Thank you for this video. I just got an Aeropress for myself and find it very interesting how it can change the result when you adjust the parameters of the brew. I also learnt some things from James Hoffmans videos about that thing. In general there are some facts that translate to all methods of coffee brewing: 1. Roast - diffrent roasts need diffrent treatment - strong roasts tend to be more intense and can get overextracted more easily than lighter roasts. 2. Grindsize & variation - finer leads to more extraction but can make it harder for the water to get through the coffee (would need more pressure on Aeropress or Espresso-Machines, which can be problematic), if the grinds vary too much in size this can lead to channeling and underextraction as the water rather goes around the coarser grinds than picking up the flavor from the finer ones. 3. Water temprature - more tempreture leads to more extraction. 4. Amount of water and coffe - more water also leads to a higher extraction thats why you should always look for the best coffe/water ratio for your specific recipe and add hot water afterwards if you want a lighter cup, otherwise you will gett all the bitter tastes out of your coffee. Of course you can also just add more coffee as you mentioned about the recipes of the champs but I'd guess that in turn also the amount of caffeine for that cup will rise accordingly. 5. Bloom/brew time - more time again leads to higher extraction. Specific to the Aeropress: 1. Pressure - as the Aeropress isn't a espresso-maker you don't look to achieve high pressures, keep in mind that for one the coffe wont be as fine and is not tamped in the brewing chamber, so for one you won't even achieve very high pressure (and if you woul it could be very painfull or you might even break your equipment), and on the other hand it increases the chance of "byproducts" passing the filter and channeling through the coffebed. 2. Brewing method - as mentioned in the video inverted gives you more control as all of the water is in contact with the coffee for the whole brew-time. I tested this myself with otherwise the same recipe and inverted brewing increased the extraction as expected. The stirring thing was already mentioned in the vid. Hope this is helpful to anyone, but please don't just take my word for it, I'm ceartainly not an expert. Best thing is just to try for yourself. If you got additional thoughts feel free to reply.
1. Increasing dose helps to avoid over-extraction 2. Grinding coarse allows for even extraction? and reduce fines 3. Consider dilution gives complete control and a cleaner cup of coffee 4. Stirring allows for a more even extraction 5. Inverted method gives a complete control over all variables 6. Paper filter is still best :)
Mistilteinn yeah it’s definitely not a small amount of coffee. I’m sure you can adjust these recipes like you would in baking. For example just split all the amounts of coffee, water, etc in half. Maybe a bit less time on some of them. A little tweaking and you can get a solid cup I’m sure.
I stumbled on your video looking for an unrelated coffee accessory for pour over. I've owned my AeroPress since 2017 (7 years as of this comment), and brew with it almost exclusively. I still enjoy pour over, French press, moka pot, cold brew, and other brewing methods, but the AeroPress is what I always just keep falling back on. So, with that said, I agree with 3 out of 6 of your findings: 1. Stir, don't bloom: Yup. Immersion is essentially one large bloom. Blooming is necessary in pour over/drip to increase extraction while the water passes through the coffee bed. Trapped CO2 can reduce extraction, leading to a very weak cup. It doesn't help that most pour over/drip brewers experience bypass, further weakening the brew. This isn't a thing with immersion. All of the water is in contact with all of the coffee all of the time. 2. Invert for control: Yup. Unless you have the Fellow Prismo or AeroPress Flow Control Filter Cap (they recently released), inverted keeps your brewing variables constant, leading to more consistent cups. As a tip, before you flip, press the air out of the chamber first to get the plunger more deeply into the brewing chamber. This will help stabilize your flip. 3. Paper is still best: For the most part, I agree. But there are some fantastic metal filters with extremely small holes that reduce fines immensely, sometimes to the point of not even existing. While I prefer paper, I've experimented with metal, cloth, and PEEK filters and each provide different tasting experiences that I think are worth investigating. Regarding increasing your dose and grinding coarser, it's important to understand that the AeroPress Championship competitors are targeting very specific notes in the coffee to "wow" the judge. These recipes are not sustainable IMO. The coarse grind is to minimize the risk of over-extraction and the large dose is to minimize astringency. It's a "safe bet", but also an expensive one. Instead, I would focus on water-to-coffee ratio first, then adjust your grind size until you find the taste you're looking for, all the rest of the variables constant. While the general rule of thumb for pour over/drip is 60 grams per liter (16.7:1), I find that you do need to tighter ratios for immersion. Something closer to 70 grams per liter (14.2:1). Regarding dilution, if you get your ratio right, then the next major factor is steep time. Most of the extraction happens very quickly when the water hits the grinds with diminishing returns as the steep time increases. However, if you don't steep long enough, you will end up with that tea-like body. I see plenty of posts on Reddit where people are asking why their coffee is so weak, and almost always, they're steeping 1:00, or 1:30. Instead, if they went past 2:00, or even 2:30, they'll likely find a better tasting cup. Again though, if it's too strong, pull back on the steep time.
My grind is about the same as I use for drip. I'm at about 16-20 grams of coffee depending on what I want, go inverted, stir vigorously while blooming, hold for 2 minutes before pressing, and then dilute with hot water. Never had any off-flavors. I cannot imagine using that volume of coffee for a single cup. But to each their own.
The Aeropress is an amazing piece of technology that the general public still doesn't know about. Every guest that comes to my home is amazed by it after I brew them a cup of coffee with it. It truly does rival much more expensive devices. Perhaps not quite as good, but probably 90% of the way there with far easier cleanup and maintenance.
The Aeropress ROCKS! I use it multilple times a day to brew an espresso-like espresso and tonic. With this, over extraction is not possible. I use 60 grams of coffee and and 200 grams of water. Press harrd over ice and add my fave tonic and gin if I am able. This rocks my world. I hand grind just before the press in a fairly fine grind. I use the filter papers on top of a the Fellows attachment. I re-use the filter paper about 10 times before replacing it. I use the invernted method and I stir the crap out of the bloom! Again, over-extraction is not an issue with the Aeropress. I am a big guy and I press hard. My Aeropress is bulging at the bottom. I def get at least o few bars. LOL It ROCKS for me! Your mileage may vary!
I've seen that some people like to use an orange press to bring the pressure way up on an Aeropress in order to get something akin to espresso. I'm sure you can reach 9 bars that way.
Haven’t been able to do this in awhile and just got back. I forgot how good coffee can be in this machine. I specifically have a temperature control electric kettle so that I don’t burn the coffee grounds. What a great cup it makes. That and all the methods here DO make a huge difference. Thanks.
I purchased an Aeropress last year and tried it a couple times and I wasn’t impressed just like you. I finally decided to take it out of the cupboard and give it another try. I got the idea of the inverted method from a video on TH-cam and also to add more coffee grounds to make the shot a little stronger, then adding more hot water after the extraction process to help even out the taste/strength. What ended up was one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever made. I’m really glad I gave the Aeropress a second chance.
One thing that you didn't mention that is really important is how much pressure you apply at the end of the brew. Immersion methods don't over-extract unless you either agitate too much or if there's channeling while pressing out water. If you press too fast, you might get some channeling through the puck that's being created, which results in unpleasant compounds being extracted into your cup. For example in cupping you can grind as fine as you like and wait for as long as you want - if you have well roasted, good quality coffee it won't taste bitter. In conclusion, it's really important with the Aeropress to press very very slowly and gently.
For sure. Two of the three winning recipes mention that they should be pressed over the course of about 30 seconds. That definitely encourages a slow approach to the push. But this is definitely an important aspect, and I’m sure this was one of the many reasons that caused me to get subpar cups from the Aeropress in the past.
@@Sprometheus Also important to stop pressing at the first "hiss" of escaping air, those last few ml are really gross and can poison your whole cup. Try pressing that last bit into a second cup and taste - bitter, overextracted coffee.
Ripped apart? To go with what a former WBC says, who approaches brew methods scientifically, or some random TH-camr... not that hard of a choice in my book.
Ngl, Hoffman's analysis boils down to "the taste difference is so negligible that it's not worth the risk and hassle", yet I still invert just because it seems easier for me to not muck up the extraction when I do so.
