How to Brew Delicious Coffee Using an Aeropress: We’re working hard to fight the culture of convenience that drives people away from mindfully prepared coffee and towards the quick-n-easy K-cup prospect. That doesn’t mean there isn’t space for a time-saving device, as long as it doesn’t detract from the brew’s wholeness!
The AeroPress is ideal for a great cup of coffee that’s prepared relatively quickly and leaves little mess to clean up. It’s not good for groups or marathon caffeinating sessions (it only makes a cup at a time), but it’s the most convenient way to have a quality coffee without turning to your local barista. Most importantly, it makes the coffee well, without wrinkling much by way of flavor or body. Now we will show you how to brew with an AeroPress.
AeroPress Brewing Guide – How to Make AeroPress Coffee?
What You’ll Need to Brew Coffee Using an Aeropress
- A sturdy mug or tumbler
- Freshly roasted coffee beans of your choosing
- Grinder
- Scale for coffee measuring (optional)
- Kettle
- An AeroPress
- AeroPress paper filters
The Standard Method- How to Brew Coffee Using an Aeropress?
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Step 1: Heat Up The Water
Boil the water to 185 degrees F (85 C), removing for 30 seconds after for roughly the ideal temperature. Remember that you won’t need more than a few cups of water for this brewing style.
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Step 2: Grind The Coffee Beans
While the water’s heating, grind your beans to the proper consistency. Depending on how much you want to make and how sturdy you want your coffee, you can grind anywhere from 2 to 4 scoops worth (If you measure with the provided too).
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Step 3: Place the Filter
Put a round paper filter in the drain cap and rinse with hot water or not needed. Then put the cap on the AeroPress. Make sure to turn the cap firmly to close it properly. Otherwise, you will be dealing with a huge mess.
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Step 4: Set Up the AeroPress
Grab your favorite, sturdy coffee mug and place the axil with the attached filter cap on the mug, filter side down. Again, you will be applying some pressure to this setup so that the sturdy mug thing won’t look like a joke.
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Step 5: Begin the Brew
Now, add the grounds to the axial and once your water is heated, add that too.
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Step 6: Stir & Steep
You will see that some of the grounds, along with CO2 bubbles, are coming to the top of the axil. So grab the stirrer and give the brew a nice few swirls to make sure everything mixes properly. Wait for 30 to 60 seconds to allow your brew to erect, extracting all of the flavors. Now, grab your plunger and get ready for the next step.
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Step 7: Plunge
Carefully put the tip of the plunger into the axil. Then, slowly plunge with only the weight of your hand. The smoother the grind of your coffee, the longer the plunging will take. You mustn’t force it down.
Just take your time. We promise it’s worth every second. The AeroPress filter allows for a good grind, which produces a stronger, fuller coffee. Remove the press from the cup once the plunger is fully depressed. There will be some drops still coming out of the bottom of the filter, so make sure to hover above your cup for a few seconds to avoid making a mess.
Tip: For mild Americano-style coffee, add more water before drinking. For a stronger taste, go ahead and drink the brew as is.
The Inverted Method- How to Brew Coffee Using an Aeropress?
Alternatively, you can use the inverted style. The Aeropress should be facing up with the plunger on the bottom. Add coffee and water, then stir for 30 seconds, place the cap and filter on, flip it over onto the mug, and press in the usual way.
The style combines the full extraction of the long-drenching French Press with the filtering and airtight straining of the AeroPress. However, it’s a bit hard and could cause a big, burning hot mess if not done carefully. Then, follow the steps below very carefully.
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Step 1: Combine the Chamber and Plunger
Now, while the water is heating up and the grounds are set aside, let’s set up the inverted AeroPress. First, you are going to place the rubber portion of the plunger into the axil.
Once the plunger is closed and leveled, invert the Aeropress so that the top of the plunger touches the counter and the open filter-side of the axil is facing up towards you.
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Step 2: Combine & Stir
Now that the axil and plunger combo is in place, you can add the grounds and heated water. For the best flavor, bloom the grounds by just saturating (not submerging them) for about 30 seconds before adding in the rest of the water.
This part will look pretty much the same as it would normally. However, as you stir, you should hold the joint where the two other parts are connected to keep it stable and prevent any catastrophic spillage. Once you have stirred everything up, leave the brew to steep for about a minute. In the meantime, you should be prepping your filter and cap.
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Step 3: Prep the Filter & Cap
While your coffee is erecting, you will need to prepare the filter quickly. While wetting the filter is completely optional for the standard style, it is a must for the inverted style. If you do not wet the filter properly, it will not stick to the filter cap.
If the filter is not secured to the cap, it will fall into your brew when you have it upside down, and you will probably get grounds all in your cup. Gross right? Once your filter is prepared, go ahead and attach the filter cap to the axil.
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Step 4: Flip & Plunge
Now for the tricky bits. Grab a light mug and hold it at the top of the set, over the filter cap. Next, the real magic is in the careful performance of flipping both the mug and the AeroPress in one liquid motion. One hand will be securing the mug to the axil while the other is responsible for keeping the axil and plunger together.
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Step 5: The Cleanup Process
Cleanup is easy. Remove the drain cap and depress the plunger over the trash or compost to pop out the grounds. Rinse everything with hot water, and you can call it a day.
The AeroPress is a great compromise between veneration for quality coffee and the need for speed that we all face from time to time. When you’re in a bit of a hurry, you can’t do better than an AeroPress at home- it beats the hell out of the vending machine, anyway. It’s a great choice.
Varying Your Brew:
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Coffee to water ratio for Aeropress
The Aeropress is actually a rather identical tool because it comes with its own measuring tool. These numbers correspond to the number of scoops that can be used and where you should fill the water for each amount.
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How to make Stronger Aeropress Coffee?
Thanks to those helpful measurement markers, you can switch up the ratio to gain anything from an espresso-like concentration to something resembling your average brew.
This brand recommends filling the press even to the 1 or 4 numbers if you use 1 or 4 scoops. If you are using 2 or 3 scoops, you can either fill to the ovals’ bottom or tops. Filling to the bottom will create a rich brew for something like a Latte, and the tops will weaken the brew a bit to be more appropriate for an American or Long Black dude.
Can You Cold Brew using Aeropress?
Chances are, if you are interested in manual brewing tools like AeroPress, you probably enjoy pursuing different types of brewing styles. One of the most famous home brews to make is the cold brew, simply because there are so many ways you can make it.
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For Brewing
To make cold brew in your Aeropress, you will need to use the inverted style. You have to follow the same steps described above, except you have to use room temperature water instead of near-boiling water.
Stir the grounds properly and put the setup in a safe corner of the kitchen or the fridge where it won’t get bumped in the next 14 to 20 hours. You can’t fit a lot in this little press. However, if you only want one or two servings, it is a good option. It’s a strong, crispy brew.
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For Filtering
Now, for those of you who are tired of leaving your Aeropress set up income corner of your kitchen, you can use it for the sake of filtering, much like you would with a Chemex. However, this will be a tad tiresome. You would likely have to press at least two rounds of the concentrate to finish.
Also, if there are enough grounds in your cold brew, you might have to empty the Aeropress and put in a new filter right away.
Read more about Coarse Ground Coffee
Conclusion (How to Brew Coffee Using an Aeropress):
With just a little bit of practice, we are sure that AeroPress can become your new favorite brewing machine. It’s versatile and easy to use. Plus, it is really portable, so you never have to be without your favorite brewer! So, what are you waiting for start to brew with an AeroPress?
