Firstly, thanks for visiting our coffee blog. Now buckle up because today you're going to learn all about Aeropress coffee and master the art of how to use it.
We've prepared an ultimate guide which covers everything there is to know about this famous coffee brewing device. There is a reason that the Aeropress coffee maker is loved by home coffee enthusiasts and baristas all across the world.
Did you know? It’s known for being one of the fastest and easiest ways to make fantastic tasting speciality coffee at home? But why is it so good, and how do you use it?
This Aeropress coffee how to use guide is the perfect instruction manual to getting started or levelling up your coffee with this fabulous coffee brewing method. Now let's get started shall we?
What is an Aeropress Coffee Maker?
To explain it simply, the Aeropress is a cylindrical shaped plastic coffee device which uses a small amount of pressure to create a delicious, clean tasting coffee with the perfect amount of body.
Circular Aeropress filter papers are fit into its base. Water and coffee are added. Then manual pressure is applied and the coffee is squeezed through a filter into your mug. The Aerobie Coffee Maker It was designed by Alan Adler, professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University.
Alan wanted to create a coffee-brewing method ideal for making one top quality cup of coffee at a time, and that he did.
The Aeropress in action
Why do home coffee drinkers love it?
Speed
One of the major upsides of the Aeropress is its speed. Brewing methods such as a French press can take around 6-9 minutes, but the Aeropress takes between 1-2 minutes. You will only get one cup of coffee at a time, but the sheer speed of the Aeropress makes it extremely useful.
Perfect for those mornings when you want to squeeze in that coffee before your first zoom meeting right? It allows you to have delicious speciality coffee, even on the busiest of mornings!
Durability
Another amazing aspect of the Aeropress coffee maker is that it is particularly durable. Every time you use it, you can simply rinse the coffee maker and throw away (or compost) the filter paper.
Fortunately, due to the plastic material, it's also dishwasher safe which is a bonus. Other brewing methods can be quite fragile (e.g. the glass brewing devices) so the durability of the Aeropress is really quite an impressive stand out feature.
Portability
Because it is so damn durable, the Aeropress coffee maker is also ideal for anyone who wants to make delicious coffee whilst on the move. Travelling to work? Heading away on holiday?
Perhaps you want to take your coffee with you on a family camping trip? In that case, you'll definitely want to check out our best coffee makers for camping. With this little brewing method, you'll never be stuck drinking terrible coffee again!
Flavour
Finally, the flavour of this brewing method really does have to be tasted to be believed. An Aeropress coffee is very clean in mouthfeel. But why?
Because the brewing method minimises the possibility of acids such as quinic acid which can impact the flavour.
The effect of applying manual hand pressure at around about 3 bars (an average UK water pressure) during the brewing process, produces an incredible amount of medium body to your filter coffee.
Aeropress Coffee & How To Use It?
Using the Aeropress is honestly a really fun way to make coffee. Whether you're at home, upgrading your office coffee, or even travelling with it Its lightweight - it'll handle any environment.
Here’s a quick video of me as I explain to you exactly how to use the Aeropress: it's super simple.
Equipment List: What you'll need
Digital Scales:
This is for weighing your coffee. It’s not absolutely essential but it’ll dramatically improve your quality as you’ll know the coffee to water ratio you are using.
Once you’ve mastered the coffee to water ratio, you'll have the perfect recipe which you can replicate time and time again - for the best cup of coffee!
Aeropress Coffee Maker:
Get your hands on the famous Aeropress if you haven't got one already.
Aeropress Filter Papers:
You'll certainly need to stock up on some Aeropress filter papers to make sure you're stopping coffee grounds from going into your cup. This is an essential accessory to using this coffee maker.
Healthy Balanced Coffee
Of course, you'll need to stock up on Balance Coffee's freshly roasted Healthy Coffee. We regularly test our coffee for mould, mycotoxins and pesticides bringing you a naturally clean, healthy cup.
You can pair our speciality coffee beans with a coffee grinder to get the best flavour out of your cup. If you need to buy a coffee bean grinder, then head over to our shop.
Expert Tip: Coffee beans for the Aeropress coffee grind setting will need to be ground a tad finer than usual when comparing the Aeropress vs Hario V60. This is due to the fact we're applying some additional manual pressure.
Filtered Water for Coffee
Using quality water is at the heart of making exceptional coffee. Why?
Well your coffee drink is made up of around 98% water so there's a reason to think about what water you're using in your brew.
For example, if you're based in London then the tap water will be chalky and hard affecting the quality significantly. The coffee will be quite flat and unpronounced in flavour so consider optimising your filtered water for coffee at home.
Timer
Timing your coffee extraction is key if you want to make coffee like a barista.
Kettle
You can use the existing kettle you have in your kitchen or you can purchase a coffee specific goose neck kettle. This can be used for your Aeropress but more importantly your Hario V60.
