Hi Hoskins! You ask an excellent question. The biggest difference between the Aerobie Aeropress and the Melita brewing methods is that with the Aeropress method, all of the ground coffee is steeped for the same amount of time, thus you get a very even extraction. With the Melita drip through method, the coffee in the cone is extracted for varying lengths of time, which means that you are getting both under- and over-extracted coffee. Overbrewed coffee = bitterness, and underbrewed coffee = waste and thin flavor. Even extraction is also the advantage of the French press method, but the Aeropress filters out the fine particulate that even the best French press leaves in your coffee. Hope this answers your question! Allison