The Aeropress
What is the AeroPress?
The AeroPress is a unique coffee brewing device that was invented by the Aerobie frisbee company president Alan Adler. It was originally invented by Adler for the purpose of being able to brew a simple single cup of coffee in his kitchen when he didn’t want to brew a whole pot of coffee. Since its invention, its popularity has skyrocketed and even has resulted in worldwide AeroPress competitions.
What are the benefits of using the Aeropress over other brewing methods?
The AeroPress is loved for its capability to brew a large variety of types of coffee. It can brew a classic cup of coffee, espresso-style, americano-style, cold brew, and other methods. This versatile nature of the AeroPress, combined with its small price tag (around $30) and its portability, makes it an ideal brewing device for anyone.
How do you use an Aeropress?
There are many ways to use the AeroPress, but today we will be going over a simple way to get a classic cup of coffee. There are a lot of ways to even brew a classic coffee with the Aeropress, but this is just one way to do it. That being said, for this method, apart from the Aeropress and the tools that come with it, you will need the following: about 300 g (300 mL) of just-boiled water (people brew using the Aeropress with water anywhere between 175 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit), 15-18 g of coffee, a timer, and optionally, a gram scale. Let’s get started!
Begin by grinding between 15 and 18 g of coffee. You can adjust this based on your preference for coffee strength, but we like and would recommend about 16 or 17 grams of coffee as a good starting point. If you don’t have a gram scale, 16 or 17 g is just above the lip of the provided Aeropress scoop. The grounds should be as fine or slightly finer than sea salt.
Place a filter into the filter cap and wet it with the hot water. You can also pour some of the hot water into your mug of choice to heat it up.
Place the filter cap with the filter onto the base of the Aeropress chamber (seen in the photo, upside down for a better view), then place the chamber with the filter cap attached on top of your now empty mug.
Pour the coffee grounds into the Aeropress chamber (using the provided funnel if desired)
Begin the timer (you can easily use a phone timer) and begin pouring the hot water. Pour the water so that all the grounds are wet, which will most likely be about twice the weight of the beans in water weight. For example, if you use 17 g of grounds, it will probably take about 34 g of water to fully wet the beans. When you reach this point, use the Aeropress stir paddle to be sure all the grounds are all saturated. Let the grounds sit for about 15-20 seconds before continuing to pour the water.
Continue to pour the hot water until it reaches the top of the four, which is around 250 g of water.
Stir again, then place the plunger slightly into the Aeropress at an angle and then pull up to create a seal. Leave this in place until the timer reads 1:30.
Remove the plunger, stir again, then gently press down. You know you are done pressing when you hear a hiss of air. You should reach this point before the timer reaches two minutes. When pressing, you should feel a good amount of pressure. However, if you feel too much pressure, this could mean the grounds are too fine. If you don’t feel a good amount of pressure, this could mean the grounds are too coarse.
Your coffee is ready! Just don’t forget to clean up! To do that, remove the basket over a trash can and press down on the plunger. The grinds and filter will pop out, and all you have to do is rinse the Aeropress.
