop watch for next brew session)

* add coffee (if not already added), let the mix sit for an appropriate amount of time

* Either a) pour coffee into a cup, pour back in kettle - let settle -- pour into cup (traditional bonefire way[1]) or b) pour over a strain (hipster way)

[1] http://gfx.nrk.no//AGRFaC3nrw7fFDP219oVYQ-one6GgfK_yq075cFJq...

That's so gloriously obvious I'm amazed I'd never come across the suggestion.

I would guess your grind is too fine. It shouldn't take an enormous amount of pressure.

It doesn't, I'm just impatient.

If you push too hard anyways it will shoot out the sides. I often use mine as a pour over container anyways because I find it tastes better.

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