Are you familiar with the Aeropress? It’s one of the most distinctive brewers on the market, looking like a giant coffee syringe. But that’s not all! It’s also the only device to have an international competition, the World Aeropress Championship, dedicated to it.
The Aeropress’ creator also invented the Aerobie, that type of Frisbee that’s a ring instead of a disk. You know that one that goes really far and gets stuck in a tree? The Aeropress is also extremely portable. So portable it can hold a Porlex Mini hand grinder inside of it. So portable it has its own Mile High Aeropress Club. Add to all this the fact that it’s easy-to-use, flexible and easy to clean (very important) and you’ve got a pretty sweet device.
All these things make it the secret favourite device of many baristas, the device they use for their caffeine hit at home.
Before we get started on how to brew, you’ll need to get yourself one. To get your hands on a Aeropress for home, you can grab one from our online shop. If you’re keen to rock one of these tools in your cafe, then just mention it when you place your next order and we’ll pop one in with your next coffee delivery.
So how do I use it?
Well, one of the great things about the Aeropress is how flexible it is. There is a vast range of grind size, contact times, agitation levels and water temperatures you can use. As always, we encourage you to do your own experiments. A great way to find out about the avant-garde of Aeropress brewing is to check the winner’s recipes on the World Aeropress Championship website, and try crazy ideas like cold blooms and adding different grind sizes at different times. We’d also like to present our own recipe for this humble device. A recipe that is simple, repeatable and delicious.
Aeropress brew guide
Great brewed coffee should be complex, satisfying and clean. But most of all, it should be easy to repeat! Here’s a good starting point for a rockin’ Aeropress brew:
INGREDIENTS & TARGETS
- 13g of your favourite Five Senses filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
- 200g (or ml) of filtered water …or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16.7:1(brew water ·coffee)
TOOLS
- Aeropress
- Filter papers
- Grinder
- Digital scale
- Timer
- Kettle or urn
- Carafe for decanting
METHOD
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into Aeropress lid, and use hot water to thoroughly rinse.
3. Attach the rubber stopper with about 1cm to spare on to the base, and make sure there is no danger of slippage. Do not attach the lid or filter at this stage.
4. Invert the Aeropress so the rubber stopper is facing upwards so you can fill the brew chamber with grounds and water.
5. Use hot water to preheat device and then empty for the next steps.
6. Grind 13g of coffee at a fine-medium coarseness (14-18 on a Baratza grinder).
7. Place Aeropress on scale, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
8. Pour 200g of 94°C brewing water into Aeropress and start timer.
9. Gently stir for 10 seconds.
10. Add lid and steep for 2 minutes total
11. At 2 minutes place your cup upside down on top of the Aeropress and, while gripping the cup and Aeropress brew chamber, flip so cup sits right way up on your bench with Aeropress on top ready for plunging.
12. Plunge into your cup. Plunge should take 15-30 seconds.
13. Plunge all the way down until you can’t anymore.
14. After all of the liquid has dispensed, remove the cap, point the Aeropress at a bin and hammer the base to shoot the coffee puck and filter into the bin.
15. Rinse Aeropress.
16. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
