# Aeropress Musings



## Milesy

I have been enjoying my Aeropress brews in work just now but I can't seem to enjoy my coffee black though. I love my espresso but am I wasting my single beans by having them in milk? Nothing frothy - just milk heated up and pressed on top of. Particulaly delicious to me with Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Columbian, and El Salvator.

I had quite a fine grind recently and it took ages and ages to grind just a single scoop but I coursened[sic] it up today and I ground it much quicker, plunging was a lot smoother and it tasted more intense. More bite and berry acidity with the toffee and cocoa flavours in the Costa Rican today.


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## Earlepap

There's nothing wrong with putting milk in your coffee if that's how you enjoy it. It does mask some of the flavours though, particularly fruit I find. If the aeropress brews are actually unpleasant drunk black, then maybe they're being over extracted. Do you plunge all the way? That always brings out bitterness in my experience, so I stop plunging the minute it starts to hiss.

You can grind pretty coarse with an aeropress if you use an inverted method of preparation and leave it steeping for longer. Un-inverted and coarse grind will leave too much coffee dripping through under extracted at the pre-plunge stage.


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## Milesy

My normal method is inverted and before the plunge I start to plunge a little while still inverted until it comes through the filter (as suggested in the most recommended methods) then I flip it up. When I do it this way though there is nothing above the puck so there is never a hiss to stop at.

thanks


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## carbonkid85

I love the simplicity of aeropress. I was talking to a guy from union at the London Coffee Festival who hated aeropress because it was too complicated and everyone has a different method. Well I really think you can over complicate this.

Compare the two methods here and see how simple the winner was compared to second place! http://worldaeropresschampionship.wordpress.com/recipes/

I've been using the winning method with some wahana estate from Extract this week. Almost makes me wonder why I've bothered buying the espresso machine waiting to be rebuilt in my kitchen!


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## garydyke1

Im loving the clarity and lightness that 14g french press grind gives in inverted method when bloomed for 30 seconds with 30g water , add remaining 210g water 3 min steep with cap on, then flip & 30 second press just with the weight of a hand (stopping just short of crushing the puck). I use 93-96c water depending on the beans. The key is not to over agitate

The winning recipe in this years Brewers cup was a driver to try this technique, prior to this I was using the Has Bean brew guide which gave rounded 'safe results' but left a lot of the aromatics and acidity remaining hidden


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## Earlepap

That sounds good Gary, I'll give it a go today.

I'll try those two competition methods too. The silver place isn't really any complicated, it's just more detailed a description.


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## Milesy

Have any of you tried pre wetting the grounds? I found info on an american site where they mixed a little cold water with the grinds into a paste (which I do now) and it pretty much supresses the bloom and produces a better extracted cup. The added benefit is that you can add water which is just off the boil and it will be cooled down slightly.

Managing the bloom and being able to use water straight out the kettle without bringing out bad bitterness are much time consuming for me in the office.


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## garydyke1

Interesting about the cold water pre-mix...will research that some more , thanks

Even at work I do a bloom with approx 30g water. I then use water straight from the ''boiling'' filtered water tap. I dont measure anything and have no idea on water temperature. So dose probably ranges from 13.5-14.5 and amount of water is probably 220-240g..temperature 9?-9? I use the back of spoon to dunk the bloom under the surface and then dont agetate anymore (other than the flip and plunge)

work - 7 times out of 10 the end cup is good. At home where I control all the variables 9 times out of 10 its good.


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## Earlepap

Just tried your method Gary, and didn't get a great result. Tasted thin and under extracted. The beans are a couple weeks old, but my first cup this morning was from a french press with them and it was fine. I followed the technique to the letter with the exception of not measuring temperature, but just used water 30sec off boil. Any ideas? What you describe as the end result is exactly what I look for in a cup.

Some people say that with full immersion brewing, pre-infusion is unnecessary - I'm undecided.


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## garydyke1

Earlepap said:


> Just tried your method Gary, and didn't get a great result. Tasted thin and under extracted. The beans are a couple weeks old, but my first cup this morning was from a french press with them and it was fine. I followed the technique to the letter with the exception of not measuring temperature, but just used water 30sec off boil. Any ideas? What you describe as the end result is exactly what I look for in a cup.
> 
> Some people say that with full immersion brewing, pre-infusion is unnecessary - I'm undecided.


