Tried and tested, the AeroPress Coffee Maker is one of the most versatile coffee makers currently on the market. It can brew hundreds of delicious recipes, so much so that there is now a World AeroPress Championship.
The nature of the AeroPress allows for tasty coffee to be brewed wherever you choose, whether that be on top of a mountain, or an overnight stay in a hotel that you know is going to serve you mediocre coffee at the buffet breakfast. There is also the AeroPress Go, a smaller version of the brewer, which is perfect for travelling.
Invented by Aerobie's star engineer Alan Adler, the AeroPress was designed to brew espresso-style coffee without shelling out a fortune on a fancy coffee machine. In practice, AeroPress espresso is a bit of a myth, as you will not be able to replicate the high pressure that a traditional espresso machine creates.
Instead, the AeroPress has been adopted by the speciality coffee community as a way to brew clean and tasty immersion brews in multiple different ways. If you have not brewed AeroPress coffee before, it has all the clean body of a pour-over coffee, thanks to the paper filter, with the immersion and ease of use of a French Press.
So, if you are looking for a brewer to add to your coffee corner, or just starting out on your coffee journey, the AeroPress Coffee Maker is a great no-fuss option. You will be brewing great coffee with little hassle and minimum spend, and it is a brewer that all of us at Rounton Coffee would highly recommend, especially for gifts. When it comes to brewing recipes, you are spoiled for choice, but as a starting point, this is the way we like to brew with the AeroPress at The Granary.
What You Will Need
- An AeroPress (you will use the brewer, the plunger, the filter cap, the funnel, and the stirrer)
- A paper filter
- Freshly roasted coffee, around 16 grams
- A grinder, or freshly ground coffee, at a medium-fine setting
- A set of digital scales
- A kettle of just-boiled water, around 250 grams
- Your favourite mug
A quick word on scales. They are worth having. If you brew something delicious, scales let you recreate it exactly next time, because you know precisely what you did.
How to Make Coffee with an AeroPress, Step by Step
To start, fill your kettle with filtered water and get this on the boil. Straight off the boil is fine. The hotter the water, the more flavour you will extract, especially with lighter roasted coffee.
- Weigh out 16g of whole coffee beans.
- Grind your coffee to a medium-fine setting, a little finer than you would for many other brewers, but not as fine as espresso.
- We will be using the inverted AeroPress method for this brew. Pull the plunger of the AeroPress to the end of the chamber, leaving it tucked slightly into the brew chamber.
- Pop a paper filter into the filter cap and rinse it with a little hot water. This helps the filter sit snugly and rinses away any papery taste. Set the cap to one side for now.
- Turn the AeroPress Coffee Maker upside down. Place it on your scales and add your ground coffee.
- Add your hot water into the brew chamber and fill right to the top (250g). Give it a gentle stir to make sure all the grounds are saturated.
- Screw the filter cap onto the top and let the coffee steep for one minute.
- After a minute, carefully hold both parts of the brewer, flip it over onto your mug, and plunge slowly and steadily. When you hear a soft hiss, ease off. That hiss tells you the brew is done.
- Now sit back and enjoy your delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Troubleshooting Tips
- If your coffee tastes weak or sour, this usually points to under-extraction. Try grinding a little finer.
- If your coffee tastes harsh or bitter, this often means over-extraction. Coarsen the grind slightly.
- If your results keep changing, weigh your coffee and water every time. Consistency in equals consistency out, and a set of digital scales makes that simple.
A Final Word
It is as simple as that, a delicious brew in under two minutes. As mentioned above, there are many ways to make AeroPress coffee, and that is what we love the most about this brewer. So, we suggest you get the kettle back on and get experimenting.
If you make coffee with your AeroPress regularly, a coffee subscription is an easy way to make sure you always have freshly roasted beans delivered when you need them.