Wait, are you saying that the old manual lever-based espresso machines, didn't make espersso? Wikipedia has this to say: "There are two types of lever machines; manual piston and spring piston design. With the manual piston, the operator directly pushes the water through the grounds. In the spring piston design, the operator works to tension a spring, which then delivers the pressure for the espresso (usually 8 to 10 bar; 116 to 145 psi)."
(I'm not disputing the claim that the Aeropress, for all its niceties, doesn't allow for 9 bars of pressure when used as intended)
[ed: That lever contraption is awesome. Searching for appropriate metal filters that could help with generating 130 psi, I fell into the rabbithole of
(I'm not disputing the claim that the Aeropress, for all its niceties, doesn't allow for 9 bars of pressure when used as intended)
[ed: That lever contraption is awesome. Searching for appropriate metal filters that could help with generating 130 psi, I fell into the rabbithole of
https://www.tumblr.com/search/aerohacks
and found among other things:
http://www.handpresso.com/
Also, by the makers of the video posted by gp: http://www.spressa.us/ ...]