In other news, 1. How do you like the new crop Cachoeira?

2. Have you seen these? we have a few for sale at the Wilbury Shop

http://coava.myshopify.com/collections/store/products/disk-coffee-filter

Can I add my own, slightly different method? It's a bit simpler, and depends on standardisation and habit, but it works well for me and produces exactly the kind of brew I like.

1: Insert the plunger so that its rubber gasket is right on the number 4 on the Aeropress cylinder.

2. Fill the scoop (that comes with the Aeropress) with appropriately ground coffee so that it's not quite up to the top. When I weighed this, it came out at 15g. Invert the Aeropress and tip the coffee into the cylinder.

3. Set a timer to 2 minutes and fill the cylinder with water that's just off the boil, up to the level of the flange (about a centimetre short of brimfull). Then pour water onto the filter paper, already in its holder, to rinse it.

4. Stir with the handle of the scoop until you're sure all the coffee is mixed, screw the filter in place, put your mug upside down on top to keep the heat in, and wait for the timer.

5. Invert the Aeropress again, and slowly press the plunger down until all the brew is in your mug.

This method cuts out both weighing the coffee and weighing the water. And I don't do the second stir – I don't think it's necessary, and it also reduces the temperature of the brew. I get a hot cup of great coffee with a minimum of messing around. I only wish the Aeropress came twice the size, so I could get a full mug at the end.

Elfbert

I guess when a bean is blended then pulled as an espresso it really is only that one attribute that shows through whereas with a single origin espreso there is more oppourtunity for those other flavours to revel themselves in the cup.

Looked at simply, there ought to be no difference between blending the two varieties in the grind and in the cup. Yet, as you found with the Cachoeira and the Santa Barbara, the first method – in the grind – was pleasant but maybe not as much as you might expect, while the second allowed you to distinguish the special characteristics of each variety in the same mouthful. So, what happens during the brew process that allows each variety to retain its personality when later mixed, and make it available to our taste receptors, but that doesn't come into play when the two are brewed together in the same head?

We should find out!

Coincidentally, I found the same thing last week when, coming to the end of my El Salvadore, I found less than a scoop in the bottom of the bag. So I made it up with about an equal amount of Brazil. Yes, it was pleasant, very easy to drink, but still "less than the sum of its parts".

I cant recommend the aeropress highly enough especially as a mobile brewer. Not only is it incredibly simple and clean it can produce a credible filter or espresso style brew depending on your grind setting and brew time.

However, it's no good for travelling, and I'm sorely tempted to try an Aeropress for next months trip to France