Aerobie is the company of Aeropress, with their name founded in 1984, manufacturing high-performance sports toys (such as the Aerobie Pro flying ring) while Aeropress is the coffee making machine invented and released in 2005 by the same company.
Aeropress is a huge success and is supplied to more than 80 countries worldwide. While, the Aerobie sport line was sold in 2017, and the company became Aeropress, Inc.
In this article, we will look a little closer at the history behind Aerobie, and how they came to make the Aeropress.
What is the History of the Aerobie Aeropress?
Alan Adler – an independent inventor and retired Stanford University engineering instructor – invented the Aerobie flying ring and the Aeropress coffee maker.
From a very young age, the inventor was a fan of sailing and wanted to design sailboats which led him to gain excellent knowledge on Aerodynamics. Utilizing his understanding, he invented the Aerobie flying ring in 1984, which made a world record in the Guinness book of world records for the farthest object thrown by the human hand at that time (1333 feet in 1985).
Aeropress came much later with Elan’s frustration to not getting at least one cup of good coffee out of a small domestic coffee brewer in 2005. Elan began his study on Aeropress in 2004.
How did Alan Adler make an Aeropress Coffee Maker?
While working as an amateur astronomer, Alan Adler had got a bigger problem to find a solution to – to make a good cup of coffee. So he had to go to work on this. He noticed and quickly understood the long brew times were the main issue.
He used his knowledge of Aerodynamics and came up with the idea of pressure. After doing a little research on the French press and espresso process, he came up with a unique design that can extract the coffee into a mug in just 10 to 15 seconds at a fraction of the price.
When Did AeroPress Get Popular?
Although Aeropress was invented and released in 2005, it was not popular until 2008.
In the broadest coffee industry, a company created a machine called “Clover.” The device became very influential in 2006 and 2007 as it encouraged cafes to brew different coffees by the cup, offering a diverse menu of coffees.
However, in 2008, clover was sold to Starbucks, which led people to look for other single-cup brewers, particularly AeroPress. Aeropress is an antithesis of a pour-over which makes it exciting and a desire to homebrews. There are not many unique techniques and are simply used. That’s the thing people love about it.
Aeropress is a high level of people satisfaction. Once they use it a couple of times, they fall in love with the process, especially if Aeropress is their first single-cup coffee brewer, which is really compelling and interesting.
Is There a Change in the Design of the Aeropress Coffee Maker Since its Inception?
The design of Aeropress is almost the same from the last decade and so. However, few changes have been made over time. There are eight versions of Aeropress released to date from 2005.
The initial version was made from polycarbonates for about 4 years – a material built from BPA. Due to the release of BPA health concerns, in August 2009, production switched to the copolyester. The company did claim to run tests and reported leaching of BPA into the coffee; people were still concerned, which gave the company no choice but to switch.
The design of the front of the chamber did change a little bit over the years. The first design though looked weird but was beautiful. The first run where there are different-sized bubbles for the numbering was shifted to “1, 2, 3, and 4” to give you a rough idea of how much water to put in.
In the older versions, all of the numberings used to be in “Golden” and “blue” colors, But the modern version has this color red.
How Does an Aeropress Coffee Maker Work?
You are provided with the “How to use” guide in the box, which clearly explains the use of Aeropress. Here, we have broken down the steps to brew coffee with Aeropress:
- Push the plunger out of the chamber.
- Put the filter in the filter cap.
- Twist the lid onto the chamber.
- Put the filter cap on the chamber and Stand it on top of a sturdy mug.
- Put one rounded scoop of fine drip grind coffee into the Aeropress chamber.
- Shake Aeropress to the level coffee in the chamber.
- Add water heated to 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius for hot brewing) to the number one on the chamber.
- Stir for about 10-15 seconds for hot brewing.
- Place the plunger and press gently until the plunger reaches the grounds.
- Pause the plunger whenever you feel resistance.
- Having plunged all the way, remove the filter cap, push the plunger to eject used coffee, and rinse the seal.
Why has Elan Recommended 80 Degrees Temperature of the Water When Using the Aeropress?
The brew temperature suggested on the Aeropress guide instructions is 80 degrees, far less than most people recommend. Alan, the inventor, truly believed that it is the key to getting great coffee out of Aeropress, for which he fought tooth and nail since its inception.
What makes Elan’s Aeropress coffee maker invention a smart one?
The Aeropress coffee maker allows you to roast your coffee in many different ways with almost infinite possibilities.
Elan created a brewer that is a hybrid of immersion and percolation, which lets you take all of the individual components of a brewing recipe, dose, amount of water, brew temperature, brew time, agitation, even pressure, and play with them individually. This thing is compelling for a massive amount of people around the globe.
Elan’s Aeropress invention is very cheap, lightweight, almost impossible to break, travels very quickly – all these qualities make it a compelling offering all around the world.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.