That gadget is a lot of fun to work with, and it's surprisingly nimble when it comes to making coffee.
The Aeropress bills itself as an espresso and coffee maker. I’ve found it’s kind of "just okay" for espresso. And really pretty damned good for coffee.
The standard way of making Aeropress coffee is to put one rounded scoop of fine grind coffee in the chamber. That's about 7-8 grams of coffee.
We're going to quintuple that for this recipe.
The standard way calls for 175 degrees Fahrenheit water. Ours will be a bit hotter.
And finally, the standard brewing method has you pushing the plunger down, forcing the water through the grinds, past the paper filter, and into your mug.
We're going to flip that.
What you’ll need:
- Aeropress
- Aeropress paper filter
- Coffee (start with whole bean if you can)
- Digital kitchen scale
- Filtered water
- Timer (stopwatch or phone app)
- Digital thermometer
- Mug (the ADCC insulated tumbler works fabulous, hint hint)
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Step 1: Grind 35 grams of coarse ground coffee. We used Cooper's Colombian and Bear's Breakfast Blend medium roasts in our tests. The flavor notes were prominent in each utilizing this method, with the Colombian having a slight edge in taste. |
| Step 2: Rinse the paper filter in water. This removes any paper dust and keeps the coffee from tasting like someone soaked toilet paper in it. | |
| Step 3: Put the Aeropress plunger in the chamber, but just far enough to form a seal. | |
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Step 4: Pour the full 35 grams of coarse ground coffee into the chamber. You'll want to have the chamber with the plunger in it on your kitchen scale for this part to make sure you're getting the full 35 grams. |
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Step 5: Heat your filtered water to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. In Las Vegas, where we're at around 2,000 feet in elevation, that's just about when the water starts to have air bubbles popping on the sides of the pot...if you're heating water on the stove and not using a fancy electric kettle. If you're near sea level, the water may not be bubbling yet. And if you're at 7,000 feet, you may be in a full boil at 185 degrees. Either way, aim for 185 degrees. Here, I wasn't paying attention and let the water go to a full rolling boil. Pouring the water into a Pyrex measuring cup cooled it down to 187 degrees. I waited a few more seconds to let it hit 185 before pouring. |
| Step 6: While waiting for your water to heat up, play fetch with the dog who wants to always play while you're cooking. | |
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Step 7: Start your timer and pour 150 ml of hot water into the Aeropress's top. This might take you all the way to the top of the chamber and should take you about 15 seconds to do. The coffee will "bloom" and form a slurry at the top. This is when gasses trapped in the coffee are released. |
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Step 8: Use a spoon handle, or Aeropress measuring spoon handle, or wooden chopstick to stir the concoction for 20 seconds. |
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Step 9: Put the cap with the paper filter on top and twist it into place. Wait another 20 seconds. |
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Step 10: Flip/invert the press so it's sitting on top of your mug. Don't worry. It's not going to spill since the plunger formed a seal with the chamber. |
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Step 11: Your mug should be on the counter at this point. Not on the scale. Give the Aeropress a little swirl once and then slowly depress the plunger all the way down. You'll hear the air hiss the last few seconds. It actually sounds like an espresso machine gurgling. But human-powered. That's why I call our Aeropress the "Amish De'Longhi." |
| Step 12: Pour another 110 ml of hot water into the mug. Feel free to adjust the amount of water plus or minus 10 ml to your tastes. Give a stir, and you're off to the races! |