Hello Aeropress friends! For some reason, I made my life 10x more difficult in expelling the puck. Usually, I just plunge it and for some reason had a brain fart here. Nonetheless, even if one is making it harder than necessary, it’s still quite easy! So points to the Aeropress for that.
I was going to say...if there was a reason to harass you (not that there is a valid, nor is this an excuse to), that puck removal would have been the reason. Beyond that, the Brewer is interesting, but I don't know if it's twice the price of Aeropress worth it.
The reason it's so hard to truly beat the Aeropress is how ridiculously simple it is. It's literally three parts plus a filter, and only one of them moves. Its incredible simplicity makes for an affordable and durable product. In theory, this product should make coffee that's just as good as an Aeropress due to working roughly the same way, but all the extra fiddly bits just can't compete with a literal tube and plunger. The Aeropress was designed to be as simple as possible, and I do believe the engineers have discovered the simplest possible mechanism for the desired output. Attempting to compete with the Aeropress is like reinventing the wheel; it's not gonna happen.
I agree for the most part. The simplicity and practicality of the aeropress is its biggest advantage for sure, but there are definitely variables that can be tinkered with. For instance, making a larger sized flat bottom brewer that can brew larger volumes of coffee would definitely compete with the aeropress in that area, but i still agree it would be difficult to make enough differences from the aeropress to justify it as anything other than just a larger version of an aeropress. Either that or a product would have to work around changing otherwise efficient aspects of the aeropress solely for the sake of making the brewer both larger and distinct from the aeropress.
@@grabble7605 But it isn't? The aeropress has 4 parts: the rubber seal, plunger, chamber and filter cap. French press has 5: a metal filter screen, spiral plate, plunger, lid and (usually a glass) carafe. The fully plastic build makes it much easier to clean, especially when you are trying to remove grounds from the filter plate. The brewing method is also different since the aeropress uses pressure as an extraction method, the use of a filter also changes the taste of the brew.
From the charging to the cleanup this really just feels needlessly complicated and overpriced. I like that they're trying something a little different but I feel like the result really doesn't justify the hassle and expense.
This was my takeaway too. Easy cleanup and convenience are important for a brewer you use everyday, and at almost triple the price of an aeropress it seems crazy to buy it if you'll only use it occasionally.
It feels like they're on stage one of trying to bring a new idea to life, and if it takes off, less expensive versions (as well as maybe easier to clean versions,) will see their way to market.
I think they know they're not selling millions of them like the aeropress. The price has to be there to recoup the designing efforts and low production volume
The drippage with the cold water is basically due to the fact that materials when cooled shrink and when heated expand. So with hot water the sealing is expanding and with cold water shrinking.
I also doubt how long this will last since plastic is well... Plastic - in the physics kinda plastic vs elastic. It doesn't fully bounce back every time it expands and over time it will just give in
The easier cleanup method is 1. Upon brewing completion, flip the press upside down 2. Once the coffee grounds are cool (or immediately if you need to brew again) unscrew the bottom but leave the paper filter on the coffee puck 3. Over the trash/compost bin fully depress the plunger to eject the coffee grounds
IIRC the Aeropress instructions say to expel the puck immediately after pressing the liquid out, before you even take a sip. You want to minimize the time the rubber end of the plunger stays squashed inside the cylinder, which makes it live longer.
Right! Also the inverted method is even better; de plunger is already in and the filter cap goes last. To put the plunger in over the hot coffee is nog so easy.
I have a fun hint to share with the Aeropress! The diameter of the paper disc filters that they use are exactly 2.5 inches. You can get a 2.5-inch circle paper punch made for scrapbooking, and punch out filters from whatever pourover filters you like, so long as they're packed flat! One punch gets you two filters, and with large pourover filters you can get as many as five total from a single filter, two punches in the middle, and one on an edge, to make a folded filter that you can unfold.
Awesome! I got the prismo attachment so I don’t use the paper ones anymore. I lost my metal disc to the prismo previously and had to go back to the normal paper ones. The prismo is so much better!
Hey Morgan! Two thoughts. First, on aeropress, push through the hiss. Then you can unscrew the bottom and push the whole puck into the trash. Second, I’d go syphon pot instead. Similar to this vacuum thing, but with physics, instead of a battery. Also easier clean up.
