AeroPress Original Coffee Maker

The AeroPress looks like an oversized syringe, and it works a bit like one. Coffee and hot water go into the chamber, you stir, then press the plunger down and push the coffee through a small paper or metal microfilter straight into the mug. Pressure plus a fine filter means you can use finer grounds, and you get a smooth cup without the grit that slips through a French press mesh. It brews one to three cups of American or espresso-style coffee in about a minute, or cold brew style coffee in around two.

Cleanup takes seconds. The plunger wipes the chamber as it goes down, so you pop the puck of used grounds into the trash and give it a rinse. It’s shatterproof and weighs about 6.5 ounces with everything you’d pack, which makes it easy to take camping, on trips or to an office with sad coffee. It’s designed in Silicon Valley and made in the USA.

It suits the dad who drinks whatever’s in the pot without complaint but would happily drink something better if it took two minutes.

The catch: it makes small batches, so it won’t fill a carafe for a full house. The seal lasts longer if it’s stored pushed all the way through the chamber, and it goes on the top rack of the dishwasher only.