Not sure what to advise , temperature, water quality*, or, grind could be a factor i guess. Try again slightly finer grind. 30 seconds off boil should be the right ballpark.

*Ive been using Highland Spring water unfiltered


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## Earlepap

Yeah I'm not sure either, I'll keep playing around.

In the meantime I gave the gold place 2012 method a go. Surprisingly good. Not surprising since it won the championship, but by the fact that every part of it screams under extraction - coarse grind, no steep, low temp, un-inverted. Odd.


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## garydyke1

Let me know how you get on.


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## MikeHag

Earlepap said:


> Yeah I'm not sure either, I'll keep playing around.
> 
> In the meantime I gave the gold place 2012 method a go. Surprisingly good. Not surprising since it won the championship, but by the fact that every part of it screams under extraction - coarse grind, no steep, low temp, un-inverted. Odd.


I agree. But then there's also the brewing ratio. 18.3g to 250g of water (1:13.7) could result in a slightly more concentrated brew than normal, which may help compensate, taste-wise.


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## CoffeeJohnny

I go very much like garydyke's method but I use 15.5g grounds to 250ml water, and I do push everything through, I have a 20 sec bloom with just enough water to wet the grounds then a 2 min brew time and then flip and 30 sec press time.

what this gives you though is a light refreshing brew, use a yirgacheffe or something light with lots of fruit, this may just may give you a cup that you can drink black.

however it will not tast good in milk, so if experimenting to see if you can make a coffee you enjoy black give it a go. Nothing wrong with coffee with milk though, a lot of people seem to think that they are special because they say trying to patronise "oh I always take me coffee black because.......yawn"

Some coffees are definitely not suited to milk, in a way that white and green teas aren't but some coffees are wonderful in milk.

Enjoy experimenting and most of all enjoy


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## garydyke1

The difficulty (as always) is communicating grind profile.....so so critical the the success of a brew method

If we all had Maestro Plus' it would be very easy! (or even better Tanzanias)


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## stavros

I've spent the weekend using that championship brew method (with Limoncillo), and I do like it. It's quicker, simpler and I suppose there is something more satisfying in having the aeropress the right way up for once. Splitting hairs I guess I'm using 1.3g more coffee per drink than I normally would. I might coarsen the grind slightly as I'm not really getting as much of the subtle fruits as I think I should be getting.


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## Milesy

Does anyone ever have the problem where some presses are harder than others even with the same grind level and amount of grounds?

I just done a set up as normal there and I was literally sweating to try and push the coffee down. The result is a pretty bitter cup. I checked that it was only one paper.


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## Milesy

geordie-barista said:


> Some coffees are definitely not suited to milk, in a way that white and green teas aren't but some coffees are wonderful in milk.


I tried an Ethiopian with milk a few weeks ago and it most certainly didn't go. I just picked up some Brazillian Bourbon and I am not convinced it goes well in milk either. Too acidic - indicated in the taste and that it split the milk. The Costa Rican I have just tastes velvety chocolate and toffee in milk though.


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## Milesy

I just done another press and it wouldnt push through at all. I had to use enough force that the filter paper expoded open and I had to start again.

I done another press, coursened the grind and it again was still hard to press. The filter paper got rinsed under the tap and also a blind press and the coffee is bitter and tastes of the paper.... this is strange.


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## garydyke1

Milesy said:


> I just done another press and it wouldnt push through at all. I had to use enough force that the filter paper expoded open and I had to start again.
> 
> I done another press, coursened the grind and it again was still hard to press. The filter paper got rinsed under the tap and also a blind press and the coffee is bitter and tastes of the paper.... this is strange.


What grinder are you using? Fines sound like the issue...more coarse with poor grinder = more fines


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## suferick

I have also had inconsistent presses, and when I haven't doubled the paper by accident - who hasn't done that? - I found that the steep time was the determining factor. I don't usually measure the time, so it was a bit hit and miss but found that a longer steep time (I steep inverted) made for an easier press


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## MikeHag

Double the paper? Am I missing something?


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## MWJB

Inadvertantly having 2 filter papers stuck together. Rather than the latest tip for killer Aeropress brews....or, is it?!









Er...no. It's not.