Yes, as my partner pointed out directly after, the push through method is even easier for clean up! I don’t know how I forgot to mention it. Totally fair about the siphon, although you do need a heat source/fire for those
@@knickly The cold brew idea is interesting, but a USB rechargeable pump seems like a bad idea to me. Personally, I find the automatic heat regulation of a traditional siphon pot to be a big benefit. You don't need a fancy kettle, since boiling water in it will automatically be at brew temp in the upper chamber. If I wanted a stove-free version, I'd do with one of the electric siphon pots
I also found it overcomplicated comparing to the Aeropress HOWEVER, as someone with chronic pain, who has no strength whatsoever on their pulses/hands, specially during the morning, I understand that the VacOne is very accessible while brewing I know accessibility is hardly mentioned by influencers while reviewing products, but many products you’ve shown, I’d have complaints about this specifically (mostly not ones you’ve recommended though so you’re good 😂) I still prefer a cloth filtered coffee 😂 so I don’t think I’m the right person to judge too
Yeah I feel your pain after a decade of renovating houses my hands and fingers ache constantly, I can’t imagine the pain of a barista tamping espresso all day. Part of that thought process has led me to inventing Squid 🦑 V1 for all of us espresso nuts out there 😉. I saw a Tweet from Morgan this morning and I didn’t understand it so came to YT to catch up and figure out what the big deal was but yeah I think I get it now. I guess the aeropress community is huuuuge 😆. I definitely own two but rarely use them. Should I bust out my aeropress 😂
I don’t think the Aeropress is particularly inaccessible. You can literally just rest your forearm on the press and lean forward slightly to let gravity do the rest, like the creator shows in his demonstrations. I have a torn ligament in my wrist and I have zero issues operating my Aeropress.
The slight dripping in the Aero-Press when beginning the brew always bugged me a little. That's why I prefer brewing with the inverted method. Also, the Aero-Press makes excellent iced coffee. Brew the coffee a bit stronger and press directly into a glass with ice.
The fellow prismo attachment prevents this. Absolutely love it. No more paper filters. Aeropress is my absolute favorite coffee device, makes great loose leaf tea and mate as well!
Morgan: "We're following instructions today." AeroPress instructions, from the trash can: "She's telling lies!" (Jokes, of course 🙂I imagine most of us AeroPress owners never use it according to its instructions.)
I'm a student , and after studying for the entire day I love taking a break while watching your video and enjoying coffee , I honestly wait for Friday's coz of your videos , Thank you so much for such chill content
Regarding the leak in the VacOne when cold-brewing, there's probably some tolerance built in to allow the rubber gasket to swell and seal properly with hot water. This doesn't happen when the water is cold.
Yes, it's exactly this. I was one of the kickstarter backers for this device when it was the FrankOne (I like VacOne much better xD) and I actually brought up the same thing with the manufacturer when mine showed up. Due to..you know, that, I was told that for cold brew there is an upper tolerance of ~10% of the water you can expect to drip through with a proper seal. Personally, I was losing a solid chunk more than 10% of the water during my 4 minute brews, but they sent me a replacement with no issues. :D
In photography there are those who concentrate on making the best photos with whatever gear they have. Then there are those whose main interest is the cool photography equipment they can acquire. There is nothing wrong with falling into either of these groups. Do what brings you joy. The same seems to exist in coffee. I think this brewer and others like the syphon are mostly for those who are “in it for the gear”. Again it’s perfectly fine either way, but it’s worth understanding your motivation
Hi Morgan! We really enjoyed your video and loved seeing you very happy with your freshly made Cold Brew on your hand! We have an answer for your question about the dripping ☝ The VacOne uses seals to maintain the Vacuum. These seals expand or retract with the temperature. So with colder temperatures it retracts a little bit, but like you said it is completely normal and it is taken into account for the end result to be good. We call it an "air brewer" because unlike the other brewer you show in the video where the force is applied mechanically through a plunger (the air in between the coffee and plunger doesn't necessarily need to be there for the machine to work). In the VacOne the force is applied directly by air, or lack thereof! The VacOne has an air pump which is fundamental for it's functioning, and opens up the possibility for using different grind sizes and brewing different cup profiles. It's a new class of brewing that hadn't been implemented in this particular way. Btw it is hispanic heritage month and since this is the only brewer that was designed in Latin America we will give you and your followers 20% off 😊 hope this helps your price concern. (Code ORIGIN) Also VacOne is designed to make a higher range of beverages, we recently developed a few concentrate recipes you can check out here: vacoffee.com/recipes. Check out the chilled coffee! Here are a few tips and tricks for cleaning also, hope it makes your experience more pleasant. vaccoffee.com/please-read Thank you again and love your content 🙌