For standard brewing menthod.. what you can do to prevent the coffee dripping to the cup is inserting the plunger on top of the aeropress just a little bit to create a vacuum 👌
My best cup yet from Aeropress involves kind of the opposite: double the filter; 18-20 g dose of espresso-grade ground beans; bloom it w/enough water to saturate; don't invert, leaving coffee bed sort of intact; brief paddle sweep; 2 minute brew and press
Very interesting, I'm actually getting my first AeroPress in the post tomorrow so I've been researching using it for a couple of days, and the tip about using the recipes from the world champs is a game changer, just been looking through them and now I'm excited to start using them, I was slightly worried about the amount of coffee an AeroPress produces so seeing them all diluting it to produce a good sized cup of coffee is brilliant.
Great video. I love my Aeropress. I use a somewhat finer grind - just a tad finer than drip, but I recently switched to using two filters and slowing down the plunge. Almost 30 seconds just using the weight of two hands on top of one another. I’m really satisfied with the result, but am now going to test out the inverted method and a courser grind. So much fun.
I’m just going to thank you now. My experience with the AeroPress has been the same. Good coffee but sometimes a little light, I can already tell these steps will help a ton of just makes sense 👍
If you're using the standard method, you really need to use the paddle that comes with it to stir or be really careful. More than once, I used a spoon and managed to drag the filter out of place, resulting in A LOT of the grounds making it into my cup. The paddle is designed to not reach the the filter. That was the first and main reason I switched to the inverted method. Of course, as you mentioned, there's a lot more control with the inverted method as well
I think this may be your first video that I sorta disagree with. The competition recipes are brilliant, but they seem too impractical in terms of input output ratio. For competing this is not necessarily an important factor but at home I think it is for many. I have experimented a lot with this brew method and a 17g dose is actually going to produce a close to competition cup IF you grind coarse and minimize fines either using a seive, paper towel (thanks Hoffman!) or using a top tier brew capable grinder that is known to produce few fines at coarse settings.
I think maybe you misunderstood the idea behind this video. Even though I recommend trying the recipes, I more so wanted to present the common techniques used on the recipes and on how they impact the final cup. I’m not saying that you can’t make a good cup with lower doses. But more so introducing these ideas to those who maybe aren’t into the Aeropress or maybe fell off of it like I did.
So what's your recipe? For years I used 17g in a stovetop espresso maker. It makes a very strong, great coffee, but but with lots of sediment and some bitterness. I feel like 17g should be plenty to brew a great cup. But I can't seem to find the right AP recipe.
My favourite everyday morning cup o joe. Inverted, 94c water 15g Coffee, "standard" brew grind, slightly finer for medium roasts, slightly coarser for light or very light roasts. wet grounds, stir until homogenous and let sit 30s Briskly fill to the very top, brew for 1min Flip and press for 20-30s. Do not dilute. Pour between two milkjugs ~10 times to cool down for instant gratification. I've actually come to prefer metal filters, comes across cleaner for me than paper filters with little to no sediment.
I use a very similar recipe but with 18g coffee - 90 deg water, a slight fine - medium grind. I absolutely love the fact that you have more control over the variables with the inverted method. You even get slight "crema" for an espresso-like drink. A good recipe for my taste. :)
These seems very different from what James Hoffman recommends in his aero press videos for a sort of baseline brew (11-13g per 200mL water, pretty fine grind, standard method, etc.) interested to try some of these tips and seeing how they compare
I've been using Hoffman's method and I love the results. This seems..completely backwards. But then I generally *prefer* immersion brewed coffee and Sprometheus says right off the bat that he doesn't like it...
I use the Hoffman method, too, albeit with a few personal modifications. I agree that it is a great baseline. It's also strange to hear oils and tea-likeness as bad qualities of coffee since these are actually things that I kinda personally like, but I understand this is all ultimately about preference anyway so to each their own. It's a fascinating thing to have a diversity of options such as Hoffman's and Sprometheus' for a diversity of tastes.
Yes--James returns the AeroPress to it's immersion roots, which is why the lower ratio + steep has more attention than the press, which itself is used as filtration rather than a huge variable in the recipe. The WAC recipes are very much "fitted" to the quirks of the AeroPress but that means the recipes to get there are very unorthodox.
@@jotharn Normally heavy and light bodies are very much preference but I think Sprometheus was veering to the extremes. Immediate red flags when he said he thought of the AeroPress as an extension of espresso and had to grind fine, press _hard_. Yikes--press GENTLY! Trying to force the water out of anything unless you have the equipment to match is going to be messy.
@@kevadu It's not backwards, just a different ethos. If you go back to Hoffman's recipe video, he links to a similar WAC 2017 recipe, he's aware of it. Rather, as he states at the start, his focus isn't just best taste, but also least effort. With that in mind, you can see why Hoffman went with what he did. Avoiding inversion and dilution makes things far simpler, you put coffee and water in and you get a finished coffee out. It's the best taste you can get while adhering to this principle. If you aren't inverting, you aren't grinding coarse or it'll leak. If you're going fine, you're lowering your ratio.
I use a modified version of Tim Wendelboe’s recipe . Inverted method, coarser grind and longer brewing time. 14g for 200ml, 2:30 total time (30sec slow pushing), double filter paper for a cleaner cup. It creates a V60-like coffee just with an extra punch.
FWIW The aeropress comes with a stirrer, that’s designed to not hit the bottom and therefore not rip the paper filter. I’ve been using aeropress since 2009. I have an espresso machine, but I use it to make coffee at work everyday and absolutely love it.
I use my Aeropress daily because it is a fun and clean way to make a good cup of coffee. I enjoy making a super strong cup of coffee to sip for a very long time. The paper filters are superior to me because you just pop everything off in the recycle bin and rinse the plunger and you're done. All those metal filters and weird things will need you to fiddle with and clean them after each use and that is not a very sexy thing to do.. Creating a cup of coffee with the Aeropress is very easy once you know how to use it and learn how to create the cup of coffee that you enjoy. A tip would be to keep everything you need to brew at the same place to get your coffee faster, the Aeropress will be your best friend when you can brew coffee almost immediately.
I followed all of these tips prior to seeing this, but I’m glad I came across this video. This was the exact reassurance that I needed. Thanks for the info!
Great video! I dislike inversion method so i use a Fellow Prismo. I use the Prismo like a normal Aeropress cap plus adding a paper filter as well. To be clear, I am ignoring the Prismo instructions & their concept of "espresso like" coffee; but the Prismo gives you the control you were missing. This means none of that initial dripping - which i always hated.
I'm finding James Hoffmann's Aeropress recipe for milk-based drinks works very well indeed. (18g slightly coarser than espresso grind, 90mL boiling water, 90 seconds steep, gentle press)
feels like james recipe always spot on for me personally (slight change based on beans, but thats a given) even after trying some recipe out there, i always comeback to his recipe, especially the one where you pour it into ice
i just got an aeropress and was thinking i was doing something wrong. thank you for compiling all this information :) my future morning coffee cups thank you!
I just used it after not touching it for years because - this inverted method at coarse grind is what I am trying next time I brew a simple cup for myslef
Competing at the 2019 worlds was definitely a challenge, we only had 2 x 250 bags given to us back stage, wasn’t sent out to us a week before like the National heats! 3 hours to dial in. Everyone one trying each other’s brews backstage and it was all pretty close!
Angela Buenafe I never thought it was wrong really, just thought it would create a more watery cup. Figured it should be all good in one go. But it definitely kicks the game up a notch! Thanks for watching!
I've had the aeropress for about a year, I brew vietnamese coffee, best coffee ground "trung nguyen - premium", and best way to brew... in a separate cup, pour 300 ml hot water (180°), add 2.25 / 2.5 oz coffee ground, stir, steep for 3 to 4 minutes with cover, afterward pour all coffee liquid and ground in aeropress, push to extract into another larger cup, add 2.5 oz condensed milk, stir, add lots of ice cubes, stir, and enjoy... so delicious. And if you like it creamy, add about 1.5 oz heavy whipping cream.
I agree with using the inverted method. I was using the standard for a bit after having used the inverted. I’ve gone back to the inverted and my coffee is much tastier.
Thanks for the video. I never got one as I always felt it was more of a camping method to brew coffee. However if I do brew coffee at a campground, I use a metal cup over a wood fire and brew the leaves directly in the cup. I don't drink all from the bottom where the grounds lay.
