Questioning the safety of brewing coffee in a inverted method with the Aeropress.

[Heinstar]

Is it safe to brew my coffee in a inverted method with the Aeropress?

I’ve owned my Aeropress for almost 3 years now and I’ve been brewing my coffee in a inverted method every day.

I’ve never questioned the safety of this but I’ve realised that I should be concerned.

I boil the water to exactly 93 degrees and brew for 2 minutes before plunging.

I’m worried about the boiling water heating up the rubbery part of the plunger, is it safe to brew my coffee like this all the time?

Or is the rubber leaching out toxic chemicals into my coffee by doing this?

What is the rubber made out of, is it resistant to heat from the boiling water?

Thanks.

[flynnaus]

Not a problem. I've been using the inverted method for years. At 93 degrees it isn't boiling hot anyway

[Dr._V]

There will be chemicals leaching out of both the elastomer plunger and polypropylene body due to all the lubricants and colourant carriers used in injection moulding materials but concentrations will not be enough to cause any damage.

A reassuring quote from the Aeropress website. "We recently switched to making the chamber and plunger out of polypropylene. This means that all of the AeroPress parts except the rubber like seal are now made of polypropylene. We made the change because tests indicated the polypropylene is more durable. We regret the polypropylene is less transparent but feel the additional durability is more important. The rubber like seal on the end of the plunger is made of a thermoplastic elastomer. Both materials are FDA approved for use in contact with food. Neither of the materials contain bisphenol-A (BPA) or any phthalates".

You should be pretty safe with FDA approval.