A couple of weeks ago, the local newspaper had a writeup about a new coffee maker called the Aeropress. It's sort of a reverse French press that's set up to make an espresso type drink. These things are not expensive - I found one on Amazon for less than $30 - so I figured I'd pick one up in the name of science and see how it does. The website has a nice picture of one that tells you most of what you need to know about the thing. There's a chamber that has a removable plastic mesh fitting at the bottom of it and a plunger that fits tightly into it. You put a paper filter on the plastic mesh fitting and twist it on to the bottom of the chamber. Then you put a couple of scoops of finely ground (filter or espresso grind) coffee into it. Add water that's been heated to 175° F and stir for ten seconds or so. Then use the plunger to push the water through the grounds and down into a cup. You can top with hot water for an Americano, hot milk for a latte or cappucino, or just drink it.
I ran my first test tonight using a relatively undistinguished coffee blend from our food co-op. Results were very interesting. It wasn't quite like a perfect espresso, lacking some of the slight bitterness and complexity that the very best ones will have. But it was damn good. Very thick and rich, very smooth. It was also different from French press coffee, lacking the particulate matter you get from those and coming off as quite a bit stronger. That said, I can imagine getting similar results from a press by grinding fine, paying attention to water temp, and adding a paper filter to the screen.
Cleanup was a cinch - you just unscrew the filter holder, push the plug of grounds through, and rinse.
I like this thing. We haven't had an espresso maker in the house for a while now and I could see this obviating the need for one. Now we'll see how it does over the longer haul.