An AeroPress is going to get scratches. Ground coffee contains some hard bits. I recommend continuing to use your AeroPress until it stops working properly. The rubber seal is the component that gets the most wear but when it gets loose you should just visit our website, www.aeropress.com, and buy a new rubber seal. It is easy to replace on the end of the plunger.
FAQ
- previous post: I have a "pressing question" as a curious physics teacher: You have said pushing harder forces the coffee grains more into the filter which slows the flow of coffee into the cup. I have a hard time with this explanation. Pressing harder does not push downward on the grains. It increases the ambient pressure in the liquid which would be felt by all sides of each grain. A grain floating in the liquid would not be forced to the bottom by this process. It will go to the bottom due to gravity, but not increased ambient pressure. I can concede that there may be other reasons to prefer one pressure over another, but this explanation does not work for me. Have you, for instance, done objective testing of pressing time under different pressures? If there is a turn-around point in flow rate as a function of pressure, that would be interesting to know, but the explanation would have to be a bit more subtle. (None of this affects my appreciation for your invention, by the way. I love Aeropress coffee.) I am genuinely interested to know why coffee brewed at higher ambient pressure tastes richer. That would apply to high steam pressure in an espresso maker as well. I tentatively think of the Aeropress as an espresso maker simulator…pressure by different means. – From David C.
- next post: Hi Alan. We have been using Aeropress for years. There is nothing better! Our coffee roaster suggested your coffee maker. Sometime after we had been using the Aeropress , the plunger wore out and when I called, it was suggested that I not store the plunger inside the cylinder. I changed and all is well for these last few years. Now, I am thinking of an Aeropress organizer. However, it appears that the two cylinders are stored intact. So, I read all of you many answers and found out I just need to push the rubber end through the opening! Do you think an organizer will do the job? Do you have a favorite? I have a couple of quirky comments. When I make my wife's one and only cup of the day, she likes 3 scoops. Sometimes that amount pushes slowly and you are correct to be patient. Sometimes, I slowly rotate back and forth as I push. I also put a dash of water on the filter after placement and before I put the cylinder in. It seems to ensure that the filter adheres completely. Thanks again for your great product. – From Ray S.