AeroPress Recipe (Standard and Inverted)

Before you start

The AeroPress is a plastic brewing tube with a plunger. You steep coffee in it briefly, then press the coffee through a paper filter with gentle air pressure. The combination of immersion and filtration gives a cup with good body and little sediment, and it is easy to adjust: grind, steep time and water temperature can all change without much effect on cleanup.

There are two main ways to use it. In the standard method, the brewer sits on the mug with the filter cap on, and a little coffee drips through before you press. In the inverted method, you flip the brewer upside down so nothing drips during the steep, then turn it over onto the mug to press. Inverted gives more control, but it needs care, because a loose or tipped brewer full of hot water can spill. This recipe uses the same base for both.

Ingredients

• 15 g (about 2½ tbsp) whole coffee beans — any roast; medium is easiest to start with
• 200 g (200 ml) water — at 85 to 92°C (185 to 198°F), plus extra for rinsing

Method

1. Heat the water to 85 to 92°C (185 to 198°F); let boiled water rest about a minute. Lighter roasts like the hotter end, darker roasts the cooler end.
2. Place a paper filter in the cap and rinse it with hot water. Grind 15 g of coffee medium-fine, similar to table salt.
3. Standard method: twist the cap onto the chamber and set it on a sturdy mug on the scale. Add the coffee and tare.
4. Start the timer and pour 200 g of water, saturating all the grounds. Stir three or four times, then insert the plunger about 1 cm into the chamber to create a seal and slow dripping.
5. At 2:00, take out the plunger, stir gently twice, reinsert it, and press slowly and steadily for 20 to 30 seconds. Stop when you hear a hiss.
6. Inverted method: push the plunger into the chamber about 1 cm and stand the brewer on the plunger end, open side up. Add coffee and 200 g of water, stir, and leave the cap off while it steeps.
7. At 1:45, twist on the rinsed filter cap firmly. Place the mug upside down on top, then, holding both together, flip them over in one smooth motion so the brewer sits on the mug.
8. Press slowly for 20 to 30 seconds until you hear a hiss. Remove the brewer, pop out the puck and filter into the compost, and rinse the seal.

Tips for success

• Press gently. Heavy force pushes fines through the filter and can crack a thin mug.
• For a concentrate to dilute, use 18 g coffee and 100 g water, then add 100 to 120 g hot water to the cup after pressing.
• Practice the inverted flip with room-temperature water first, and always use a mug that is wider than the cap.

Substitutions

Paper filter

A metal disc filter lets more oils through for a fuller, French press-like body with slightly more sediment.

Water temperature

Water closer to 80°C (176°F) gives a softer, sweeter cup with dark roasts; for very light roasts go up to 95°C (203°F).

Steep time

A 1-minute steep with a finer grind makes a brighter cup; a 3-minute steep with a coarser grind is rounder.

Variations

Iced AeroPress

Make the concentrate (18 g coffee, 100 g water) and press it directly over 100 g of ice. Stir and top with cold water or milk.

AeroPress americano

Brew the concentrate, then add 120 ml of hot water for a smooth long coffee without an espresso machine.

Troubleshooting

The plunger is very hard to press

The grind is too fine. Coarsen it a step, and press with steady, light pressure rather than force.

Coffee leaks around the cap in the inverted method

The cap was not fully twisted on, or the seal is worn. Check the cap before flipping and replace the rubber seal if it is loose.

The cup tastes thin and sour

Steep longer, raise the water temperature, or grind finer, changing only one of these at a time.

Storage

Drink right away. Dry the AeroPress after rinsing and store it with the plunger pushed all the way through, or removed, so the rubber seal is not compressed for long periods.