Aeropress Coffee

Aeropress Coffee

What does your morning coffee taste like? With AeroPress, it depends on your mood. One of the biggest things about this iconic device is its versatility and how it can produce different flavor profiles.

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The Aeropress is a rather unusual coffee maker; however, it seems that whoever uses Aeropress also likes it. The Aeropress was invented in 2005 by Alan Adler who is the inventor of the Aerobie throwing ring, hence the name Aeropress. This coffee maker is cheap, durable, and very portable where many coffee professionals take it with them when they travel around the world. Besides, this brewer is also very easy to clean.

What is interesting about Aeropress is that it combines two different brewing methods. Initially the water and coffee steep together, just like in a French Press. However, to complete the brew, a piston is used to push the water through the coffee grounds and then through a paper filter. It works a little like an espresso machine and a little like a filter coffee maker.  

Compared with other brewers, with Aeropress, you can use an enormous number of different recipes and techniques. There is also a competition each year for the best method of brewing coffee using Aeropress. The competition started in Norway, and it has grown into an international event dubbed the World Aeropress Championships. Each year the organizers publish on their website the top three methods that won the competition. This should give you an idea of how variable Aeropress is. 

However, even though Aeropress can be used to produce espresso or anything like it and it can make a small, strong cup of coffee, pushing down on a plunger simply cannot replicate the very high pressure used in an espresso machine. There are two main methods that Aeropress uses, and they are the Traditional Aeropress Method and the Inverted Aeropress Method. 

RATIO AND GRIND SIZE

The relationship between grind size, brew time, and the amount of brewing water is incredibly vital for Aeropress. For the best results, you should decide what kind of coffee you want to drink. 

  • If you want to drink your coffee short and strong, a starting ratio of 100g/l is suggested. If you’re going to brew a little quicker, you will need to grind your coffee relatively fine. You can use a coarser grind if you want a quick coffee; however, an extended brewing time will give the best results. 
  • If you want to have something closer to the regular coffee, then you should use a ratio of 75g/l. This ratio is the same ratio for French Press because this is also an immersion brewing method. Of course, you can match your brewing time to your grind size. 

How to make Aeropress Coffee?

TRADITIONAL AEROPRESS METHOD

This method will allow you to make a little more coffee than the reverse method described below. It is also a little less common, and there is a lower potential for dirt in the kitchen.

Because there are so many factors at play, it is tempting to adjust many variables simultaneously. Pressing harder will speed up the brewer, but it will also extract a little more from the coffee; extending the steep time will also extract more, as will grinding the coffee on a finer frame. However, it is always best to change one thing at a time, and more experimentation simply means more opportunities to drink interesting cups of coffee.

  1. Grind the coffee just before you start brewing. You will need to weigh the coffee first.
  2. Insert a filter paper into the filter holder and lock it in the brewer body.
  3. Run some hot water to warm the glass and rinse the paper.
  4. Place a mug on your digital scales, but the main part of the brewer is on top and add the coffee.
  5. Boil a kettle of fresh water with low mineral content, suitable for brewing coffee.
  6. Wait for ten to twenty seconds after the kettle has boiled, turn on the scales, then add the desired amount of water to the Aeropress (for example, for 15g of coffee I would add 200ml (200g) of water). Start a timer.
  7. Give the coffee a quick shake, then place the piston part of the Aeropress. Make sure it seals, but don’t push down yet. This creates a vacuum above the coffee, preventing the liquid from dripping out of the bottom of the brewer before you want it to.
  8. After a period of brewing (I recommend starting with one minute) take the mug and brewer off the scales and slowly push down the plunger until all the liquid has been expelled.
  9. Pull the piston back a few centimeters (1in) to stop the brewer from dripping when you discard the spent coffee. Remove the filter holder and, holding the brewer over the trash, push the plunger out to get off the ground. Wipe off any loose pieces, then rinse immediately and clean the bottom of the plunger and brewer.
  10. Enjoy your coffee.

INVERTED AEROPRESS METHOD

I want to describe this method because it is so popular, but also because it often goes wrong. I recommend that you start - and generally use - the traditional way, but if you want to experiment, here's how to do it safely.

The idea behind this alternative method is to reverse the device so that it is impossible for the liquid in the brewer to escape into the infusion phase. You will need to pass over the full cup of coffee in a cup before pushing the piston, and where things are not going well - the pots full of hot liquid should be discarded carefully. It is also important to note that this method will not allow you to prepare as much coffee: the largest is probably 200 ml of water.

  1. Grind the coffee just before you start brewing. You will need to weigh the coffee first.
  2. Insert a filter paper into the filter holder and lock it in the brewer body.
  3. Run some hot water to warm the glass and rinse the paper.
  4. Insert the plunger about 2cm (¾in) into the brewer, turn the device upside down and place it on the digital scale. Add the coffee.
  5. Boil a low-mineral kettle of freshwater, suitable for making coffee.
  6. Wait for ten to twenty seconds after the kettle has boiled, turn on the scale, then add the desired amount of hot water to Aeropress.
  7. Start a timer and give the coffee a quick shake. Steep for a minute.
  8. While the coffee is steeping, remove the brewer from the scales. Place the filter holder containing the paper in the brewer. If you have rinsed the paper, it should stick when turned upside down.
  9. Gently pull the top of the brewer towards the plunger until the liquid almost touches the filter. This will make the piston much more stable and less likely to trigger during cornering.
  10. At the end of the steep, place a cup upside down on the brewer and, with one hand on each, carefully turn them over.
  11. Gently push down the plunger until all the liquid has been expelled into the cup.
  12. Empty and rinse the brewer.
  13. Enjoy your coffee.