The anal retentive personality as characterised by Freud is typified by obsessiveness, perfectionism and control as well as a tendency toward collection, possession and retention of objects. Just the type, you might think, that might gravitate toward a field like design. In fact, the difference between artists and designers may well be simply that the latter are anally retentive and the former anally expulsive; two sides of the same poorly potty-trained coin.
Caffeine is the most widely ingested psychoactive substance on the planet and in the western world is primarily obtained through coffee. For the typical obsessive anal retentive, however, a steaming cup of java can’t simply be viewed as the caffeine delivery system it is and must be elevated into the realm of luxury substance through a complicated combination of exclusivity, precision and ritual. This entails the correct choice of both bean and equipment. For the raw product, exotic options like perfectly-ripe beans delicately harvested from the shit of a Sumatran civet are preferred. For the hardware, a super-automated espresso-producing vision in chrome would ostensibly seem like the best choice, but in reality this removes too much of both the elements of ritual and control for the anal-retentive. Instead the best choice may be Aerobie’s Aero Press.
Caffeine is the most widely ingested psychoactive substance on the planet and in the western world is primarily obtained through coffee. For the typical obsessive anal retentive, however, a steaming cup of java can’t simply be viewed as the caffeine delivery system it is and must be elevated into the realm of luxury substance through a complicated combination of exclusivity, precision and ritual. This entails the correct choice of both bean and equipment. For the raw product, exotic options like perfectly-ripe beans delicately harvested from the shit of a Sumatran civet are preferred. For the hardware, a super-automated espresso-producing vision in chrome would ostensibly seem like the best choice, but in reality this removes too much of both the elements of ritual and control for the anal-retentive. Instead the best choice may be Aerobie’s Aero Press.
Scientific in its appearance and offering ultimate control, the Aero Press has the hat-trick in coffee snob desirability; exclusivity (still an esoteric product), precision (quantities may be measured to the gram, actions are timed) and ritual (entirely manual, user is engaged throughout the process, many small personal variations in process are possible). However, I suspect the real delight the anal-retentive takes in this object is less the production of coffee and more the disposal of the grounds. These are forced manually from the end, filter and all, in a firm, complete and well formed cylindrical “puck”, after which the only clean-up required is a quick wipe to remove the stubborn particles. Essentially, the Aero Press will defecate satisfyingly and cleanly, precisely when and where you want it to. It would be perfect for the anal-retentive, if only coffee weren’t such an effective laxative.
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