What's the difference between French Press and AeroPress? Which is better: French Press or AeroPress?

French Press vs AeroPress: What's the Difference?

Both French Press and AeroPress are convenient and quick coffee brewing devices that even have the character "press" in their names. So what are the differences between these two devices? Today, I'll compare what makes these two tools different!

Getting to Know French Press and AeroPress

French Press

The French Press originated in France around 1850 and is a simple brewing device consisting of a heat-resistant glass body (or transparent plastic) and a metal filter with a plunger. The French Press can be said to be quite friendly for beginners! After all, you just pour in coffee grounds and hot water, let it steep for a few minutes, then press down the plunger and pour it out to drink. Using an immersion method that fully contacts water with coffee grounds through a brewing technique, it releases the essence of coffee. It's simple, convenient, and doesn't require much technique.

AeroPress

The AeroPress was invented in 2005 by Aerobie Company. It's a simple coffee brewing device similar to a syringe that combines the immersion extraction method of French Press, the paper filtration of pour-over coffee, and the pressurized extraction of espresso. After mixing coffee grounds with hot water and stirring, air is pressed through the plunger, and coffee penetrates the filter cap to be filtered out.

Through pressurized extraction, it can achieve the richness of espresso, the purity of pour-over coffee, and the smoothness of French Press. The AeroPress, which combines the advantages of three coffee brewing methods, can indeed be called a magical device! Moreover, it's lightweight and easy to carry, making it essential for both home and travel.

Brewing Comparison

Now let's compare how coffee brewed from the same beans with the same parameters tastes different when using these two devices!

Through comparison, we found that the FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling made with AeroPress doesn't have the same robust mouthfeel as the French Press version; instead, it tends to be lighter with richer flavor layers and noticeable fruit acidity. Meanwhile, although the FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling made with French Press has weaker flavor layers, it's overall balanced with obvious sweetness.

Although both French Press and AeroPress use immersion extraction, the main difference in extraction lies in pressure. Although both names contain the character "press," AeroPress uses air pressure to extract coffee. Especially in the case of reverse pressure, when turned over and pressed down, it extracts the coffee grounds again. At this time, some ultra-fine particles are more likely to be over-extracted, but it's precisely because of this that there are more changes in flavor layers.

The French Press, on the other hand, uses high-temperature long-term steeping followed by uniform mixing, then lightly presses the plunger to separate coffee grounds from coffee liquid. It uses the downward pressure of the plunger to filter out coffee grounds and extract coffee liquid. During the steeping process, some coffee grounds have already absorbed water and sunk, so the process of pressing down the plunger doesn't cause re-extraction, making the overall result more balanced.

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473