I feel like the primary use case is wanting the texture of a siphon coffee in an iced format. I guess also a portable siphon hot coffee without using fire
As one of the kickstarter backers for this it's interesting to see someone finally review it. I'll say that the carafe is a bit crap (at least the one I have is) and while I still get a bit of drippage, I searched for ages to find a tighter fitting vessel...and ended up with a piece from a blender that fits it perfectly. I'll also mention that as per the instructions I received way back when it finally shipped, the easier/better way to "release the seal" after the coffee is done is to actually use the stir stick to just loosen the coffee bed. That will break the seal and you can easily pull the brewer up (and not have to worry about breaking the thin glass) I definitely clean the grounds out the same way, with the stick and then the bit of left over just goes in the drain. One other way I've brewed fairly successfully is essentially just doing a French press grind and waiting the usual 4 mins. I don't know if I'd say it was a super big difference in taste but the every now and then that I use this it's always pretty decent coffee. Grind size was the biggest hurdle for me to get something good out of it though. If I had to pay full price I don't think I would have gotten one.
Reminds me of the Clover. Remember when you could actually have on of those. Expensive. Also used to have them at coffee shops. Then Starbucks bought them. Used to see them at certain Starbucks but haven't seen them in years.
The real genius of the aeropress is that it requires no power aside from whatever you boiled water with. That could be an electric kettle, or it could be a portable butane stove.
My VacOne arrived this week (a Wirecutter rec), and I've been enjoying it. About as non-bitter as I've brewed at home and super-quick --- cold brew in 5 minutes is spot on. Also, I find it easy to clean up.
hot water expands metal, expanded constrained metal means slightly smaller holes, combined with grounds that swell rapidly with the hot water will also plug the smaller holes.
My best aero-press coffee method is to use a bit more coffee than normal, use full expresso grind. add 85-95C water, stir and then wait 10-20 seconds and plunge with extreme force.
I asume with hot water the coffee blooms faster to cloak the filter and with cold it sips. Maybe pre-wet and agitate cold water early. The cold brew is so faaast!
I still really like my aeropress. It's really nice w)the steel filter. I like the oils and it doesn't drip when I pour in the water. I was also able to 3d print a tamper that attaches to the scoop.
reminds me of a low tech Clover Machine (which makes an amazing cup of coffee). If you have a Clover near you, you should compare the taste. As far as cleaning, I would grab a large strainer, fill the VacOne with water, place the strainer over the filled VacOne and flip it over. Repeat as needed. I clean my French Press with this method. Have fun! no1ukn0
Inverted Aeropress method for the win! Now I'm a klutz, but I could probably count on one hand how many times I've knocked over an inverted Aeropress or have slipped during the press and I've been making my coffee with the Aeropress since early 2014. And I use it every day, usually about 2-6 times a day! Don't fear the inversion, haha!
The heat from the hot water will make the air in the carafe expand - both from the dripping and from the plastic, so it acts as a negation to the gravity and atmospheric pressure effects of the water above. It also makes the grounds expand, so there's resistance to movement from the top. Room temperature water will not cause any changes, except some slight swelling of the grounds
Aside from the relative unpleasantness of brewing hot things in plastic, I think that one of the reasons you got less drippage with hot water is because the heat makes the parts expand just slightly, potentially shrinking any gaps in the brewer. I don't know for sure, though, would have to take a closer look at the mechanism itself.
I think I would approach cleaning this like I clean my French press. I Put a bit of tap water in to rehydrate the grounds, then I agitate it well and pour out quickly to get almost all of the grounds out with the water. I pour it into a strainer (I usually use one of those drain covers to keep particles form going down the drain, but any strainer will do). I bet this would work well here.
