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If you are a person of intelligence and taste, you have probably purchased a few cans of condensed milk for your quarantine coffee. It’s sweet, creamy and shelf-stable, and—as pointed out by this very clever Twitter mutual of mine—it’s also the perfect size for AeroPressing.


Being a lady of science and innovation, I saw this tweet and immediately slid into the man’s DMs, demanding asking politely to know how it all “happened.” Here is what he told me, sans editing:

Well I usually do very janky pourover in the mornings but I like to have an aeropress in the afternoon sometimes, to get me through work or before I lift or do BJJ, and I’d bought some sweetened condensed milk so I could still have coffee depending on how the stay at home orders went with social distancing etc. (Like if I couldn’t get fresh milk, which is how I usually take it). And this afternoon I was like... wait... the AeroPress fits right into the can, and the can has all those delicious slightly caramelized crunchy bits at the bottom...


The rest, as they say, is (very recent) history. Obviously, this works best if you have already used some of the condensed milk; a ratio of a couple of a tablespoon or so for every six ounces of coffee is ideal. But it’s a really fantastic way to clean an almost-empty can, ensuring you make use of every last bit of sugary goodness , including those very important caramelized crunchy bits. If you don’ t have an AeroPress I suppose you can also just pour drip coffee into the can or use it to catch a shot of espresso. But t he AeroPress method is just so elegant though, and you know how much I love elegance.