Brewing At Home, Part 3: Aeropress

The Aeropress is a durable, compact, and easy to clean brewing device. There are official instructions as well as many online guides, but don't read too much into parameter recommendations. Experiment for yourself, particularly with temperature, grind size, and steep time.

Although it increases the extraction rate with gentle pressure, it does not use the amount of pressure necessary to produce the properties of a true espresso. It does, however, produce a concentrated cup that can be diluted to various strengths.

HOW TO BREW, Step 1: Place a new filter on the inside of the black cap.

HOW TO BREW, Step 2: Screw the cap onto the bottom of the brew chamber.

The Aeropress is marked for different brewing ratios. The numbers refer to scoops of ground coffee, while the ovals mark a range of corresponding water volumes.

HOW TO BREW, Step 3: Add ground coffee to the chamber, or grind directly into it using the funnel.

Start with a grind slightly finer than drip coffee and adjust from there.

HOW TO BREW, Step 4: Pour boiling water into the plunger to the appropriate level and let it cool to temperature. Taking the temperature before measuring volume fails to account for heat loss to the material of the plunger. Although Aeropress recommends a 175-180 degree brew temperature, try experimenting between 175 and 195.

HOW TO BREW, Step 5: Place the brewing chamber on top of a cup and slowly infuse from the plunger.

HOW TO BREW, Step 6: I use the same stir technique as for a french press. Insert the paddle along the side all the way to the bottom and move to the opposite side. Repeat in the opposite direction and then from side to side. Stirring is important to evenly wet the grounds, but stirring too much will cause overextraction.

HOW TO BREW, Step 7: After waiting 10-20 seconds (or longer: again, experiment!), wet the rubber end of the plunger and insert it into the brew chamber.

HOW TO BREW, Step 8: Slowly press the plunger down. Try exerting different pressures and brewing speeds.

The result is a concentrate. Once you have found brewing parameters that optimize the flavors, you can experiment with finding an appropriate strength by adding different amounts of hot water to dilute it.

After removing the black cap, plunge out the filter and spent grounds. Rinse and wipe down and you are ready to go again!

I performed my tests with our new Panama Hartmann Honey. I used a grind slightly finer than drip, water at 192 degrees F, 20 second steep time, 25 second plunge time, and a 1:1 dilution ratio to produce a cup that accentuated its subtle fruit and syrupy sweetness.