When I first started to make good aeropress coffee (befor I got into espresso), I did every point mentioned in the video. I just wish that I'd had this video when I first got it. I still have have an aeropress coffee made this way every now and then when I want a quick coffee.
OutOfNamesToChoose that’s great you we’re doing these things. I had many cups of bad coffee from my Aeropress until I started incorporating these lessons. Really a total 180 in the quality of the cup I get now. Thanks for watching and the kind words!
My AeroPress just arrived and this is the first video I saw this morning, what luck. So many thanks to you for passing on your practical experience, it's appreciated. I'll incorporate all six recommendations today, except I am not sure of the water measurement for the stir portion of the brew, in order to get a good concentrate for dilution. Thank you for this video.
Great video! I’m a huge AeroPress fan and it’s great to see you’ve gotten back into it. If you can get your hands on Aesir paper filters you’d be shocked how good it can really be. It’s the same as a regular filter just thicker and better filtration. Smoother, cleaner, and notes come through better IMO.
Hey.. I've used an Aeropress pretty much every day for a number of years to make two americanos in the morning for my wife and I, using standard cheap supermarket beans. I press into a little steel milk jug which the Aeropress sits on nicely. I'm on my third Aeropress having worn two out, and I love it. Here's my experience with this brilliant piece of kit. 1. Dose. I use 18-20g of coffee per cup, no need for more in my opinion and I enjoy a full bodied, strong americano. 2. Grind. I prefer a relatively fine grind, like a coarse espresso grind, but much finer than you'd use in a French press. My grind looks much finer than shown in your video. It makes the pressing phase quite slow with a moderate pressure, maybe 20-25 seconds. 3. Agreed, dilution IS key. I add water (90°C) to roughly double the level of the coffee in the Aeropress. This produces an espresso like double shot volume of coffee which is perfectly drinkable as an 'espresso', then add hot water to bring it up to a large americano. 4. Stirring. Yep, stir vigorously as soon as the water is added with the provided Aeropress stirring thingy until you're sure the coffee is evenly spread throughout the liquid, making a smooth 'coffee soup'. Something you don't mention in your video - Brew time. I insert the plunger and leave it alone for two minutes. The brew time is the variable I adjust to account for different coffee beans. Bitter over extraction? reduce brew time. Bland under extraction? Increase brew time. It's only a matter of half a minute either way though. 5. Inverted. Nah. I don't care what the champions do, I reckon the 'inverted' method is just a way to seem edgy for hipsters. I've tried inverted and see no point to it whatever. It might be disconcerting for a few drips to fall into your jug/mug before you're ready to extract but it really makes no difference to your final coffee in my opinion. Using a finer grind seems to have the side effect of allowing much less run-through than coarse, so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me. Also, the provided stirrer is the perfect shape/length to stir efficiently in the upright position. 6. Agreed, the paper filter is best. I personally see no need to rinse the paper, that just increases the risk of splitting it when you screw on the body in my experience. Final thoughts. My experience is purely based on making two cheap, hearty morning mugs of americano for the mrs and I. I don't use artisan roasted coffee in the aeropress (I have other methods for proper espresso), but the right grind, water temperature, stir, brewtime and dilution create a great mug of coffee from the always available big brand beans.
@@darkpatches I enclose the word espresso in speech marks to show that I know we aren't taking about espresso, and use the term 'espresso like' also, because I don't have a word for an espresso sized shot of strong coffee extraction.
@@metab0rk I know, my friend. I know. Always looking for an opportunity to quote "The Princess Bride." Maybe I should've use the winky face.... I don't think we need to argue about verbiage, but I will point out that Aeropress coffee was designed by the inventor to have water added to it, so no need to call it something else. But, even he says he makes "espresso drinks" with it, using more coffee and less water. Though he calls adding water to it making American coffee, not an Americano. I personally don't like the unnecessary dilution of terms, but it's common and people know exactly what you meant. I personally use the Alan Adler method, after much experimentation. Your method is very similar to his, without the extended brew time and higher brew temp. I agree with him that the shorter "wet time" and lower water temp produce a sweeter, more distinctly Aeropress-style coffee, but to each his own.
@@darkpatches ah.. I did wonder why your reply was enclosed in speech marks. I should've looked it up. Fair enough though, I agree my drinks are not strictly Americanos, but that term seems so loosely defined I thought I'd get away with it. ;-)
inverted method edgy? seems to me that if you use cheap supermarket coffee you won't like the result of the water and the coffee making contact for more time, and obviously if you dont use fresh coffee the bloom doesn't make much sense, but if we talk about specialty coffee, yes, you 100% would like more the taste and complexity of the liquid you extract with the inverted method
This video saved my AP from being listed on Ebay...lol. Thank you for the summary!! I never made a satisfying cup of coffee with it ...admittedly even after giving it one more try it still was not perfect but good enough for me to try it again tomorrow morning or get the same kind of coffee in those winning recipes...I’m still buzzing from my cup this morning too strong even with adjustments :-)
Great video, I just pulled my aero press off the shelf after several years. I need needed to buy a replacement gasket which I did. I brewed an awesome cup and then enjoyed your video. Thanks for the tips.
I know this video is almost 2 years old, but on the higher 30g dose used by the winners, they changed the rules in 2021, and a max of only 18g was allowed in the 2021 championship. Still a great video though. Lots of decent info. Cheers.
Really good synopsis, I to have fallen out of love with my Aeropress due to the exact reasons you give, must dig it out and give it a whirl. Oddly a lot of good coffee companies still use the old brew recipes in their online brew sections. Methinks they were never really using the Aeropress.
Grinding coarser really tastes better (at least for me). I was using medium-fine grinds before with a minute immersion and 25 secs press with a complex local bean and I could not achieve the proper taste notes described. I got it right when I added 30 secs bloom (yea, against what you preach) with a three full stir with the paddle after, it tasted as described by the roaster. A concentrated brew extracts the intense flavors while dilution spreads these flavors nicely in the cup. I like your ideas and will consider these in crafting/upgrading my own recipe.
everyone let’s all like this video and his other vids! He’s been working so hard for so long and has been releasing quality content for us! Let’s show our appreciation
Thanks for these tips distilled from your research of winning methods. Very informative and to-the-point. I had been mulling an Aeropress purchase off and on for years and finally pulled the trigger. I've been a daily pour over guy for last three or four years - to the point where I havent fired up the espresso machine since I can't remember when. So I had a bit of an "ah ha" moment when you mentioned stirring the pour over during bloom. I had not considered that, though i've always felt my method doesnt produce any dry patches. Still, i might even improve that too. I look forward to checking out your other vids. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us.
I use the Fellows with a paper filter. Have my AP since 2006. Working with the 3rd silicon plunger. Learned the dilution trick years ago. Also the filters can be rinsed and reused several times. For all the years I have had mine and well into 3K cups of coffee I still like to play. Even with cheap off shelf pre-ground you can make a better cup than the mermaid.
Fellow prismo is 👌 I usually brew 15g to 230g at 188º - stir for 5-7 seconds - brew for 110 seconds. For an aeropresso I use 10g to 65g at 205º for 50 seconds. These numbers work very well with paper filter as well, just make sure you brew inverted. I use both methods daily and don't notice a big difference in flavor.
I am somewhat entertained by all the debates. But. Original recipe does it for me. I dial in a fine espresso grind of ~14 g of coffee beans. Pour to the “1” marker. Stir 10 seconds with the paddle. Push down for 20-30 seconds. Dilute the result in my mug to taste, if desired. Done. If I’m going to wait for minutes, I’ll just use my pour over stuff instead. To me the genius of the Aeropress is that it saves time, tastes yummy and makes low-acid coffee, saving my gut!
I can get a really good cup using a fine grind and classic method. I usually use 31 grams, stir slowly and not too vigorously for 30 seconds, and plunge. I also usually brew on to two ice cubes and then pour into a cup of ice for a really nice iced coffee. If it's a hot cup I'll dilute a bit.
I usually don't push the plunger until it touches the ground. I only push till the surface of the coffee bed looks dry, even before hearing the 'hissing' sound, to prevent over-extraction. Then, I push the rest of the extraction on another cup or over a sink before disposing the ground.