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## Milesy

I went back to my Costa Rican beans and I can press fine. The Brazil Bourbon must be grinding much differently. I tried some of them as espresso using my normal grind and it choked the machine. I am going to need to make these Brazilians courser for my Aeropress and try again.


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## CoffeeJohnny

Milesy said:


> I went back to my Costa Rican beans and I can press fine. The Brazil Bourbon must be grinding much differently. I tried some of them as espresso using my normal grind and it choked the machine. I am going to need to make these Brazilians courser for my Aeropress and try again.


Almost every bean needs a different grind, as they are all different, a lot of people make the mistake of setting the grinder and going ok, that's my aeropress setting, that's my v60 etc. but it should be dialled in for every new bean.


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## tribs

I read something from some guy saying he dialled in by dose weight rather than grind. It seems to me that for most grinders it would be easier to measure the weight of the beans rather than the fineness setting. I haven't tried this approach, but I found it interesting.


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## Milesy

I am still having problems.

I have got a new bag of beans. I have dialled the grind back to 7 to get a more consistant grind and the press required a lot of effort still. It was only pressing confortably down when I leant my body weight against my hand and let my body weight push it down. I pre-wet all the parts this time.

If people are using much finer than this then I am stumped. On 7 clicks when I screw the cap off and press home the puck does not pop off by itself. It is quite slodgy and I need to scrape it off. When on a courser grind say 8 clicks It pops off. Does anyone else use this as an indicator of grind?

Can any other variable effect the resistance here?


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## JamesG

I think the popping off thing is simply dependant on how dry the puck is.

I'm my experience, if you push all the way down (i.e. don't stop before the "pssssf") then you end up with a dryer puck which pops out more easily.


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## MWJB

Milesy, did you try spooning out the crust rather than stirring it back in before pressing?


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## chimpsinties

Recently I've been doing my blooming stir for 10 secs, then just leaving it after I've topped it up. You'll see that the grinds get really stirred around as you're pouring the water from the kettle. This is while it's inverted and I steep leaving it inverted for the whole 60 secs. Then when it's turned over the plunge is usually ok. I have one of the metal filters so if you've ground too finely then the individual holes get clogged and it can be a right pain to press it down. In this case sometimes I have to suck air back up into the aeropress then start to plunge again. I guess you can't do this with a paper filter but it works with the metal one.


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## Milesy

I haven't tried scooping it out but is the press not part of the extraction itself rather than just filtering?

How long does everyone aggitate before the steep?


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## JamesG

Yes the press part is part of the extraction. How fast you plunge affects the taste.

However, you could compensate for its loss by altering other parameters. Although I think its the plunging that makes the Aeropress taste unique.


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## Milesy

The reason I ask about the aggitation is I am wondering if the amount of disolved solids at the time of plunge could vary the resistance against the filter?


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## tribs

Do you stir immediately prior to plunging?

Also, I believe there should be a decent amount of resistance in the plunge. I find I need to apply a good amount of pressure. I couldn't press it with just my fingers.


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## tribs

One other thing is you could try lowering the dose. Less coffee, less resistance.

Personally, I only use 15g.


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## JamesG

Milesy said:


> The reason I ask about the aggitation is I am wondering if the amount of disolved solids at the time of plunge could vary the resistance against the filter?


Not sure to be honest - I don't think it will make a huge difference.

My thinking is: the more solids dissolved from the grounds the lighter they will be so will give less resistance. But on the flip side, the more dissolve solids in the coffee solution the more viscous it will be.

I would go with tribs and lower the dose.


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## Earlepap

I've currently been using a long steep, low dose/agitation method and getting some good results - 14g to 230ml. The plunging gives little resistance, though the mere weight of my hands wouldn't be enough.


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## garydyke1

Earlepap said:


> I've currently been using a long steep, low dose/agitation method and getting some good results - 14g to 230ml. The plunging gives little resistance, though the mere weight of my hands wouldn't be enough.


Agreed this method produces a tasty cup. Are you removing fines?


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## Earlepap

If I can be bothered yes. Depends how geeky I am feeling and how much time I have. I think your theory about shaking the grounds about and exposing them to lots of air possibly has some legs, but I reckon there's a sweet spot where the benefit of fine removal peaks before exposure's detriment takes over.


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## Milesy

I done a quick experiment. When I do not prewet the grounds into a paste the press is quick and no bitter. I don't see how prewetting into the paste can influence the resistance when I am adding water, stirring and pressing in the same way.