My guess is the dripping when brewing cold coffee is due to the the expansion that happens when materials are subjected to heat. If you have ever made the mistake of filling a stailess steel mixing bowl with boiling water while it was sitting inside another bowl, you would see a great example of this, as the inner expands and becomes stuck in the other bowl and the only way to counteract this vacuum like effect if to submerge the bowls (or fill the top bowl) in cold water, allowing it to contract.
When it comes to the VacOne hot vs. cold water. I imagine it is the same principle in physics as how hot water refuses to move down the sink (when draining pasta/ect). It seems to have to do with suction and specifically creating a vacuum in the sink drain that does not allow hot water to drain (or makes hot water drain much more slowly). But it's not something I entirely understand and I'm sure a plumber could explain better!
I thnk in general the reason why some drops move to the bottom container is the difference of pressure between the bottom conatiner (1 atm at the start) and the weight of the water at the bottom of the top container holding the coffee. Once some water makes it down, since there is no way for the air to escape, a bit of pressure builds up, matching the pressure at the top container and not letting any more water drop until the pump is on. So I think that when the water is hot, once it makes it to the bottom container it heats up the air inside it, maing it expand a little and building up pressure faster, so it stops water from falling sooner that with cold water.
I think the reason you don't see drippage with hot water is that the heat causes the air in the lower chamber to expand a bit. I assume the hole(s) the coffee comes through are pretty small so that slight positive pressure in the chamber is enough to keep the liquid in the top. With the room temperature water, it's the same temperature as the air in the chamber, so there's no pressure in the bottom. I'm betting that, if you used iced water, you'd end up with a lot more drippage. You could try putting the jug in the freezer for a bit before using it, or putting ice in it and waiting for a minute or so before emptying it and brewing so the air starts cold and warms up a little during the brew process.
I pretty much brew like this with an Espro Press and chemex paper filter. I ditch the lid, put my plunger into the pitcher, pour my grounds into the plunger basket, pour water over, and PULL the plunger through the water after 3 minutes and occasional agitation. Incredibly clean cup and easier to cleanup because the grounds aren’t stuck at the bottom of a pitcher.
ooo, I had this as my first brewer for home. It was good and I was able to get started with tasting different coffee flavors. I then bought a chemex and the difference was significant and made me realize the VacOne made the coffee taste flatter. So now the Vac brewer sits in my pantry.
I know it's been a year since your comment but I wondered do you think the flavor would be better if you had let it sit longer than a minute before vacuuming the coffee? It seems like it doesn't let it "brew" long enough.
I have to disagree, especially after James Hoffmanns tests I’d rather skip the risk of making a huge mess as it doesn’t make a notable difference to the regular method.
@@123marijn321 There is no risk if you pre press it inverted. The inverted method really fits the aeropress philosophy of complete control over variables.
@@123marijn321 :James Hoffman isn’t wrong about much where coffee is concerned, but he was wrong about criticizing the inversion method with the Aeropress. With a modicum of care, James’s worse case scenario should never happen. And the final product is superior using the inversion technique, especially with longer brew times. JMHO ; )
@@markashlock9017 Everyone I know, including myself, has at one point made a huge mess while flipping the aeropress. It may be only once, but it's a huge mess and potentially dangerous.
@@markashlock9017 I am more capable of doing the inverted method than speedily inserting the plunger for the other direction. Have realized lengthier time with the plunger in for inverted does wear the silicone seal out faster.
I got one for Christmas and while it may not be the best thing ever made, it's really good for those days when I don't even want to bother with grinding and I still get an above average coffee. It's also really good for guests or recipes that call for a bit of coffee, and the cold brew option is actually really good with how quick it comes out.
I had the Kickstarter version of this brewer, the FrankOne (I think they ran into legal issues with the name hence the change) and I loved it! It finally died on me after a few years and unfortunately it seems like the manufacturer doesn’t support the Kickstarter version anymore. I am replacing it and hoping the little tweaks and quirks I came up with for brewing apply to the mass produced version.