I've owned my Aeropress since 2016 and have taken it on missions trips to Mexico, Uganda, and, most recently, to Northern Cyprus. Here is what works for me: 1. I roast my own beans--depending on the origin, I usually go for a City to City+ roast. 2. I grind on the coarse side of medium. 3. Water:coffee ratio is approximately 18:1. 4. Water is nearly boiling. (Remember, I am using this when traveling, so my figures, including water temperature, are not precise.) 5. I use the inversion method for extraction, and yes, I stir the grounds. 6. Extraction time is 3 minutes. 7. I usually take a glass beaker with me, so if I have used 25 grams of coffee I squeeze the coffee concentrate into the beaker and fill the remainder with hot water up to the 450 ml line. My missions teammates have gotten spoiled by my coffee!
These are all great points...aeropress has been my daily driver now for a few years. The recipe I use (I wanna say it was a 1st place winning recipe): 30g course coffee (inverted) ->100ml of water with 20 stirs->45sec rest-> flip and press into 120ml of hot water. Really delicous and consistent for me. You may want to check out AESIR filters...they are thicker (like a chemex) paper filters...really helps to bring clarity to the cup.
Great video! Lots of great suggestions to improve the cup you can get out of an aeropress. It is perfect for limited space, or super tight budgets. For me it’s a travel brewer. It can make a good cup. Cups close to many other methods, but why get close when I have the thing that gets me all the way there. -Joe
Thanks brother! I always used it as a travel brewer when I was going somewhere I couldn’t go out and get good coffee, but this has definitely changed that view. These recipes really brought new life to the Aeropress for me.
I found that using a metal chopstick works very well for stirring. I use the inverted method and it's been pretty good. I only use it sparingly, since it's for those moments when I just need a quick cuppa.
Never had any sediment over 8 years, with coarse or espresso fine grind, either. I find espresso grind works best for my palate. Another advantage of the paper filter is it takes care of the coffee oils that can raise your LDL cholesterol levels, espresso has them, paper Aeropress does not.
ha, this is kind of funny to watch this video now because after having to use an old press pot at my parents, i found that i used all of these points for those brews. coarse grind, large dose, stirring, long extraction, and dilution afterword. one thing that seemed to help a lot was the fact that the press pot was insulated so the extraction didnt lose temperature. sometimes i'd leave the coffee in for 20+ minutes and it would still be blazing by the time i poured it. anyway, cheers and thanks for the video.
Keep the grind about a #12 and brew it for only 45-60 seconds. Also, bone up on what the paper filters out. Antioxodants and diterpenes. Aside from health benefits paper also impacts the taste.
Thanks a bunch. I'm becoming a big fan of the Aeropress. I was like you and didn't really have much hope for it. I'm learning new recipes and making pretty damn good coffee.
Chris Hunter it might be, to be honest I haven’t read much about him other than what I’ve seen in passing. And what I did see that stuff it was during the time where the Aeropress wasn’t really front of mind. But I’ll look up this for sure.
I saw a video where the inventor recommended using an espresso grind and having a lower water temp (around 80 - 85 C). This works well for me because I don't have to change grind settings after making an espresso. The cup this method produces is full bodied, but still reasonably clean. There are some oils getting thru, but no solids. Just the way I like it. Best of all, it only needs 11g coffee for 200 ml water.
Just got my aeropress and I was trying different ways of brewing but wasn't happy with any of them. Thanks for the helpful tips. I'm looking forward to trying it inverted next. I'm hoping that that will finally give me the cup of coffee I've been looking for
I get superrr clean and sweet cups with my aeropress w/ this inverted double filter recipe: - same grind as espresso (!!) - 10-20g coffee, doesn’t matter - pour 3:1 water and swirl until 15 sec - pour the rest of your water until you hit 12:1 and steep until 30-40 sec - cap on and plunge by 1:00-1:10 freakin delicious
The Aeropress was the first method for making coffee when I decided that the convenience of the Krueger (sorry, bad spelling), didn't cut it for me. I first ordered an Aeropress plus hand grinder from Amazon and it was much better. Mine has sat for some time as the seal became harder to press and I moved on to Hario, Chemex and an entry level espresso machine. I haven't found a way to soften the plunger seal so maybe a solution will come to me. Enjoyed your video, thanks. Coffeehound
One thing not mentioned is the type of water you are using. What you drink is like 98% water, so the water you use of course plays a huge role in how the coffee tastes. Hard mineral water is usually recommended but this can vary a lot, so the only thing I can really suggest over a youtube comment is to try different types of waters. You may encounter some that makes a horrible cup of coffee but in the process you will also find something that tastes amazing to your own palate. It's really amazing how many people don't consider to change up the type of water they use to brew their coffee.
Thank you for this video. I just got an Aeropress for myself and find it very interesting how it can change the result when you adjust the parameters of the brew. I also learnt some things from James Hoffmans videos about that thing.
In general there are some facts that translate to all methods of coffee brewing:
1. Roast - diffrent roasts need diffrent treatment - strong roasts tend to be more intense and can get overextracted more easily than lighter roasts.
2. Grindsize & variation - finer leads to more extraction but can make it harder for the water to get through the coffee (would need more pressure on Aeropress or Espresso-Machines, which can be problematic), if the grinds vary too much in size this can lead to channeling and underextraction as the water rather goes around the coarser grinds than picking up the flavor from the finer ones.
3. Water temprature - more tempreture leads to more extraction.
4. Amount of water and coffe - more water also leads to a higher extraction thats why you should always look for the best coffe/water ratio for your specific recipe and add hot water afterwards if you want a lighter cup, otherwise you will gett all the bitter tastes out of your coffee. Of course you can also just add more coffee as you mentioned about the recipes of the champs but I'd guess that in turn also the amount of caffeine for that cup will rise accordingly.
5. Bloom/brew time - more time again leads to higher extraction.
Specific to the Aeropress:
1. Pressure - as the Aeropress isn't a espresso-maker you don't look to achieve high pressures, keep in mind that for one the coffe wont be as fine and is not tamped in the brewing chamber, so for one you won't even achieve very high pressure (and if you woul it could be very painfull or you might even break your equipment), and on the other hand it increases the chance of "byproducts" passing the filter and channeling through the coffebed.
2. Brewing method - as mentioned in the video inverted gives you more control as all of the water is in contact with the coffee for the whole brew-time. I tested this myself with otherwise the same recipe and inverted brewing increased the extraction as expected. The stirring thing was already mentioned in the vid.
Hope this is helpful to anyone, but please don't just take my word for it, I'm ceartainly not an expert. Best thing is just to try for yourself. If you got additional thoughts feel free to reply.
1. Increasing dose helps to avoid over-extraction
2. Grinding coarse allows for even extraction? and reduce fines
3. Consider dilution gives complete control and a cleaner cup of coffee
4. Stirring allows for a more even extraction
5. Inverted method gives a complete control over all variables
6. Paper filter is still best :)
You're right. Not sure why this guy didn't say this.
Thanks for helpful summary! Screenshot this for future reference 👍🏻 just made a better cup now
@@tasmedic hahah what do you mean? He’s literally summarizing the points from my video…
(Pensive newspaper cat) "This is supposed to be a 1 minute video"
@@SprometheusI believe he was making a joke
Having watched dozens of videos on AeroPress, this one has been the single most helpful and admirably honest !
I love my aeropress... Even brew loose tea in one too... Best coffee maker ever❤
diluting aeropress is my favorite way too, but using 35g of coffee for my everyday cup is way to expensive.
Mistilteinn yeah it’s definitely not a small amount of coffee. I’m sure you can adjust these recipes like you would in baking.
For example just split all the amounts of coffee, water, etc in half. Maybe a bit less time on some of them. A little tweaking and you can get a solid cup I’m sure.
@@Sprometheus True true, but then I would just have a very small cup. Who wants that?
Mistilteinn haha, that’s true.
There are a few runner up recipes that I found pretty good that were around 18-20 grams. Worth a try
This is the main reason I switched to roasting my own coffee, that and my remote location from any roaster.