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## MikeHag

Hmm. I wasn't aware that you were creating a paste. Usually when pre-wetting people add more water (twice the weight of the coffee grinds) so it's not a paste, it's just a wet slurry. I'm only surmising but my guess is that a paste would perhaps do two things. 1) All the mixing needed to turn it into a paste would mean highly overextracting the coffee particles... dissolving more than just the good stuff and ultimately dissolving lots of the bad stuff that should be left behind in a good extraction. That would cause bitter, phenol flavours. 2) when you add water to the paste it may have become so gummy that it does not mix into the additional water and just remains a lumpy, gloopy paste, which perhaps contribute to the resistance when pressing.


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## Milesy

Yeah by paste I mean a watery slurry. Cold water should not cause much extraction though?


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## Earlepap

I don't pre-infuse when i rewind inverted, and only give it a little stir once the water is in there or just rely on the pouring of the water itself to agitate the grinds, as its falling from height and straight from the kettle.


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## MikeHag

You're making the slurry with cold water? Another revelation! That's uncharted territory for me. Theoretically cold water will still extract, but to a lesser degree (because heat is needed to rapidly break the bonds of the coffee compounds), and also different compounds will extract resulting in different flavours from standard hot extraction. I think you're certainly not going to get the types of flavours that the roaster intended if you do it that way, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing if it works for you. But since it isn't working then I'd suggest use hot water.

Anyway, if you've found a way to reduce the resistance then I wouldn't worry too much as long as it's tasting good.


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## Earlepap

You'd have thought that adding the hot water to cold would quickly drop the overall brewing temperature too and have an adverse affect of the taste. Admittedly not bitter but still!


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## Milesy

It was on another forum I read posts where they were suggesting the paste with cold water reduces blooming by 80% and allows you to better manage the contact time.

The problem I have with pouring the water straight into the grinds (even from a height) it is really just sitting on top of the grinds. I then need to give it a really tough stir to make sure the big dry slodges get broken up and I am thinking that the effort to do that is possible over extracting.


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## MikeHag

The problems you're having seem strange to me. If you watch James Bailey in his Brewers Cup performance, he just pours about 5cm of water onto the grinds then gives the whole thing a quick spin to make sure the grinds get soaked, and then fills to the top. Grinds then so float up to the surface and you just use the paddle to mix them in again every now and then. Simple. No big dry splodges. The approach you're taking seems to be making life difficult for you. Also, as Rowan says, if the slurry temperature is cold and then you add hot water, you will have *less* control over the brew not more, because you lose some of your control over the brew water temperature.


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## Milesy

MikeHag said:


> The problems you're having seem strange to me. If you watch James Bailey in his Brewers Cup performance, he just pours about 5cm of water onto the grinds then gives the whole thing a quick spin to make sure the grinds get soaked, and then fills to the top. Grinds then so float up to the surface and you just use the paddle to mix them in again every now and then. Simple. No big dry splodges. The approach you're taking seems to be making life difficult for you. Also, as Rowan says, if the slurry temperature is cold and then you add hot water, you will have *less* control over the brew not more, because you lose some of your control over the brew water temperature.


If you consistently add the same water to prewet and then add your main volume at the same temperature every time?

A very basic example. Nothing fancy is

Invert aeropress

Add grinds

Add some water to grinds

Stir a little

Add rest of water

Stir 10 seconds

Cap and bring bloom through filter

Correct way up and press.

It is when adding the water at first here. The water does not penetrate deep enough into the grinds. Kind of like when you make a hole in the sand as a child them add water and the water penetrates the top layer but just sits on top of the bottom half. It takes 10 seconds to mix the grinds through thoroughly without clumps. These clumps can remain in the water after a short stir to the point that before pressing you could fish them out and it would be dry in the middle.

Not doing anything weird in this basic example.


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## MikeHag

So I wonder why your grinds are clumping so much in the AeroPress. Mine dont do that. They separate and mix with the water. Static from your grinder perhaps?


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## jimbow

How much/little water are you adding to pre-infuse and how fine is your grind?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2


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## Debbie

Milesy said:


> A very basic example. Nothing fancy is
> 
> Invert aeropress
> 
> Add grinds
> 
> Add some water to grinds
> 
> Stir a little
> 
> Add rest of water
> 
> Stir 10 seconds
> 
> *Cap and bring bloom through filter*
> 
> Correct way up and press.


