The history of the Aeropress is, believe it or not, inextricably tied to the invention of the Frisbee. Back in the 1970’s, an inventor named Alan Adler had an obsession with perfecting any product he perceived to have noticeable flaws.
He found it profoundly difficult to sit back and be content with a product that wasn’t doing everything he wanted, exactly how we wanted. He was also obsessed with flight – it “combines the skill of an engineer with the skills of a practical dreamer.”
Thus, Alan spent a large portion of his time perfecting his version of a Frisbee, the Aerobie. To this day the Aerobie has almost outsold the Frisbee – making it a roaring success.
It was during a regular old work day that Alan was in the Aerobie office and became intensely frustrated by his inability to make a one-cup coffee from his French Press. He considered himself, somewhat, a coffee aficionado and refused to purchase an old-school coffee dripper for fear of being forced to consume substandard coffee (can we get an amen?).
So, Alan hid away in his shed for a few days until he finally emerged, holding in his hands a prototype that would eventually become known as the Aeropress! When Alan showed his business manager, Alex Tennant, Tennant said “Alan, I can sell a ton of these”. He was right.
There you have it, the infamous coffee brewer wasn’t invented by a top of the line coffee company’s R&D department but just one (highly intelligent) man seeking that ever elusive perfect cup of coffee.
Do you have an Aeropress? Click the here  to check out a bit more about the Aeropress coffee maker and you will also find one of our favourite recipes that you can try at home!
We also made an Aeropress coffee brew when we were a mile high in the air on an airplane. Yep, and we filmed it.  Watch it here.