I stumbled on your video looking for an unrelated coffee accessory for pour over. I've owned my AeroPress since 2017 (7 years as of this comment), and brew with it almost exclusively. I still enjoy pour over, French press, moka pot, cold brew, and other brewing methods, but the AeroPress is what I always just keep falling back on. So, with that said, I agree with 3 out of 6 of your findings:
1. Stir, don't bloom: Yup. Immersion is essentially one large bloom. Blooming is necessary in pour over/drip to increase extraction while the water passes through the coffee bed. Trapped CO2 can reduce extraction, leading to a very weak cup. It doesn't help that most pour over/drip brewers experience bypass, further weakening the brew. This isn't a thing with immersion. All of the water is in contact with all of the coffee all of the time.
2. Invert for control: Yup. Unless you have the Fellow Prismo or AeroPress Flow Control Filter Cap (they recently released), inverted keeps your brewing variables constant, leading to more consistent cups. As a tip, before you flip, press the air out of the chamber first to get the plunger more deeply into the brewing chamber. This will help stabilize your flip.
3. Paper is still best: For the most part, I agree. But there are some fantastic metal filters with extremely small holes that reduce fines immensely, sometimes to the point of not even existing. While I prefer paper, I've experimented with metal, cloth, and PEEK filters and each provide different tasting experiences that I think are worth investigating.
Regarding increasing your dose and grinding coarser, it's important to understand that the AeroPress Championship competitors are targeting very specific notes in the coffee to "wow" the judge. These recipes are not sustainable IMO. The coarse grind is to minimize the risk of over-extraction and the large dose is to minimize astringency. It's a "safe bet", but also an expensive one. Instead, I would focus on water-to-coffee ratio first, then adjust your grind size until you find the taste you're looking for, all the rest of the variables constant. While the general rule of thumb for pour over/drip is 60 grams per liter (16.7:1), I find that you do need to tighter ratios for immersion. Something closer to 70 grams per liter (14.2:1).
Regarding dilution, if you get your ratio right, then the next major factor is steep time. Most of the extraction happens very quickly when the water hits the grinds with diminishing returns as the steep time increases. However, if you don't steep long enough, you will end up with that tea-like body. I see plenty of posts on Reddit where people are asking why their coffee is so weak, and almost always, they're steeping 1:00, or 1:30. Instead, if they went past 2:00, or even 2:30, they'll likely find a better tasting cup. Again though, if it's too strong, pull back on the steep time.
Love the aero press - been using it for 2 years and nothing else. have one at home, one in work and one in my hiking sack.
My grind is about the same as I use for drip. I'm at about 16-20 grams of coffee depending on what I want, go inverted, stir vigorously while blooming, hold for 2 minutes before pressing, and then dilute with hot water. Never had any off-flavors. I cannot imagine using that volume of coffee for a single cup. But to each their own.
The Aeropress is an amazing piece of technology that the general public still doesn't know about. Every guest that comes to my home is amazed by it after I brew them a cup of coffee with it. It truly does rival much more expensive devices. Perhaps not quite as good, but probably 90% of the way there with far easier cleanup and maintenance.
The Aeropress ROCKS! I use it multilple times a day to brew an espresso-like espresso and tonic. With this, over extraction is not possible. I use 60 grams of coffee and and 200 grams of water. Press harrd over ice and add my fave tonic and gin if I am able. This rocks my world. I hand grind just before the press in a fairly fine grind. I use the filter papers on top of a the Fellows attachment. I re-use the filter paper about 10 times before replacing it. I use the invernted method and I stir the crap out of the bloom! Again, over-extraction is not an issue with the Aeropress. I am a big guy and I press hard. My Aeropress is bulging at the bottom. I def get at least o few bars. LOL It ROCKS for me! Your mileage may vary!
I've seen that some people like to use an orange press to bring the pressure way up on an Aeropress in order to get something akin to espresso. I'm sure you can reach 9 bars that way.
Haven’t been able to do this in awhile and just got back. I forgot how good coffee can be in this machine. I specifically have a temperature control electric kettle so that I don’t burn the coffee grounds. What a great cup it makes. That and all the methods here DO make a huge difference. Thanks.
I purchased an Aeropress last year and tried it a couple times and I wasn’t impressed just like you. I finally decided to take it out of the cupboard and give it another try. I got the idea of the inverted method from a video on TH-cam and also to add more coffee grounds to make the shot a little stronger, then adding more hot water after the extraction process to help even out the taste/strength. What ended up was one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever made. I’m really glad I gave the Aeropress a second chance.
One thing that you didn't mention that is really important is how much pressure you apply at the end of the brew. Immersion methods don't over-extract unless you either agitate too much or if there's channeling while pressing out water. If you press too fast, you might get some channeling through the puck that's being created, which results in unpleasant compounds being extracted into your cup. For example in cupping you can grind as fine as you like and wait for as long as you want - if you have well roasted, good quality coffee it won't taste bitter.
In conclusion, it's really important with the Aeropress to press very very slowly and gently.
+1 to that. It needs constant, but slowly applied pressure.
For sure. Two of the three winning recipes mention that they should be pressed over the course of about 30 seconds. That definitely encourages a slow approach to the push.
But this is definitely an important aspect, and I’m sure this was one of the many reasons that caused me to get subpar cups from the Aeropress in the past.
@@Sprometheus Also important to stop pressing at the first "hiss" of escaping air, those last few ml are really gross and can poison your whole cup. Try pressing that last bit into a second cup and taste - bitter, overextracted coffee.
@@jgalt99 if inverted, you can push out all the air first when inverted (after screwing filter cap), so you will never push air to your mug/decanter.
@@jgalt99 this is a myth. Press with/without hiss and do blind tests. You won't find a discernable difference in most cases.
Big thumbs up for how you have done the research before presenting the key points. They are all convincing.
To invert or not to invert. Sprometheus and James Hoffman disagree and the coffee community is ripped apart.
Ripped apart? To go with what a former WBC says, who approaches brew methods scientifically, or some random TH-camr... not that hard of a choice in my book.
@@phl0w666 not a choice in my book, but the scientific approach is no a choice for lot's of people these days, unfortunately.
Ngl, Hoffman's analysis boils down to "the taste difference is so negligible that it's not worth the risk and hassle", yet I still invert just because it seems easier for me to not muck up the extraction when I do so.
James Hoffman is a 43 year old lesbian
@@phl0w666try both and make your own choice…desoite what refractometers say taste is subjective
For standard brewing menthod.. what you can do to prevent the coffee dripping to the cup is inserting the plunger on top of the aeropress just a little bit to create a vacuum 👌
I just got the aeropress and I have yet to try this. One video recommends inserting at an angle and then pulling up on the plunger slightly.
My best cup yet from Aeropress involves kind of the opposite: double the filter; 18-20 g dose of espresso-grade ground beans; bloom it w/enough water to saturate; don't invert, leaving coffee bed sort of intact; brief paddle sweep; 2 minute brew and press
Very interesting, I'm actually getting my first AeroPress in the post tomorrow so I've been researching using it for a couple of days, and the tip about using the recipes from the world champs is a game changer, just been looking through them and now I'm excited to start using them, I was slightly worried about the amount of coffee an AeroPress produces so seeing them all diluting it to produce a good sized cup of coffee is brilliant.
Great video. I love my Aeropress. I use a somewhat finer grind - just a tad finer than drip, but I recently switched to using two filters and slowing down the plunge. Almost 30 seconds just using the weight of two hands on top of one another. I’m really satisfied with the result, but am now going to test out the inverted method and a courser grind. So much fun.
You might also need to mention about getting a decent grinder too. At least a hand grinder which doesn't produce a lot of dust.
Just brewed a sour cup of coffee with my aeropress. Ventured for help and glad I found this video lol
I’m just going to thank you now. My experience with the AeroPress has been the same. Good coffee but sometimes a little light, I can already tell these steps will help a ton of just makes sense 👍
If you're using the standard method, you really need to use the paddle that comes with it to stir or be really careful. More than once, I used a spoon and managed to drag the filter out of place, resulting in A LOT of the grounds making it into my cup. The paddle is designed to not reach the the filter. That was the first and main reason I switched to the inverted method. Of course, as you mentioned, there's a lot more control with the inverted method as well
I think this may be your first video that I sorta disagree with. The competition recipes are brilliant, but they seem too impractical in terms of input output ratio. For competing this is not necessarily an important factor but at home I think it is for many. I have experimented a lot with this brew method and a 17g dose is actually going to produce a close to competition cup IF you grind coarse and minimize fines either using a seive, paper towel (thanks Hoffman!) or using a top tier brew capable grinder that is known to produce few fines at coarse settings.