Mug
Now all you need is your favourite coffee mug to start brewing.
Aeropress Instructions:
So your exciting new brewing device arrives in the post. You're eager to use it, but you open it and have no idea how to actually use it.
Follow our Aeropress instructions so you can enjoy the benefits of your new purchase. Here's to drinking epic coffee every single day ☕
What Aeropress Coffee Grind shall I use?
Before you get into the brewing itself, you'll need to grind your freshly roasted speciality coffee just before adding hot water.
What what Aeropress coffee grind is the right one to use? You'll want a medium fine grind setting for the Aeropress since you apply force to the cylindrical device which means you can take it slightly finer than with pourover coffee.
Ideally, you'll have already have purchased an awesome coffee grinder that gives you top notch grind consistency.
Now, Let's Make Coffee
Step 1:
Rinse your filter paper with hot water. This will get rid of the papery flavour and will pre-heat your brewing gear. Discard the water before brewing.
Step 2:
Put 16.5g of coffee into the Aeropress. Pour 250ml of filtered water straight in and give it a good stir to ensure that all of the coffee grounds are soaked through.
Step 3:
Put the cap on and wait 1 minute. Your brewing time starts as soon as the water hits the coffee grounds.
Step 4:
After 1 minute, flip your Aeropress into your cup or vessels and press down for 30 seconds until the device is empty. Expert tip: Stop pressing when you begin to hear a hissing sound, this will prevent over extraction. Enjoy!
Best Coffee For Aeropress
Choosing the right coffee for your Aeropress is another important topic to discuss. The last thing you'd want to do is invest in your brand spanking new coffee maker, and then use the poor quality coffee with your brewer.
So where should you start? The first thing you'll want to understand, is that Aeropress coffee is filter coffee (although, it does have some espresso making qualities). Therefore, make sure that you're matching up a coffee that suits filter coffee.
My personal recommendation is to try our single origin coffee taster pack. It enables you to taste unique flavour characteristics from each origin, and you'll experience a top speciality coffee that's also great for your health.
Luckily we have a complete range for you to try. Chocolate, medium roast fan? We have various blends or more fruity and floral single estate coffees depending on your taste preferences.
For example, if you enjoy a smooth, nutty blend and want more of a kick from your morning brew, then choose the Stability Blend.
Alternatively, if you'd like to enjoy a medium-dark roasted coffee then definitely pick out our Rotate Espresso. Sweet, floral and adventurous coffee lover?
Then a single origin coffee, is perfect for you since the coffees are exclusively sourced from high altitude regions and are more refined.
Common Aeropress Brewing Problems:
Searching for the perfect grind for your Aeropress? Here's our troubleshooting guide that will help you understand how to grind coffee correctly making brewing your Aeropress Coffee.
If your coffee is ground too fine, it will taste bitter and over-brewed. You'll also be able to tell if the grind is too fine since it'll require too much force to press down the device.
If you find your coffee grind is too coarse, your coffee will be under-extracted. Those delicious flavours that you're looking for from your coffee will not be produced.
The Aeropress provides a great reference point against the perfect grind for your coffee. But how? Because it you feel some resistance but you can also visually see that it's moving downwards, then you have the ideal coffer grind setting.
Inverted Aeropress Method vs Regular:
You can also use the famous inverted method with the Aeropress. Why do people love it so much? To stop the coffee from under-extracting, which can sometimes happen when using the regular method. Check out this amazing infographic from our friends at Sip Coffee House.
For the inverted method, you'll need to start like the method as we've outlined above. Before you put your coffee in the Aeropress, you'll need to press the plunger. Next, create a seal and flip the Aeropress upside down.
Next, add the coffee and water as you normally would, and wait the same amount of time as above. Then, push gently and slowly down on the upside down until you have closed the space between the filter and the coffee.
Now put your mug upside down on top of the Aeropress. In one swift motion flip both it and your mug the right way up.
Finally, you can push the brewed coffee through the filter and into the mug, and it's ready to drink. Here's a video we love that explains everything you need to know about the inverted method:
Another way to experiment with the Aeropress is with filters. Although it is suggested to use only one filter, you can also use more to make the coffee taste even cleaner in your cup.
Just make sure you're composting/recycling them as much as possible! Other options include using a metal filter which is more sustainable for the environment.
How To Clean The Aeropress Coffee Maker
Cleaning the Aeropress Coffee Maker is super simple because it was designed to be used at home and on the-go. For this reason, the materials are made to be easy to clean.
You can simply rinse the brewing device after use using hot water to remove any excess coffee grounds from the tube.
Why not grab an Aeropress Go, which includes a fantastic kick starter set to get you going.
And if you’re not sure if the Aeropress sounds like it’s for you, then check out our other recommended home equipment. You can also read our ultimate guide to the Hario V60!