For me the main advantages of an aeropress are it is very compact, and is made of durable plastic, this makes it great for taking with you while camping for example, or for keeping in a space limited apartment. The vac-one's glass jug would make me very hesitant to take this while traveling, and while it is smaller than a coffee machine, it's significantly larger than the aeropress. So I think I'll be sticking with the aeropress, the vac-one is certainly an interesting device though.
it would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison with the cuptimo brewer! Same concept, different implementation, cuptimo's seems more practical in my point of view
If anybody wants to just try out a French Press or you need a new screen for yours, I suggest going to a thrift or antique shop first. I've found four other presses with different features at thift shops for $20 total.
It seems like it brews similarly to how inverted aeropress method works, except you don't invert - just press the button. I burned my hands a couple of times inverting aeropress... I would like to try this machine... one day.
This seems so complicated and even needs charging as something like Hario Syphon also uses vacuum and seems much easier to use (okay, if you pre-heat the water and not only use the flame)
My guess on why cold water has leakage and hot water doesn't is the temperature contracting the metal of the filter, making the holes larger. Not sure, though!
Regarding the dripping differences: heat will make things expand, likely improving the sealing between surfaces since, at least at the start, things in direct contact with the hot water will heat and expand faster than the surrounding materials not in contact with the water itself. Room temp water obviously will not have any significant temperature gradient with the surrounding materials and therefore not result in any significant heat transfer or expansion.
The AeroPress method was quite different to James' method in his demo. Of note, to clean the puck out, he pulls back the plunger slightly, takes the bottom off which leaves the puck up in the sleeve, and the push the puck out over your grounds container which really _does_ pop the puck out:) Then just rinse the bottom and plunger. For some reason James says no need to clean the plunger or bottom. I do though.
For the drippage with the cool water, my guess is that the hot water causes some swelling in the grounds, especially the fines, that sort of "clog up" the filter and prevent the dripping.
4 minutes for cold?! I'd go with overnight or a couple of days in the fridge ;-) I do like the vacuum thing, but yeah, it's a little pricey for a one cup brewer. Probably fun to play around with occasionally, if you have an extra hundred bucks you don't need.
Interesting at 12:59 Could this "carbonated look" just be the coffee boiling? If the air-pressure above it really is a vacuum, the boiling point gets as low as 0°C (or 32°F). So if the coffee is still warm (say 65°C or 150°F), the air pressure just needs to get down to 0.25 bars (which is 1/4th of normal atmospheric pressure) to make water boil, a full 0.00 bar vacuum isn't even needed.
@@morgandrinkscoffee Awesome vid btw! It's the same effect as "potatoes take longer to cook in the mountains" (as water boils colder at lower air pressure, which is the case at high altitude)
I just looked up the phase diagram for water and there's No Way that dinky little motor is pulling enough vacuum to boil water. More likely it's residual carbon dioxide coming out of the grounds.
@@GeofreySanders how low do you think that motor would be able to get the pressure? To me, 0.25 bars seems fairly reasonable, and bear in mind that that is at 65°C, which is a very low estimate of the coffee temp right after brewing
@@william6171 Well, here's the point where more engineering experience would have helped me out. I have no intuition of pump capacity and should not stated things so strongly! But I have seen how fresh coffee foams up outgassing CO2 with no vacuum applied and I'm mostly reasoning from that angle.
From an immersion perspective, you can just use the AeroPress inverted method. You’ll get all the immersion you could ask for. Add a screen filter and you have French press without the mess.
It comes with a handy funnel… not anymore, the current ones don’t have the funnel, or the filter dispenser. The price hasn’t increased though, so I assume they’ve cut back to maintain that
I have never used the VacOne but if I were to and clean it out, I'd pull out my knock box (plastic kitchen garbage can) and thump the sides of the Vac1against the top of the kitchen can to dump the grinds, much like I do with my moka pot filter. Since the Vac1 produces such a dry "puck," it should come out easily leaving not much behind, I estimate 5 thunks aught to do it, rotating the "watcha ma call it" as one is thunking.
This reminds me of when Nigel from NileRed has to separate a solid powder from a mixture. In fact a chemistry lab vacuum filter rig would be a lot more efficient here because you don't have a dinky little vacuum motor in the way of the filter.
That rubber mat may also be a way of protecting the rather large flat glass surface of the lower chamber from both temperature shock and potential glass-shattering imperfections in hard ceramic countertops.