I think maybe you misunderstood the idea behind this video.
Even though I recommend trying the recipes, I more so wanted to present the common techniques used on the recipes and on how they impact the final cup.
I’m not saying that you can’t make a good cup with lower doses. But more so introducing these ideas to those who maybe aren’t into the Aeropress or maybe fell off of it like I did.
The Real Sprometheus fair enough.
So what's your recipe? For years I used 17g in a stovetop espresso maker. It makes a very strong, great coffee, but but with lots of sediment and some bitterness. I feel like 17g should be plenty to brew a great cup. But I can't seem to find the right AP recipe.
I love my AP! There are so many cool things that you can do. It’s great for tea too
I haven’t delved into the tea side yet, but at some point I’m sure I will. It’s definitely a cool tool for all kinds of beverages.
How cool! How do you use it for tea?
I've considered it for tea how do you use it to make tea? I'm guessing not inverted?
My favourite everyday morning cup o joe.
Inverted, 94c water
15g Coffee, "standard" brew grind, slightly finer for medium roasts, slightly coarser for light or very light roasts.
wet grounds, stir until homogenous and let sit 30s
Briskly fill to the very top, brew for 1min
Flip and press for 20-30s.
Do not dilute.
Pour between two milkjugs ~10 times to cool down for instant gratification.
I've actually come to prefer metal filters, comes across cleaner for me than paper filters with little to no sediment.
I use a very similar recipe but with 18g coffee - 90 deg water, a slight fine - medium grind. I absolutely love the fact that you have more control over the variables with the inverted method. You even get slight "crema" for an espresso-like drink. A good recipe for my taste. :)
Chopsticks are for making omelettes. The last thing I need is the opportunity to multitask before my brain wakes up. Great vid though.
These seems very different from what James Hoffman recommends in his aero press videos for a sort of baseline brew (11-13g per 200mL water, pretty fine grind, standard method, etc.) interested to try some of these tips and seeing how they compare
I've been using Hoffman's method and I love the results. This seems..completely backwards.
But then I generally *prefer* immersion brewed coffee and Sprometheus says right off the bat that he doesn't like it...
I use the Hoffman method, too, albeit with a few personal modifications. I agree that it is a great baseline. It's also strange to hear oils and tea-likeness as bad qualities of coffee since these are actually things that I kinda personally like, but I understand this is all ultimately about preference anyway so to each their own. It's a fascinating thing to have a diversity of options such as Hoffman's and Sprometheus' for a diversity of tastes.
Yes--James returns the AeroPress to it's immersion roots, which is why the lower ratio + steep has more attention than the press, which itself is used as filtration rather than a huge variable in the recipe. The WAC recipes are very much "fitted" to the quirks of the AeroPress but that means the recipes to get there are very unorthodox.
@@jotharn Normally heavy and light bodies are very much preference but I think Sprometheus was veering to the extremes. Immediate red flags when he said he thought of the AeroPress as an extension of espresso and had to grind fine, press _hard_. Yikes--press GENTLY! Trying to force the water out of anything unless you have the equipment to match is going to be messy.
@@kevadu It's not backwards, just a different ethos. If you go back to Hoffman's recipe video, he links to a similar WAC 2017 recipe, he's aware of it. Rather, as he states at the start, his focus isn't just best taste, but also least effort.
With that in mind, you can see why Hoffman went with what he did. Avoiding inversion and dilution makes things far simpler, you put coffee and water in and you get a finished coffee out. It's the best taste you can get while adhering to this principle. If you aren't inverting, you aren't grinding coarse or it'll leak. If you're going fine, you're lowering your ratio.
Dude, easily the most helpful video I've found so far on the AeroPress, almost a necessity for anyone new to it...
Appreciate it
Cheers
Thank you my friend, I appreciate that and I’m happy to know people are finding it helpful!
I’ve been using the Aeropress for a few months now and everything you said I literally found out the hard way. It’s all spot on, great advice!
I use a modified version of Tim Wendelboe’s recipe . Inverted method, coarser grind and longer brewing time. 14g for 200ml, 2:30 total time (30sec slow pushing), double filter paper for a cleaner cup. It creates a V60-like coffee just with an extra punch.
Coarser grind will also taste better at home unless you have an EK-43 or similarly super expensive commercial grinders at home.
How coarse exactly? Around french press? A bit finer/coarser?
I just received my aeropress today. Thanks a lot for these tips, I enjoyed the pace of the video and the different shots you did. Will subscribe!
I'm so happy you managed to rekindle your love for the Aeropress 🙃
FWIW The aeropress comes with a stirrer, that’s designed to not hit the bottom and therefore not rip the paper filter.
I’ve been using aeropress since 2009. I have an espresso machine, but I use it to make coffee at work everyday and absolutely love it.
Also great for camping! I have one permanently in my camper van setup.
I use my Aeropress daily because it is a fun and clean way to make a good cup of coffee. I enjoy making a super strong cup of coffee to sip for a very long time. The paper filters are superior to me because you just pop everything off in the recycle bin and rinse the plunger and you're done. All those metal filters and weird things will need you to fiddle with and clean them after each use and that is not a very sexy thing to do.. Creating a cup of coffee with the Aeropress is very easy once you know how to use it and learn how to create the cup of coffee that you enjoy. A tip would be to keep everything you need to brew at the same place to get your coffee faster, the Aeropress will be your best friend when you can brew coffee almost immediately.
Agreed! Once you find a recipe you like and repeat it (often), then it becomes second nature and it’s easy/quick to brew and clean.
Got my Aeropress today, following these tips I made what was the best cup of coffee I have tasted for a long time. Great video.
Glad to hear that! Cheers!
I've watched a lot of Aeropress videos and yours is still the one that has been most helpful to me.
I followed all of these tips prior to seeing this, but I’m glad I came across this video. This was the exact reassurance that I needed. Thanks for the info!
Happy to be of assistance! Happy brewing!
Great video! I dislike inversion method so i use a Fellow Prismo. I use the Prismo like a normal Aeropress cap plus adding a paper filter as well. To be clear, I am ignoring the Prismo instructions & their concept of "espresso like" coffee; but the Prismo gives you the control you were missing. This means none of that initial dripping - which i always hated.
I'm finding James Hoffmann's Aeropress recipe for milk-based drinks works very well indeed. (18g slightly coarser than espresso grind, 90mL boiling water, 90 seconds steep, gentle press)
feels like james recipe always spot on for me personally (slight change based on beans, but thats a given)
even after trying some recipe out there, i always comeback to his recipe, especially the one where you pour it into ice
Actually the most helpful guide, thanks!
i just got an aeropress and was thinking i was doing something wrong.
thank you for compiling all this information :)
my future morning coffee cups thank you!
Thanks for this. I've been in the same place for years with making sub-optimal coffees - the tips above give me hope of improvement!
I just used it after not touching it for years because - this inverted method at coarse grind is what I am trying next time I brew a simple cup for myslef
Competing at the 2019 worlds was definitely a challenge, we only had 2 x 250 bags given to us back stage, wasn’t sent out to us a week before like the National heats! 3 hours to dial in. Everyone one trying each other’s brews backstage and it was all pretty close!
Trying to get a new coffee dialed in can be a HUGE PITA....grind size and water temp lead to MANY variables.
And this 500 grams was for training ánd competition! Remember the chaos? 😁
Wow! I have always thought diluting was wrong but it just taste good. This made it officially ok. Thanks!!!
Nice video too!
Angela Buenafe I never thought it was wrong really, just thought it would create a more watery cup. Figured it should be all good in one go. But it definitely kicks the game up a notch!
Thanks for watching!
It is also recommended by the founder.
@@jjan7239 more like the founder insists it's the only way to get good coffee out of the AP.
Just got my Aeropress. Thank you for the tips before I make my first cup
Joe JoeLesh glad I could help! Happy brewing!
