The AeroPress is a manual coffeemaker invented by Alan Adler, founder of AeroPress, Inc. It consists of a cylindrical chamber, and a plunger with an airtight silicone seal, similar to a syringe. Ground coffee beans and water are steeped inside, then forced through a filter by pressing the plunger through the chamber. It is capable of brewing highly concentrated coffee, which the manufacturer describes as "espresso style", but can also be used to brew filter strength coffee, or cold brew coffee. History and design The AeroPress was invented by retired Stanford engineering lecturer Alan Adler. Adler began developing the brewer in 2004, with the intention of reducing acidity and bitterness in his daily cup of coffee. Adler had tried brewing with an espresso machine, pour-over brewer, and french press, but expressed dissatisfaction with each brewer's limited control over parameters such as brew time, water temperature, and grind size. He first began prototyping the AeroPress in his garage. The brewer consists of a translucent cylindrical chamber, and a plunger with an airtight silicone seal, similar to a syringe. A filter cap is screwed onto the end, to hold a small round paper filter in place. It comes bundled with several accessories, including a scoop and funnel for loading ground coffee, a stirring paddle, a tote bag, and a plastic holder for storing filter papers. Metal filters are available, but Aeropress do not supply them, finding that coffee made with paper filters is better. The chamber and plunger are moulded out of translucent plastic, tinted a grey colour. Early AeroPress models used polycarbonate, but in 2009 switched to BPA-free copolyester, then in 2014 to polypropylene. The company claims that in lab testing, no BPA leached from these early models into brewed coffee. The lettering changed color several times, but the brewer's design was otherwise unchanged between these versions. In 2019, AeroPress, Inc. released the AeroPress Go, a travel-sized model with a reduced chamber capacity, smaller accessories, and an included travel cup. Reception Release The device was officially unveiled in November 2005, at the CoffeeFest trade show in Seattle. In the years after its release, it gained a cult following among coffee enthusiasts, who praised it for its flexibility and consistency in brewing. World AeroPress Championship The World AeroPress Championship is an international fan-led AeroPress brewing competition. The event is a multi-round, elimination tournament, in which competitors have five minutes to brew coffee.