Brewing coffee at home has been experiencing a boom for many years now. A long time ago, it used to be that if you wanted really good coffee, you’d have to go to a proper coffee shop and get one made for you by a proper barista.
Then, the game changed: home espresso machines came in droves and revolutionized the whole industry. It was now possible to make espresso at home. But of course, home espresso machines weren’t the great solution that they had seemed to be at first.
First of all, espresso machines are rather complicated machines. It’s similar to owning a car in many ways: you’ve got to learn the intricacies of the machine and teach yourself how to take proper care of it or it will go bust on you before you can properly enjoy it. And when espresso machines break down, there aren’t many people around who can do anything for you—in most cases, the only option is to toss them out.
Second of all, they are quite big and expensive. Not everyone has that kind of money lying around to buy a big coffee machine—taking into account that coffee is already a costly habit—and even if they did, they might not have enough space in their home for something this big.
And so, solutions to the solution started popping up left and right. In this article, we’re going to learn about one of the best and most popular ones around the Aeropress.
The Aeropress
Back in 2004, inventor Alan Adler set his sights on coffee. By then, he’d already achieved plenty of success as an inventor: the Aerobie, a throwing disc, was used for sports and had several world records for the farthest thrown object.
He, like us, was a coffee-loving person who saw a problem that needed fixing. He wanted a cup of espresso but didn’t want to go out and buy it—nor did he feel like he needed one of those (at the time) enormous machines. So he figured he’d do what he did best: make one himself.
This culminated with the birth of the Aeropress. It is a simple yet revolutionary brewing device that consists of a chamber and a plunger with an airtight seal. This allows it to harness the air and our strength to recreate a similar pressure to what espresso machines do to create an espresso: an espresso made by your own hands.
Basically, the Aeropress is a brewing method that, unlike most other manual brewers, relies on pressure. And it is you, the drinker, who generates that pressure. Normally, methods like the French press or cold brew coffee rely on steeping. Drip coffee and pour over, on the other hand, rely simply on percolation.
But the true genius of the Aeropress isn’t even how good the coffee it makes is. No, the true genius of this device lies in its simplicity. It is made up of three simple parts, and you only need to introduce a paper filter each time. It is made of a type of material that is incredibly durable and resistant to temperature while at the same time, it is super light. That makes the Aeropress arguably the most portable brewing device there is!
That’s not all. Compared to most other brewing devices, and particularly when it comes to the quality of the coffee it makes, the Aeropress is incredibly inexpensive. In short, the Aeropress is the easiest-to-own brewing device there is. It is effective, light, small, and cheap. It checks all the boxes.
This is why we’re bringing you this guide with the proper way to brew coffee using an Aeropress. Since it is such an unconventional coffee maker, it might take a little time to get used to it. This guide will help you get the most out of your Aeropress coffee maker!
How to Brew AeroPress Coffee?
Now, let’s go through the simple and easy way to brew coffee by using the AeroPress. This is simple and straightforward. So let’s get started!
First, we will walk you through the ingredients needed. Then, we will walk you through the step-by-step guide on how to brew coffee by using the AeroPress.
Ingredients
- 16 grams ground coffee.
- Brewing water. (150~200 ml, depending on how strong you like it)
How to Brew
- Place the plunger inside the chamber and place it on top of the counter upside down. The plunger on the counter, chamber up.
- Pour the coffee into the chamber.
- Take your hot water and pour enough just to wet the grounds.
- Stir gently for ten seconds as the coffee blooms.
- Pour the rest of the water and screw the filter cap in with the paper filter on it.
- Wait. You can wait anywhere from one to two minutes here. The longer you wait, the stronger the coffee will be. The standard is around 1 minute and 20 seconds.
- When done, place a coffee cup on the counter. Quickly turn the Aeropress around and place it on top of the cup so that it brews right into it.
- Start pressing down on the plunger with firm but not excessive force. It should take around 20 seconds.
- Enjoy!
Notes:
Time is very important when making Aeropress coffee. It would be best if you considered getting a timer or, even better, using the timer app on your phone to precisely calculate the amount of time the coffee takes to bloom, steep, and then extract.
Being particular about this small but essential detail can make the difference between a good coffee and a coffee shop-grade coffee. Plus, if you know exactly how much time to take every single time you make coffee, you’ll start being very consistent with your coffee.
There’s nothing better than making great coffee every single time. And the Aeropress lets you do that—as long as you take the time (pun intended) to learn the ways of it properly.
Brewing with the Aeropress upside down is actually not the way its creator intended this, but it turned out to be the most effective way to brew coffee using the Aeropress. If brewing upright, drops of unextracted coffee leak down to your coffee cup and can make your coffee a little too watery. This way, no brewing water leaks, and your coffee are bolder, stronger, and more concentrated—like a real espresso!