How to make best coffee with an Aeropress

The Aeropress Coffee Maker has become one of the fastest growing brew methods around the world. Its simplicity, efficiency and lightweight features means it can be used in the home, office or even on camping trips.

There have also been further product releases from Aeropress. One of these includes the Go – an even more compact version. Another product release is the Puck Puck, which makes a cold brew.

There are a few steps, which you need to get right if you want to make the best cup of joe with your traditional Aeropress. These are listed below and gives you the exact step-by-step for making your own brew.

Buying beans from a coffee roasters

Making your daily brew with real fresh coffee beans from a local coffee roasters will make all the difference. Mass produced beans that you find in supermarkets simply don’t “cut the mustard” when it comes to freshness.

What’s more, if you truly want the freshest taste from your Aeropress Coffee, the best way is to buy beans and grind them as you use them. Read this article  for more details on the different and best types of coffee beans you can get.

Best Grind Size for Aeropress

Now that you know you should be grinding the beans immediately before every drink. The next thing to note is that different methods require different grind size. The main difference is between running an espresso machine or creating a stove top espresso compared to any other brew method.

Therefore, with an Aeropress, you’ll need a slightly coarser grind size when using any of the different products.

How much coffee and water to use in an Aeropress

Different coffees may require different ratios of granules to water. So, it’s important that you can find out from your supplier what the recommended ratios are.

A good general rule to follow for the below brewing method is to use 15g coffee to 250ml of water. Using the scoop that comes with it should give you about the right amount of granules.

Building the Aeropress

This innovative product does come in a few separate parts. So, you’ll need to work out how to put them together. You can do this at the time of brewing.

You will also get some specially made filters which filter the water through into your cup.

These are the parts you’ll get:

1.     Filter papers (use one for each brew)

2.     Filter Cap – holds the filter papers

3.     Plunger – plunges the liquid into the cup

4.     Chamber – holds the coffee/water mix

5.     Stirrer

6.     Scoop

Brewing: The inverted method

Here are the steps to creating your first drink. Sometimes known as the inverted method.

1.     Put a filter paper in the filter cap

2.     Warm the filter paper by pouring through some boiling water

3.     Put the plunger about 1cm into the chamber

4.     Turn the whole thing upside down – creating a holder

5.     Add coffee to the chamber so it sits evenly on the base of the plunger

6.     Pour in a small amount of water to mix with the coffee and allow to sit for about 20-30 seconds

7.     Pour in the remaining water so the chamber is full.

8.     Stir the liquid round to separate all the granules

9.     Attach the filter cap, with the filter paper inside it, to the chamber

10.  Now invert the chamber to place it on top of the mug

11.  Plunge slowly into the mug until you can tell there’s no liquid left

Brewing: The upright method

Another option is to brew on top of the mug, sometimes known as the upright method.

Here are the steps to do it:

1.     Put a filter paper in the filter cap

2.     Warm the filter paper by pouring through some boiling water

3.     Attach the filter cap, with the filter paper inside it, to the chamber

4.     Place the chamber on top of the mug

5.     Add coffee to the chamber so it sits evenly on the base of the filter

6.     Pour in the water so the chamber is filled up with about 1cm left at the top.

7.     Stir the liquid round to separate all the granules

8.     Put the plunger about 1cm into the chamber – creating a vacuum so the water doesn’t filter out

9.     Leave to stand for approx. 30 seconds

10.  Plunge slowly into the mug until you can tell there’s no liquid left