Ths is pretty much what I've been doing since I read about inverting on here, the only bit I haven't done is the bloom step (my bold). Will have a look further for that. I didn't like to apply pressure once it was upside down for fear of having a mess. I've been drinking a lot of this type of coffee since my Classic died.


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## Milesy

I stopped the prewetting and everything is fine again. Plunge good, no bitterness and good profile. Takes a bit more effort to get the grinds wet still but I can tolerate that. Thanks everyone.


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## MWJB

Milesy asked: "I haven't tried scooping it out but is the press not part of the extraction itself rather than just filtering?"

I've been wondering about this...surely this is a difficult assertion to prove one way or the other (without a refractometer)? I mean, once the AP is flipped (or not) & the plunger inserted, a hydraulic lock is formed and the beverage isn't coming out anytime soon, it could be in there for days, even weeks, subject to air ingress from the top, or filter integrity failing?

So whilst the plunge/press gives you a parameter by which to control the speed of the press, from a few tens of seconds to several minutes (if desired) and accepting that how fast the press takes affects flavour, would pressing nominally faster than gravity alone (5 minutes for 16g/250g going by the brew I am drinking now...well, would have been slightly over but I called a halt there - turns out I didn't need to), without the plunger make for a difference in flavour? If not, can we categorically say that the "pressing/presence of the plunger" specifically, is part of the process/character? Rather than simply an optional parameter to vary extraction & flavour profile?

It also makes me wonder whether MikeHag's observations regarding the AP's tendancy to underextract (on longer steep, lower brew ratios than factory recommendation) might be related to a factor such as limited exposure of grounds to the filter itself, or the shape of the brewer? Just thinking out loud here...

This is the only way I can think of to make a meaningful comparison on "press/no press".

By the way, the "gravity only" extraction was theoretically ground too fine for the 5 minutes (same grind as I used earlier in a Hario permanent filter brew & I had no idea how long a gravity only AP extraction would take), but funnily enough wasn't bitter, flavours were clean & focussed towards the earthier end of the scale, less fruit & brightness compared to a previous filter brew...it was perhaps even a bit bland, but very drinkable. I'll give it another crack later, all factors that can be, equal & but aim for say a 4min+ "press".

Anyhoo....back to the matter at hand, any progress your end Milesy with easier presses? EDIT: Ha! Simulpost!  Glad you're back on track.

EDIT - Just done a repeat brew but with an extended, long press, starting after 90 seconds & ending 4 min from top up (tip of the grounds bed, breaking the surface of the liquid, as in the previous extraction). Now, I'm certainly not saying that there is "no difference" between this brew and previous, but nothing is jumping out at me...really, I'd need 2 AP's and back to back...but similarly, if there was a significant difference in flavour, I'd hope to detect it? Both were clean tasting, "Aeropressy", differing from a CCD brew (which admittedly would have a coarser grind), or my typical filter brew (not as complex as the CCD, not the same body, richness & mouthfeel as a permanent filter brew). I'm beginning to think that I'll have a crack with the AP, coarser, bloom, top up & just let it run...strikes me as a very foolproof brewing method.

Also wondering, for more typical AP brews, would there be any advantage to steeping with the AP on it's side? But then I'm wondering a lot of things right now, in fact I can't type fast enough to keep up with my whirrring thoughts....too much Sumatran...Boy! I'm wired...no espresso for me tonight! ;-)


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## gypsysoul3

New here, please someone explain blooming? I couldnt find it by googling either. Thank you.


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## MWJB

Hi Gypsysoul3, this should cover it...

Beautiful cup from the Aeropress today, 15g/250ml, non-inverted, water straight in onto the grinds, stir 10s & walk away...

...come back several minutes later to heaven in a cup! ;-)


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## Earlepap

Did he pour from a fricking sauce pan?!



MWJB said:


> Beautiful cup from the Aeropress today, 15g/250ml, non-inverted, water straight in onto the grinds, stir 10s & walk away...


Sounds good. What sort of grind size?


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## MWJB

9 clicks from lock up on a Porlex.