I've had the aeropress for about a year, I brew vietnamese coffee, best coffee ground "trung nguyen - premium", and best way to brew... in a separate cup, pour 300 ml hot water (180°), add 2.25 / 2.5 oz coffee ground, stir, steep for 3 to 4 minutes with cover, afterward pour all coffee liquid and ground in aeropress, push to extract into another larger cup, add 2.5 oz condensed milk, stir, add lots of ice cubes, stir, and enjoy... so delicious. And if you like it creamy, add about 1.5 oz heavy whipping cream.
I agree with using the inverted method. I was using the standard for a bit after having used the inverted. I’ve gone back to the inverted and my coffee is much tastier.
I stopped using the inverted because I found it was just a bit annoying. Anyway I'm going to buy the flow control cap too.
Thanks for the video. I never got one as I always felt it was more of a camping method to brew coffee. However if I do brew coffee at a campground, I use a metal cup over a wood fire and brew the leaves directly in the cup. I don't drink all from the bottom where the grounds lay.
Using two paper filters for a cleaner cup was a game changer for me
When I first started to make good aeropress coffee (befor I got into espresso), I did every point mentioned in the video. I just wish that I'd had this video when I first got it. I still have have an aeropress coffee made this way every now and then when I want a quick coffee.
OutOfNamesToChoose that’s great you we’re doing these things. I had many cups of bad coffee from my Aeropress until I started incorporating these lessons. Really a total 180 in the quality of the cup I get now.
Thanks for watching and the kind words!
My AeroPress just arrived and this is the first video I saw this morning, what luck. So many thanks to you for passing on your practical experience, it's appreciated. I'll incorporate all six recommendations today, except I am not sure of the water measurement for the stir portion of the brew, in order to get a good concentrate for dilution. Thank you for this video.
Great video! I’m a huge AeroPress fan and it’s great to see you’ve gotten back into it.
If you can get your hands on Aesir paper filters you’d be shocked how good it can really be. It’s the same as a regular filter just thicker and better filtration. Smoother, cleaner, and notes come through better IMO.
Dat Dood thank you! And I’m definitely glad to be back in the Aeropress game!
Hey.. I've used an Aeropress pretty much every day for a number of years to make two americanos in the morning for my wife and I, using standard cheap supermarket beans. I press into a little steel milk jug which the Aeropress sits on nicely. I'm on my third Aeropress having worn two out, and I love it.
Here's my experience with this brilliant piece of kit.
1. Dose. I use 18-20g of coffee per cup, no need for more in my opinion and I enjoy a full bodied, strong americano.
2. Grind. I prefer a relatively fine grind, like a coarse espresso grind, but much finer than you'd use in a French press. My grind looks much finer than shown in your video. It makes the pressing phase quite slow with a moderate pressure, maybe 20-25 seconds.
3. Agreed, dilution IS key. I add water (90°C) to roughly double the level of the coffee in the Aeropress. This produces an espresso like double shot volume of coffee which is perfectly drinkable as an 'espresso', then add hot water to bring it up to a large americano.
4. Stirring. Yep, stir vigorously as soon as the water is added with the provided Aeropress stirring thingy until you're sure the coffee is evenly spread throughout the liquid, making a smooth 'coffee soup'.
Something you don't mention in your video - Brew time. I insert the plunger and leave it alone for two minutes. The brew time is the variable I adjust to account for different coffee beans. Bitter over extraction? reduce brew time. Bland under extraction? Increase brew time. It's only a matter of half a minute either way though.
5. Inverted. Nah. I don't care what the champions do, I reckon the 'inverted' method is just a way to seem edgy for hipsters. I've tried inverted and see no point to it whatever. It might be disconcerting for a few drips to fall into your jug/mug before you're ready to extract but it really makes no difference to your final coffee in my opinion. Using a finer grind seems to have the side effect of allowing much less run-through than coarse, so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me. Also, the provided stirrer is the perfect shape/length to stir efficiently in the upright position.
6. Agreed, the paper filter is best. I personally see no need to rinse the paper, that just increases the risk of splitting it when you screw on the body in my experience.
Final thoughts. My experience is purely based on making two cheap, hearty morning mugs of americano for the mrs and I. I don't use artisan roasted coffee in the aeropress (I have other methods for proper espresso), but the right grind, water temperature, stir, brewtime and dilution create a great mug of coffee from the always available big brand beans.
"You keep using that word 'espresso'. I do not think it means what you think it means. Americano, too." :-)
@@darkpatches I enclose the word espresso in speech marks to show that I know we aren't taking about espresso, and use the term 'espresso like' also, because I don't have a word for an espresso sized shot of strong coffee extraction.
@@metab0rk I know, my friend. I know. Always looking for an opportunity to quote "The Princess Bride." Maybe I should've use the winky face....
I don't think we need to argue about verbiage, but I will point out that Aeropress coffee was designed by the inventor to have water added to it, so no need to call it something else. But, even he says he makes "espresso drinks" with it, using more coffee and less water. Though he calls adding water to it making American coffee, not an Americano. I personally don't like the unnecessary dilution of terms, but it's common and people know exactly what you meant.
I personally use the Alan Adler method, after much experimentation. Your method is very similar to his, without the extended brew time and higher brew temp. I agree with him that the shorter "wet time" and lower water temp produce a sweeter, more distinctly Aeropress-style coffee, but to each his own.
@@darkpatches ah.. I did wonder why your reply was enclosed in speech marks. I should've looked it up.
Fair enough though, I agree my drinks are not strictly Americanos, but that term seems so loosely defined I thought I'd get away with it. ;-)
inverted method edgy? seems to me that if you use cheap supermarket coffee you won't like the result of the water and the coffee making contact for more time, and obviously if you dont use fresh coffee the bloom doesn't make much sense, but if we talk about specialty coffee, yes, you 100% would like more the taste and complexity of the liquid you extract with the inverted method
This video saved my AP from being listed on Ebay...lol. Thank you for the summary!! I never made a satisfying cup of coffee with it ...admittedly even after giving it one more try it still was not perfect but good enough for me to try it again tomorrow morning or get the same kind of coffee in those winning recipes...I’m still buzzing from my cup this morning too strong even with adjustments :-)
Great video, I just pulled my aero press off the shelf after several years. I need needed to buy a replacement gasket which I did. I brewed an awesome cup and then enjoyed your video. Thanks for the tips.
I know this video is almost 2 years old, but on the higher 30g dose used by the winners, they changed the rules in 2021, and a max of only 18g was allowed in the 2021 championship.
Still a great video though. Lots of decent info. Cheers.
I have been using 26g coffee @ #12 grind on my virtuoso w/400 ml water. I'll try a couple of the championship recipes in the morning.
Really good synopsis, I to have fallen out of love with my Aeropress due to the exact reasons you give, must dig it out and give it a whirl. Oddly a lot of good coffee companies still use the old brew recipes in their online brew sections. Methinks they were never really using the Aeropress.
JUST THE BEST SPRO!! Love your videos brother!!! 🙏😇❤️😎
Grinding coarser really tastes better (at least for me). I was using medium-fine grinds before with a minute immersion and 25 secs press with a complex local bean and I could not achieve the proper taste notes described. I got it right when I added 30 secs bloom (yea, against what you preach) with a three full stir with the paddle after, it tasted as described by the roaster. A concentrated brew extracts the intense flavors while dilution spreads these flavors nicely in the cup. I like your ideas and will consider these in crafting/upgrading my own recipe.
Hey bro, nice video. Nerd cred for giving a popular brewing method another try
I scored an XL with travel bag for 2 bucks. I'm excited to venter into the aeropress world of coffee
everyone let’s all like this video and his other vids! He’s been working so hard for so long and has been releasing quality content for us! Let’s show our appreciation
Thanks Jeremy! Much appreciated!
It is indeed!
Thanks for these tips distilled from your research of winning methods. Very informative and to-the-point. I had been mulling an Aeropress purchase off and on for years and finally pulled the trigger. I've been a daily pour over guy for last three or four years - to the point where I havent fired up the espresso machine since I can't remember when. So I had a bit of an "ah ha" moment when you mentioned stirring the pour over during bloom. I had not considered that, though i've always felt my method doesnt produce any dry patches. Still, i might even improve that too. I look forward to checking out your other vids. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us.
I use the Fellows with a paper filter. Have my AP since 2006. Working with the 3rd silicon plunger. Learned the dilution trick years ago. Also the filters can be rinsed and reused several times. For all the years I have had mine and well into 3K cups of coffee I still like to play.
