We love the AeroPress as a great compact travel option for brewing coffee because of its ease to clean up and it produces a clean, yet velvety, body of coffee. The main drawback, however, is that you can only brew one cup at a time.
Related: How to Brew Coffee in a Chemex, How to Make Cold Brew Coffee and How to Make French Press Coffee.
Today we’re back with two of our favorite baristas from Kingdom Coffee, Isaac and Jason. Last time we learned how to brew with a Chemex, and today we’re going to learn how to brew with an AeroPress.
The overall brew time is 2 minutes 21 seconds. Coffee should be ground “fine.” On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the finest and 10 being the most coarse, this grind would be approximately a 3.
Aeropress Coffee Supplies
-Coffee: You’ll need 17g (1 3/4 or 1 1/2 tablespoons) of your favorite medium to light roast coffee.
-Grinder: We are using a Hario Slim Handmill. This is a burr grinder, which produces much more consistent granules than a blade grinder, which is really better suited for grinding spices.
-Scale: We are using the AWS (American Weight Systems) SC-2kg scale. To consistently produce good coffee, it is imperative to measure all of your ingredients.
-Kettle: We are using a Bonavita 1 Liter Electric Gooseneck Kettle. This kettle is very easy to use. You simply need to fill it, switch it on, and it will kick off automatically when it reaches temperature.
You will need your water to be right around 200 degrees for brewing. A simple way to achieve this is to let your water reach a boil, then let it sit for a minute or two.
–AeroPress + filters: There are a plethora of parameters for the AeroPress; we are just showing you one of our favorites.
-Coffee cups: Any mugs will do (we are using notNeutral LINO coffee mugs), but make sure you preheat them by filling them halfway full with brew-temperature water to avoid thermal loss to the coffee.
-Timer (or iPhone): Anything that counts in seconds will work fine. Pro tip: You do not need to stop and restart the timer during extraction; you can let it run continuously using a bit of addition.
How to Use an Aeropress
Step One: The Preparation. Weigh out your coffee (17g) and start preheating your water. We are using a brew ratio of about 1:15 grams (i.e., 1 gram of coffee to 15.39 grams of water), so you will need 260 grams of water for brewing and allow for 100 grams to rinse and preheat your vessel.
You can go ahead and grind your coffee while you’re waiting for your water to reach temperature.
Step Two: The Filter. Insert filter into the AeroPress and place on top of your mug. Now rinse the filter with brew-temperature water.
Step Three: The Grounds. Once all the rinse water has dripped out, dump the ground coffee into the lower chamber of the AeroPress. Don’t forget to dump the rinse water from the mug.
Step Four: The Pour. Now pour, in a circular motion, 260 grams water into the AeroPress base, over the course of 46 seconds.
Step Five: Give it one quick stir, put the top on, and let it sit for 47 seconds (or until the timer reads 1:33).
Step Six: Press for 48 seconds (or until the timer reads 2:21).
Step Seven: The Cleanup. Pop out the filter and grounds, and rinse the plunger head for easy cleanup.
More Coffee Recipes:
- Whipped Coffee
- Pumpkin Spice Syrup Recipe – make your own PSL
- Coffee Soda
- Coffee Smoothie
- Lavender Iced Coffee
Love this post? Sign up for our newsletter for more ideas!
Get creative ideas for recipes, crafts, decor, and more in your inbox!
Get the How-To
Supplies
- 17 grams coffee
- 260 grams water
Equipment
- Aeropress
- Aeropress filter
- Gooseneck kettle
Instructions
- The Preparation. Weigh out your coffee (17g) and start preheating your water. We are using a brew ratio of about 1:15 grams (i.e., 1 gram of coffee to 15.39 grams of water), so you will need 260 grams of water for brewing and allow for 100 grams to rinse and preheat your vessel.
- The Filter. Insert filter into the AeroPress and place on top of your mug. Now rinse the filter with brew-temperature water.
- The Grounds. Once all the rinse water has dripped out, dump the ground coffee into the lower chamber of the AeroPress. Don’t forget to dump the rinse water from the mug.
- The Pour. Now pour, in a circular motion, 260 grams water into the AeroPress base, over the course of 46 seconds.
- Give it one quick stir, put the top on, and let it sit for 47 seconds (or until the timer reads 1:33).
- Press for 48 seconds (or until the timer reads 2:21).
- The Cleanup. Pop out the filter and grounds, and rinse the plunger head for easy cleanup.
Such a great post. I hear about aeropress brewing first time and i must try it. Keep Sharing.
See more tea collection here : http://www.tealand.ae/
i’ve got a question for the coffee guys! what makes a certain type of coffee better for a different brewing style? for example, which coffee roast would you recommend for a french press?
also i’d love to learn more about roasting beans if that’s possible!
I have been wanting to to get a aeropress for a while now and this is just pushing me a whole lot harder 🙂
You’ve GOT to try buttercoffee. Time-release caffeine is the way of the future!!
xo
Anne
www.definingdelphine.com
How is this a good travel option if it involves a scale, grinder AND a kettle? Those aren’t normal things to put your suitcase. Really?
Easy and straight forward.
http://thinkworkandgo.blogspot.com/
I’ve been wanting one of these, but I gotta say these instructions make it seem like it’s very complicated to use. Which is not what I had heard or why I was interested.
Gorgeous photos! I love this video tutorial of the aeropress. I’ve never used one (or actually even heard of it) but it seems so simple!
xoxo
Taylor
I have never heard of this before! I prefer my coffee ULTRA fresh (like, I can’t even handle it if it’s been sitting in the French Press for a few hours) so this might be perfect for me. I am totally getting one!
Love this! I’m all about unique ways to brew coffee! This looks divine!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
Always love your how-to’s and I don’t think this process could get any better, or more hip! This ain’t just coffee, it’s art!
I’ve been using it for many years, and LOVE it!
Such a nifty tutorial! I’ve been looking into those. This has me convinced.
xo
Steph
http://www.iolablog.com/
I’m so happy you guys posted about the aeropress! Such an amazing brew of coffee. I’m a barista and brewing with the aeropress is just phenomenal.
The Aeropress is such a nifty little item. I, too am barista and truly adore it; so smooth and delicious. For less acidity in your coffee, the Toddy system is an excellent method as well. I really enjoyed this article. Stay beautiful. 🙂
My husband and I use this daily — the included instructions are quite a bit simpler than this, especially the timing, and the fact there’s an included coffee scoop that matches the numbers on the press — 1 scoop for one cup, 2 scoops for 2 cups. It is very forgiving for the grind, and I use dark roast with great results! So, no matter what your coffee personality is, this is the best and fastest coffee you can get!
I’ve got an Aeropress, and have found that the coffee doesn’t stay in the press on its own for any length of time to let it brew – it just filters right through. Protip: press the plunger ever so slightly down onto the press to create a seal until you’re ready to push it through. Gives the coffee time to sit and brew, and the plunger is ready to roll when you are!
I am in love with the exactness of this whole post. Down to the seconds…it makes the inner control freak/type A/nerd very very happy!
Gonna have to look into a handheld burr grinder. Great post!
Great post! Can you also show how to make basic coffee drinks (latte, cappuccino, etc.) in this format?
I love love love my aeropress but honestly, I throw my water in there with the coffee and it makes an amazing cup of coffee regardless! I think that’s the magic of it, you don’t need to do the fancy steps to get a good cup!