With all brewing methods, our goal is to discover simple, repeatable techniques that produce consistent good results.  Our Aeropress technique combines immersion brewing, percolation (drip) brewing, and pressure.  Before discussing the brewing variables such as grind size, water temperature, and brew ratio, we want to just explain the technique we use to show just how simple it is.  We hope that it provides you with a framework to use, modify as needed, and make your own.

Step 1: The technique

• Start by heating your water. 
• Place a filter on the Aeropress and screw the cap onto the base of the Aeropress.  Our preference is to use paper filters rather than metal filters as it produces a cleaner cup with less coffee fines in the brewed coffee.  
• Place the Aeropress (filter down) on the container you want to brew into whether that is a cup or a decanter.  The main thing to consider is whether the container can withstand the force of you pressing the plunger down on the Aeropress.  If you have to use much force, your grind size is too fine.
• Carefully pour the desired amount of ground coffee into the Aeropress. We find using the supplied funnel makes this much cleaner and efficient.  
• Start a timer and bloom the coffee by pouring 2-3 times the amount of water as your coffee dose (e.g., if the dose is 15 grams of coffee, then use 30-45 grams of water).  The longer you bloom the coffee the higher the overall extraction will be.  We recommend a thirty second bloom as a good starting point.     
• After the bloom, pour the remaining amount of water into the Aeropress in one pour.  With this approach we find that 300 grams of water is the maximum amount of water we can pour at one time before reaching the top of the chamber.  If you need to allow some of the water to drain before adding the remainder of the water, this is no big deal.  The main constraint is getting the entire amount of brew water into the Aeropress before the stage where you press the Aeropress.    
• Do not put the plunger on the Aeorpress.  At this stage, we use the Aeropress as a zero bypass dripper.  We allow water to slowly drain though the bed of coffee until we have reached our target steep time. 
• Once we have reached our target steep time (we recommend starting with a two minute total brew time), we place the plunger on the Aeropress and then slowly and very gently press the plunger all the way down until you hear a hissing sound.  We find the weight of two hands resting on top of the plunger is all the downward pressure needed.  This will take around one minute to one minute and thirty seconds and should require very little effort.  We stop at the hissing sound and do not press the remainder of the air and water out at this point as it is generally believed to result in some unwanted bitter compounds getting extracted at this point.  If you are using a digital scale, please make sure to remove the Aeropress and brewing vessel from the scale before pressing to avoid damaging the load cell on the scale.  If you have to strain or struggle to press the plunger down, you have ground way too finely and risk the coffee escaping (i.e., “exploding”) from the Aeropress and making a huge mess.  We can’t emphasize just how huge of a mess this can make.

step 2: water temperature

A temperature controlled electric kettle with a goose neck will make your life much easier and the brewing process more repeatable.  We recommend using much cooler water temperatures for brewing with an Aeropress (e.g., compared to pour over brewing) as an Aeropress retains more heat during the brewing process.  For darker coffees, we recommend starting with 175F.  For medium roasts, we recommend starting with 180F.  For lighter roasts, we recommend starting with 185F.  Of course, these are starting points.  We encourage you to take notes and experiment with the water temperature to see the results for yourself and to discover your preferences!  

STEP 3: GRIND SIZE

We use the same grind size for an Aeroporess that we do with pour over and drip coffee, which we categorize as medium-fine. This is a bit courser than what many online Aeropress recipes recommend, but for us it strikes the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and body without the astringency or bitterness that can manifest itself as a result of grinding too fine. 

Step 4: Brew Ratio

Our default recommendation is to start with a 1:15 ratio such as 13 grams of coffee to 200 grams of water or 20 grams of coffee to 300 grams of water depending on how much coffee you want to brew.  This is our preferred ratio for immersion brewing and filter coffee.

STEP 5: EXPERIMENT 

This technique consistently works really well for us with both lighter and darker coffees, but at the end of the day coffee is preferential and personal.  Experiment with this and other techniques to find an Aeropress technique (or a modified version) that consistently works for you to extract flavors you enjoy from the coffees you brew.  While the process of taking brewing notes may sound tedious, it is the only way for most of us to remember what we liked and disliked about how we brewed a coffee in the past.  Over time, you will see trends regarding your preferences.  If you are the experimental type, we recommend changing one variable at a time to learn what variable correlates to flavors you perceive in the cup.  If you have questions or feedback, we would love to hear from you.  You can reach out to us by email at info@kethcoffee.com or on Facebook page.   

STEP 6: one easy modification