The water dripping could be down to the density of the water itself, only way would be to compare boiled water, room temperature and water at 4 degrees Celsius where water is at it's most dense.
The way you emptied the Aeropress hurt my brain. 🤣 Don't worry, I won't press charges. Unscrew the black cap first then push the puck out with the plunger. You can thank me later.
The cleanup issues would be a deal-killer for me. That, and batteries have a finite lifespan and are a huge hassle to recycle, esp. since this seems to be fully sealed so it'll just be thrown into the trash when those die after a few years. My daily-use aeropress still works great after about 15 years.
I am really curious if the aeration actually makes a difference in taste. If so, I wonder how it will taste if you brew in an aeropress, and put the hot coffee on top of the VacOne and then press the button for it to aerate and get sucked into the bottom chamber. But, the Fellow Prismo is kind of doing the same aeration trick. Nevertheless, I shall stick to my Barista Express for home and aeropress for odds and ends and travelling...
My two cents on the drippage is that when the hot water drips it will be steaming still and that would create some pressure in the container and that would slow additional drips. With the cold brew when the brew water goes through there wouldn't be a pressure created by the cold brew and it wouldn't stop any more drippage.
I get the appeal of wanting a rapid immersion coffee brewer as it can sometimes take me 10 minutes to make a pour over including grinding and boiling. However the huge bonus of the aero press was the ease of cleanup. Without that I doubt I would bother to use it.
I guess I'm old. The wheel doesn't need reinventing. I had an electric sunbeam vacpot from the 1940s that still worked perfectly the last time I used it.
... 🧐 Due to this video, the not so much coffee enthusiast I am had to learn that what I call "cafetière à piston" is called "french press"... "How bizarre"... And apparently the main difference in taste would be the aeropress filter remove more oil/sediments.... Interesting video.... 👍😅
I think it's critical to note the importance of not just rinsing but also using detergent to wash your Aeropress after a use- the coffee oils and really really minute fines build up very quickly on the plastic and on the rubber of the plunger.
The only thing that my justify the price for me is the cold brew part of it. My traditional cold brew method takes 16-24 hours. On the flip side, my method is brewing a couple of liters compared to the VacOne's meager amount. Clean up for either one is about as messy and tedious.
Thank you for these informative reviews! Everyone loves a vacuum, but clever dripper (water first) def. seems like a more convenient solution for immersion brewing
It drips more with cold water because when hot water drips in the carafe it heats and expands the air creating a pressure countering the pressure of the water.
I use the Aeropress upside down, it was weird to see someone use it the correct way: 1.- insert plunger 2.- remove filter cap, flip upside down 3.- add water and coffee (stir) 4.- add filter cap with filter 5.- place on cup and plunge coffee
Nice honest review! It almost seems unfair to review these “1(ish) cup brewers” against the AeroPress since it’s just so good at what it does. The only thing going for this brewer, at least from watching this, is that it’s possibly more accessible than an AeroPress? Pressing a button is a lot less straining than plunging a whole AeroPress down. However the same could be said about a V60, and that’s much cheaper
I have yet to see a new brewer to tempt me away from my daily driver(s): a 1 liter stainless French press for 3 mugs, and an Aeropress for single mugs. Love the simplicity, don't mind a touch of sediment. Both are miles better than Keurig or a Mr Coffee. Both are cheaper/easier than home espresso.
I recall seeing this on Devocion's website back in 2020 - nice to see someone do a review. It's probably due for an update to change the charging method (USB-C) and adding an insert to make cleaning easier. It would have been interesting to see what the end product would be if the "tweaked" the recipe - rarely does a manufacturers recommendation give the best result, especially considering all the variables associated with brewing coffee. Regarding the dripping during the cold brew, I would speculate that since the water is cold the grounds are taking more time to absorb water and swell. I think the hot brew allows the fines to absorb the water quickly and restrict the flow that is observed while cold brewing.
Ooooooh!!! I love Coffee! I have many coffee makers, brewers, plungers, etc! I absolutely LOVEloveLOve your show! I found you before you absolutely rocked the Championships! WooHoo!!! 2 Thumbs Up Morgan! Have a very good day!!!
