In 2004 Alan Adler, a retired Stanford engineering lecturer already famous for the Aerobie flying ring, got fed up with bitter coffee and treated it as an engineering problem. He wanted control over three variables: water temperature, grind size, and contact time. Drip machines run water near boiling, which pulls out bitter compounds, while French presses and pour overs leave too much to chance. His answer, unveiled at the Coffee Fest trade show in Seattle in November 2005, was a plastic chamber, a plunger with an airtight silicone seal, and a screw on cap holding a small paper filter.

Adler’s recipe called for a fine grind, water at 176 degrees Fahrenheit for dark roasts, a ten second stir, and a quick press, and the company claimed one fifth the acidity of drip coffee. Users flipped it upside down into the inverted method, bought metal filters he warned against, and forced the company to sell its own accessories. The body changed from polycarbonate to BPA free copolyester in 2009, gray polypropylene in 2014, and clear Tritan in 2023. Adler sold the toy line to Spin Master in 2017, and Tiny Capital bought a controlling stake in 2021.

• The inverted method balances the brewer on its plunger so coffee steeps without dripping through early.
• Lab tests showed the original polycarbonate did not leach BPA, but the company switched plastics anyway to ease public worry.
• The World AeroPress Championship began in Oslo in 2008 with three competitors.
• By 2018 the competition drew more than 3,100 brewers across 61 countries.
• Many champions now use water around 198 degrees, because dense light roasts need more heat than the dark roasts Adler brewed.