Edit: Slight adjustment to procedure - I let the first 50-60% drain by gravity, then press slowly (as draining slows considerably after this point), stop as the water line just touches the bed of grounds, remove plunger & let the rest drain by gravity again. I'm thinking next time I'll add a little extra water (270-275?) keep the 15g dose, let it drain, plunge to top of grounds bed to end up at ~4:30 from top up, looking to give 215-220 in the cup...hmmm, not sounding quite so "simple" now....;-)

Ordered another Aeropress so I can do some A/B comparisions...

Anyone know where you can get graduated glass mugs in the UK?


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## Milesy

How do you all deal with the bloom in your contact time?

I am looking at say the hasbean guide which is very short contact time all in. That wouldnt be even enough time for me to wet the grinds fully before it was time to plunge?


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## MWJB

HasBean guide does suggest a "full 10second" stir, this should ensure grinds are wet....I have been blooming but I honestly couldn't say whether it has a a tangible effect given the whole extraction...it will knock down the brew temperature a little which many would avoid (Wendelboe's recipe adds boiling water, Mike Hag also found better extraction with hotter water than Aeropress suggest).

I've been reading some interesting posts on James Hoffmann's blog (Jim Seven), he found in cupping that a significant degree (if not enough to get you over 18%) of extraction takes place in the first 30seconds in that environment...finer grind than cupping, more agitation and the HasBean higher brew ratio (~12%) should ensure a powerful cup (HasBean also suggest diluting after brewing). The Aeropress factory technique, which no one other than Gail & Kat seem to practice, suggests a whopping 16%+ brew ratio 10s stir, 30s press.

I previously wrote: "Also wondering, for more typical AP brews, would there be any advantage to steeping with the AP on it's side?" Ha ha, a friend of mine tried this, this friend said that only a damn fool would attempt this as you can stand the AP on either end fine, but on its side it leaks like a sieve. I'm relieved he "took one for the team" and saved me, or anyone else making a downright fool of themselves, not to mention a significant mess...apparently....or, so I was told....;-)


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## garydyke1

I arrived at work today with everything needed to make a delicous aeropress coffee...except the filters. After several minutes being moody and miserable a lightbulb appeared over my head as I clocked a packet of tea bags......emptied a teabag, rinsed it with hot water and used in place of a filter. Suprisingly it was very nice , different mouth feel to normal, oil visible on the surface of the coffee!


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## Milesy

Today I eventually bit the bullet and modified the shaft of my Hario Mini mill to make the grinding more consistent, plus during the process I have realised that my previous 10 clicks is more like 12 clicks once all the grounds have been cleaned away from the burrs.

I have done the following:

10 clicks (so that would have been about 8 before clean) - grind more consistant and less powder

water into pouring kettle and cool for 1 minute

bloom for 30 seconds

stir for 10 seconds

steep for 1 minute

press in 20 seconds

There is still more bitterness and less flavour in the cup than I would like (and have achieved by dumb luck with these same beans).

overall contact just over 2 minutes.


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## Earlepap

Finding bitterness kind of surprises me with those parameters. If the Hario is anything like the Porlex, from what I remember 10 clicks is quite coarse, and I reckon your water temp would be quite low - pouring boiling water into the other kettle will knock at least 10c off the temp, then I'd hazard a guess and say another 5c would be lost over the minute cooling time. I'd have thought those two things combined with the relatively short contact time would lead to under extraction.

Maybe it's the bloom making it bitter. Try doing exactly the same thing but rather than blooming for 30 seconds, just pour all the water in at once. The 10 second stir will ensure all the particles are wet and agitated.

If that results in a weak and bland brew, then you could fine the grind till you find a taste you're happy with. How much coffee are you using?


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## Milesy

1 scoop of beans. At 10 clicks just now it takes an age to grind for just 1 person so any finer would be too long I think.

Will try straight in next time. Got a milk therm in the house so will bring that in to test the temps out.

thanks


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## MWJB

I find the time lag on a milk thermometer makes it very difficult to ascertain brew water temp, whilst the water temperature is dropping.

I find that for the Aeropress I can dump the water just off the boil into the kettle & start pouring straight away. I did this with Earlepap's method yesterday and got a plenty rich cup.

Milesy, have you tried not pressing all the way through? Stopping the press whilst there is still water around the grinds?

