The Aeropress is one of the most versatile coffee makers ever made. You can brew anything from a shot of concentrated coffee to a whole cup to a makeshift cold brew. In this post, we’ll explain the most straightforward (yet innovative) way to make Aeropress coffee.
How To Make Coffee In An Aeropress
What you’ll need
- An Aeropress (including the paper filter and filter basket, stirrer optional)
- A weighing scale
- A flat-bottomed coffee mug
- 15 grams of your favorite coffee beans
- A coffee grinder
- A hot water kettle
- 160-200 ml of water
What to do
Step 1
Grind 15 grams of coffee beans to a consistency that’s between pour over and espresso. This is more or less the same as fine sea salt, though you can grind a little coarser if you wish. See our grind size chart for more info.
Step 2
Insert the plunger of the Aeropress just a little bit into the brew chamber and place the entire unit upside-down on a weighing scale. The top of the plunger should rest on the scale, and the open brew chamber should be at the top.
Step 3
Add the coffee grounds to the brew chamber.
Step 4
Pour 60 ml of water onto the grounds and give the slurry a gentle stir. Let rest for 30 seconds.
Step 5
Place the filter paper into the filter basket and gently wet the paper with hot water. Screw the filter basket on top of the Aeropress.
Step 6
Invert the Aeropress onto your coffee mug and plunge down all the way. You’ll hear a hissing sound and you won’t be able to plunge any further once you hit the bed of coffee grounds.
Step 7
You have a ready shot of coffee. Enjoy as is, with some milk, or dilute with water to taste.
How to grind coffee for Aeropress
Aeropress typically needs a fine-medium ground. You can use a grind size that’s exactly the same as pour-over, or grind one or two clicks coarser for a lighter brew.
You can even play with the grind size according to the kind of roast you have. Grind dark roasts a little coarser to tame the intensity, and grind light roasts a little finer to get more flavor.
How many grams of coffee do you need for Aeropress?
The original Aeropress recipe calls for 1 scoop of coffee. One scoop here refers to the giant scoop they ship the Aeropress with, which is roughly 2 tablespoons.
Instead of tablespoons, use grams to make a much more precise and predictable cup of coffee.
15 grams is a good mid-point, but feel free to adjust one or two grams up or down if you wish to make your coffee stronger or lighter.
What about other recipes?
There are plenty of other Aeropress recipes out there, but this inverted Aeropress recipe delivers the most consistent and flavor coffee.
Some other recipes worth trying are:
The Hoffman Aeropress method:
World Aeropress Championship recipes
There’s no shortage of things to experiment with, so if you’re feeling adventurous, feel free to give these a try as well.
Also check out iced Aeropress coffee.
Conclusion
Aeropress is my go-to brewing method when I am traveling. It’s so compact and makes so many types of coffee that it’s impossible not to like it.
