How to Brew Aeropress Coffee

How to Brew Aeropress Coffee

I was first introduced to the Aeropress coffee brew method when we stayed with my bother-in-law in Pennsylvania a couple years ago. He’s an official coffee snob, which I say in the nicest way.

He had signed up for one of those coffee delivery services that ships a variety of coffee from multiple roasters around the country and he was now on a mission to brew the perfect cup of coffee. At the time I wasn’t as much into coffee, but I was super excited to have access to such high quality coffee every morning.

At this point, I’d rather roast my coffee at home and save myself the cash, but some people like to outsource more than others. Make sure to check out the Roasting posts on our website for more information.

Why I Like the Aeropress

While pour-over coffee is the hottest trend, the Aeropress is one of those underground brew methods that only those in the know have really taken advantage of.

In my opinion, the Aeropress Coffee Maker is the best and most consistent brew method for a quick cup of coffee. Plus, it’s so much easier to clean up and travel with. You can easily plop the Aeropress and some filters in your carry-on bag, without taking up too much space, which is a big win in my world. I like to take my coffee and scale with me as well, so I don’t have to worry about anything but getting my hands on hot water while on the road.

This is how I pack for a trip.

How to Brew Aeropress Coffee

I’ll start by saying, there really is no one way to brew coffee with an Aeropress Coffee Maker.

If you do a little research about the inventor of the Aeropress, Alan Adler, he talks about how he likes to keep it simple. However, true coffee fanatics tend to geek out about the “perfect cup,” so we’ll geek out a little in this post, just for fun.

I have a very simple recipe that I came up with after playing around with my Aeropress.

What You’ll Need

Aeropress Brewing Instructions

Turn on water kettle to bring water to a boil

Grind 17 grams of coffee to a coarseness similar to kosher salt and pure into the top of the inverted Aeropress.

Pure hot enough hot water to soak grounds and allow to bloom about 30 seconds. (Bloom just means allowing the water to absorb into the coffee, getting it ready for the brew)

After bloom, fill the Aeropress to just before the rim, using a spoon, agitate the grounds in the water for a moment.

Rinse the filter before screwing the top onto Aeropress.

Screw top on tightly.

This next part can be tricky. Place the mug on top of the Aeropress, hold the two pieces together as you flip the Aeropress and mug at the same time. You’ll want to use both hands for this move. I’ve made the mistake of rushing this once and it didn’t turn out well for me. Hot coffee mud everywhere!

Flip right side up and start pressing down. It should take between 20 to 30 seconds to press the coffee through. Don’t rush it.

Congratulations, you’ve just made your first Aeropress coffee!

By the way, these OCD Coffee mugs are for sale in our shop. They’re only $9.95!

Watch my YouTube Video Brewing Aeropress Coffee

World Aeropress Championships Recipes 2018

These recipes were pulled from the World Aeropress Championships website, but I wanted to quickly share them with you here. I’ve based my method on a mix of many of the winners and runners up over the last few years.

Winner – Carolina Ibarra Garay

Inverted Method

  1. Pre-rinse your paper filter with 85C water.
  2. Add 34.9g of ground coffee to your Aeropress.
  3. Pour 100g of water for 30 seconds, water should be 85C.
  4. Stir vigorously but carefully with a wooden pair of chopsticks for 30 seconds.
  5. Put the filter on, flip the AeroPress & press into a glass server for 30 seconds. (Do not preheat your glass!)
  6. Finish up your brew with 60g of 85C water and 40g of room temperature water.

2nd Place – Xiaobo Zhang

Inverted Method

  1. Kalita 95mm paper filter rinsed with cold water
  2. Add 30g of coffee into chamber. Grind:10/10 (1=very fine, 10=very coarse)
  3. Add 100g of water in 15 sec.
  4. Stir for 15 sec.
  5. Add 70g of water @ 80°C
  6. Add 1g of very finely ground coffee (like espresso).
  7. Attach filter cap, flip the AeroPress and press for 45 sec.
  8. Top up brew with 50g of water.

Interested In Pour Over Brewing?

Check out our How to Brew a Pour Over Coffee post.