Also, brew on scales. It is quite alarming to see how much difference 5g of water makes, or 0.5g of grinds. I'd say it's pretty well impossible to hit a brew ratio % to the first decimal place purely by eye, very easy to be out by 0.3% (say hitting 6.3% when aiming for 6.0%)


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## garydyke1

Milesy said:


> Today I eventually bit the bullet and modified the shaft of my Hario Mini mill to make the grinding more consistent, plus during the process I have realised that my previous 10 clicks is more like 12 clicks once all the grounds have been cleaned away from the burrs.
> 
> I have done the following:
> 
> 10 clicks (so that would have been about 8 before clean) - grind more consistant and less powder
> 
> water into pouring kettle and cool for 1 minute
> 
> bloom for 30 seconds
> 
> stir for 10 seconds
> 
> steep for 1 minute
> 
> press in 20 seconds
> 
> There is still more bitterness and less flavour in the cup than I would like (and have achieved by dumb luck with these same beans).
> 
> overall contact just over 2 minutes.


can you post a picture of the grind quality next to a coin for scale.

Your symptoms sound like fines over extracting


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## Outlaw333

Milesy said:


> Today I eventually bit the bullet and modified the shaft of my Hario Mini mill to make the grinding more consistent, plus during the process I have realised that my previous 10 clicks is more like 12 clicks once all the grounds have been cleaned away from the burrs.
> 
> I have done the following:
> 
> 10 clicks (so that would have been about 8 before clean) - grind more consistant and less powder
> 
> water into pouring kettle and cool for 1 minute
> 
> bloom for 30 seconds
> 
> stir for 10 seconds
> 
> steep for 1 minute
> 
> press in 20 seconds
> 
> There is still more bitterness and less flavour in the cup than I would like (and have achieved by dumb luck with these same beans).
> 
> overall contact just over 2 minutes.


Which pouring Kettle are you using? The Hario Buono is so thermally efficient even without an Ubercosy that during the minute wait there will be very little temp loss after the point at which it stabilised when it was added so you could still be too hot. I can't speak for other kettles but it may be a good idea to get a digital thermometer so you know exactly what temp you are brewing at. Cream Supplies do them at a very reasonable price and while they may or may not be accurate to the decimal they will be pleanty accurate enough to get great brew water.

I'm no aeropress master but my Buono Kettle(with Uber Cosy) plateaus at about 94c and stays pretty much there even after half has been poured away(finishing around or above 92c after brew) Kieth O'Sullivan mentioned observing similar results in the 'Naked' Buono kettle in his Tamper Tantrum Live set at Dublin 2012.


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## Earlepap

I don't bother using a pouring kettle with th aeropress. I boil 500ml of water with a probe in the kettle, then wait - usually about a minute - for the temp to drop to 95c.


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## Outlaw333

You guys are brewing aeropress at 95c? I'm way behind the times and still fear going above 90c! I need to expand my Aeropress mind I think!


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## garydyke1

Used to follow the Has Bean guide to the letter and got a decent cup everytime, but after watching the winning performance in UK Brewer's cups things changed overnight


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## MWJB

GaryDyke wrote: "Used to follow the Has Bean guide to the letter and got a decent cup everytime, but after watching the winning performance in UK Brewer's cups things changed overnight"

Hi Gary, can you refresh our memories as to the winning brewer's cup method again...as far as I can remember it was something like:

Cupping grind 14g

240g water

30s pre wet

3min steep

30s press...?

Thanks, Mark.


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## garydyke1

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=1145

http://api.new.livestream.com/accounts/738645/events/911001/videos/1566369.html?width=640&height=360


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## garydyke1

This looks interesting

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kaffeologie/s-filter-a-reusable-coffee-filter-for-aeropress


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## Earlepap

That does look interesting. $15 in total.... tempting. Though I still have plenty paper filters.


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## Jez W

Just paid up $15 for my first Kickstarter project - hopefully it will arrive before my filters run out.


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## Milesy

Right better results this time.

Pour straight after boil.

30 seconds to saturate and reach total volume.

10 seconds stir.

30 seconds steep.

30 seconds press.

more flavour, less bitterness and heavier mouthfeel. Better extraction ratio here for sure.

The grinding took ages still. Took approx 250 turns for one scoop of beans.

I have kept a little of my grind and will take a picture for you tonight.


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