Even with cheap off shelf pre-ground you can make a better cup than the mermaid.
Fellow prismo is 👌 I usually brew 15g to 230g at 188º - stir for 5-7 seconds - brew for 110 seconds. For an aeropresso I use 10g to 65g at 205º for 50 seconds. These numbers work very well with paper filter as well, just make sure you brew inverted. I use both methods daily and don't notice a big difference in flavor.
I am somewhat entertained by all the debates. But. Original recipe does it for me. I dial in a fine espresso grind of ~14 g of coffee beans. Pour to the “1” marker. Stir 10 seconds with the paddle. Push down for 20-30 seconds. Dilute the result in my mug to taste, if desired. Done. If I’m going to wait for minutes, I’ll just use my pour over stuff instead. To me the genius of the Aeropress is that it saves time, tastes yummy and makes low-acid coffee, saving my gut!
I can get a really good cup using a fine grind and classic method. I usually use 31 grams, stir slowly and not too vigorously for 30 seconds, and plunge. I also usually brew on to two ice cubes and then pour into a cup of ice for a really nice iced coffee. If it's a hot cup I'll dilute a bit.
I usually don't push the plunger until it touches the ground. I only push till the surface of the coffee bed looks dry, even before hearing the 'hissing' sound, to prevent over-extraction. Then, I push the rest of the extraction on another cup or over a sink before disposing the ground.
So many ways to brew with the aeropress! That’s possibly why I don’t grab it off the shelf as much. Choice paralysis haha
Coffee Pilgrim haha I get that same thing from time to time.
Great video!!! Love my aeropress ☕️👍🏽
A great deal of this is in the instructions.
Great, lots of channel talk about Aeropress but almost none of them mentioned these tricks
Thanks! Happy to bring some of these tricks out into the open all in once place.
I’m new to the aeropress and omg I just want straightforward videos just get to it!
I've owned my Aeropress since 2016 and have taken it on missions trips to Mexico, Uganda, and, most recently, to Northern Cyprus. Here is what works for me:
1. I roast my own beans--depending on the origin, I usually go for a City to City+ roast.
2. I grind on the coarse side of medium.
3. Water:coffee ratio is approximately 18:1.
4. Water is nearly boiling. (Remember, I am using this when traveling, so my figures, including water temperature, are not precise.)
5. I use the inversion method for extraction, and yes, I stir the grounds.
6. Extraction time is 3 minutes.
7. I usually take a glass beaker with me, so if I have used 25 grams of coffee I squeeze the coffee concentrate into the beaker and fill the remainder with hot water up to the 450 ml line.
My missions teammates have gotten spoiled by my coffee!
Thanks for another great and useful video. 🙏
I agree paper is best, 2 minute invert is my favorite way. but need to try new ways. just lazy. need that caffeine asap in the morning.
increased the amount of coffee used and my morning coffee is now much better. Thank you more favor.
These are all great points...aeropress has been my daily driver now for a few years. The recipe I use (I wanna say it was a 1st place winning recipe): 30g course coffee (inverted) ->100ml of water with 20 stirs->45sec rest-> flip and press into 120ml of hot water. Really delicous and consistent for me. You may want to check out AESIR filters...they are thicker (like a chemex) paper filters...really helps to bring clarity to the cup.
Great video! Lots of great suggestions to improve the cup you can get out of an aeropress. It is perfect for limited space, or super tight budgets. For me it’s a travel brewer. It can make a good cup. Cups close to many other methods, but why get close when I have the thing that gets me all the way there.
-Joe
Thanks brother! I always used it as a travel brewer when I was going somewhere I couldn’t go out and get good coffee, but this has definitely changed that view. These recipes really brought new life to the Aeropress for me.
Wonderful video. Thanks a lot!! Very helpful and pleasant to watch.
This is a terrific, informative, and well presented video.
I found that using a metal chopstick works very well for stirring. I use the inverted method and it's been pretty good. I only use it sparingly, since it's for those moments when I just need a quick cuppa.
I have neeeeever had sediment issues with aeropress. I’ve experimented with different grind sizes so I’m wondering how that happened. Anyone?
Its been a near constant experience with the Aeropress and fine grinds for me.
Never had any sediment over 8 years, with coarse or espresso fine grind, either. I find espresso grind works best for my palate. Another advantage of the paper filter is it takes care of the coffee oils that can raise your LDL cholesterol levels, espresso has them, paper Aeropress does not.
I've had it before when the paper isn't seated properly or when pressing too firm which I theorize also knocks the paper out of place.
Yes very strange this guy is mentioning sediment, if it has a paper filter, never had sediment and I'm just a newbie to the aero press
ha, this is kind of funny to watch this video now because after having to use an old press pot at my parents, i found that i used all of these points for those brews. coarse grind, large dose, stirring, long extraction, and dilution afterword. one thing that seemed to help a lot was the fact that the press pot was insulated so the extraction didnt lose temperature. sometimes i'd leave the coffee in for 20+ minutes and it would still be blazing by the time i poured it. anyway, cheers and thanks for the video.
I just purchased one at REI store. Thanks for inf.
Thanks for making up this video, it really helped me out improve on my Aeropress technique, I've been doing killer cups since then.
You’re very welcome, thanks for letting me know it’s been helpful!
Keep the grind about a #12 and brew it for only 45-60 seconds. Also, bone up on what the paper filters out. Antioxodants and diterpenes. Aside from health benefits paper also impacts the taste.
Hi Spro. Been browsing through your excellent videos and came across this one. Interesting and very helpful.
Thanks a bunch. I'm becoming a big fan of the Aeropress. I was like you and didn't really have much hope for it. I'm learning new recipes and making pretty damn good coffee.
Isn’t dilution how the inventor intended it to be used? That’s my understanding.
Chris Hunter it might be, to be honest I haven’t read much about him other than what I’ve seen in passing. And what I did see that stuff it was during the time where the Aeropress wasn’t really front of mind. But I’ll look up this for sure.
The Real Sprometheus great channel by the way. I really like your videos and appreciate all the effort you put in to camera work.
I saw a video where the inventor recommended using an espresso grind and having a lower water temp (around 80 - 85 C). This works well for me because I don't have to change grind settings after making an espresso. The cup this method produces is full bodied, but still reasonably clean. There are some oils getting thru, but no solids. Just the way I like it. Best of all, it only needs 11g coffee for 200 ml water.
Definitely. Adler produces first an “espresso strength” cup then dilutes it. This is his standard way of brewing.
Just got my aeropress and I was trying different ways of brewing but wasn't happy with any of them. Thanks for the helpful tips. I'm looking forward to trying it inverted next. I'm hoping that that will finally give me the cup of coffee I've been looking for
I get superrr clean and sweet cups with my aeropress w/ this inverted double filter recipe:
- same grind as espresso (!!)
- 10-20g coffee, doesn’t matter
- pour 3:1 water and swirl until 15 sec
- pour the rest of your water until you hit 12:1 and steep until 30-40 sec
- cap on and plunge by 1:00-1:10
freakin delicious
Thanks for sharing, I’ll give that one a shot!
Excellent information ... well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💯🌱
The Aeropress was the first method for making coffee when I decided that the convenience of the Krueger (sorry, bad spelling), didn't cut it for me. I first ordered an Aeropress plus hand grinder from Amazon and it was much better. Mine has sat for some time as the seal became harder to press and I moved on to Hario, Chemex and an entry level espresso machine. I haven't found a way to soften the plunger seal so maybe a solution will come to me.
Enjoyed your video, thanks. Coffeehound
Aesir paper filters w 2 normal filters makes a good cup. Best factor is a good grind, from a good grinder.
One thing not mentioned is the type of water you are using. What you drink is like 98% water, so the water you use of course plays a huge role in how the coffee tastes. Hard mineral water is usually recommended but this can vary a lot, so the only thing I can really suggest over a youtube comment is to try different types of waters. You may encounter some that makes a horrible cup of coffee but in the process you will also find something that tastes amazing to your own palate. It's really amazing how many people don't consider to change up the type of water they use to brew their coffee.
Great video new to the aeropress going to give this a try I love a stronger cup
Nice Huckleberry mug bro. I got the orange one
Thnaks for this effort.