# Aeropress tips



## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

So I'm still new to Aeropress. ive been using mine for almost a week but have been getting mixed results. Unfortunately I only have one maybe two cups a day so if I do get a bad one it spoils my day lol.

Ive tried using different recipes I have seen on here and had mixed results. I currently have two different bags of coffee. One is from a local coffee roaster called 200 degrees and the other from Redtails. The Redtails is not great in my opinion. I've tried 1-2min steeps and this morning tried 20min steep but it's not great either way especially the longer steep which makes it extremely acidic. Whereas the 200 degrees seems to benefit from a longer steep. Both of these coffees are ground btw as I currently do not have a grinder.

Basically I'm just looking for some tips and ideas. It is sometimes annoying to try a new recipe and it turn out bad but I suppose that's part of the process. Can little things like an extra minute steeping or more/less stirring really make a difference?


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Would make a noticeable difference if you used freshly ground beans. A Rhino or Porlex grinder will set you back £30-£35.


----------



## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Until you get a grinder try a 3 minute inverted aeropress (watch videos on youtube for method) with 3 stages of rapid stirring. Also try using bottled water with low mineral content such as Waitrose Essential or Volvic or even better, a 50/50 mixture of both!


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Hi Kyle,

You have only told us about the steep time, what about your brew ratios?

For shorter steeps I'd go higher with the brew ratio (60-70g/l as extraction will be lower) and longer steeps lower brew ratio (about 55g/l as extraction will be higher).

I only stir to make sure the coffee is wet at the start.

If the Redtail is still acidic after 20min, steep longer at a lower ratio, start hot (water just of boil) & cover it to keep the heat in.

The mark of a good recipe is that it should only need slight adjustments to work with a very wide range of coffees.


----------



## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

Hi guys, sorry for the late reply.

@The Systemic Kid - A porlex hand grinder is on my shopping list, by the time the ground coffee i have is done I shall be buying a porlex and good beans! Does it really make that much more of a difference? My tiny brain can't fathom how it would, the 200 degree coffee I have was only roasted on 23/12/15 so surely it can't be that bad ground up? Can it?

@fatboyslim - Thanks for the tips. I am using Buxton bottled water, don't know if its any good for coffee its just the bottled water i grabbed off of the shelf. I will go for Waitrose on my next shop.

@MWJB - Apologies for not being clear. So my rough method is; inverted aeropress, 1 aeropress scoop of ground coffee (about 16g), water a few minutes off boil from the kettle 50ml just to cover the coffee and then stir a few times, I then add another 200ml of water and then leave to steep. As I said above I have tried variations between 1 & 2 minutes and also as much as 20 minutes. I then plunge for about 20 seconds.

I have just this minute finished a brewing a coffee, I tried @fatboyslim's 3 minute inverted steep with 16g of the Redtail and 250ml. I think that particular coffee might just be one I don't like. I much prefer the 200 degree coffee.

Also just out of curiosity if you add milk to coffee (americano/flat white style) should the flavours of the coffee still come through? I have mainly been drinking black and I am determined to find a coffee/method I really enjoy drinking black.


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Once ground, coffee stales alarmingly quickly. Whilst the ground coffee you're using is recently ground, it won't compare were you to use the same beans but ground just before brewing.


----------



## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

Ok, thanks for the info, so how long will the quality last in a bag of good whole beans?


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

At their peak, unground, for a month and fine for a further two months.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Kyle T said:


> @MWJB - Apologies for not being clear. So my rough method is; inverted aeropress, 1 aeropress scoop of ground coffee (about 16g), water a few minutes off boil from the kettle 50ml just to cover the coffee and then stir a few times, I then add another 200ml of water and then leave to steep. As I said above I have tried variations between 1 & 2 minutes and also as much as 20 minutes. I then plunge for about 20 seconds.


There's no real need to bloom an immersion with a small amount of water, this will cause a lower temp in the slurry, plus the brew water is cooling as you wait for the bloom, you may as well add all the brew water in one go & give it a North>South>East>West stir as soon as it is full. 16g to 250g may be a bit high to get you into the sweetest zone for a long steep, try more like 14g to 250g (but I can't easily fit 250g of water & a coffee dose into my Aeropress inverted, so maybe scale down to 12.5g or 13g of coffee, 230g of water).


----------



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Kyle, we love to try and pile on a few extras where we can - so it's also worth considering getting a scale that weights to 0.1g accuracy, very easy to pick up cheap from eBay or where ever and are often referred to as jewellers scales. This'll help make sure you know how much coffee you're using. As it's a fairly small brew and if you're just using the scoop you might find the amount of coffee you actually pick up varies quite a lot (well a few grams maybe) but compared to the target weight that's a fairly decent difference and could have quite an impact on your brews.

BTW, sorry if I already mentioned this before I forget if I did post it or just thought about it. I bought a few Rhino handgrinders expecting to use them for something that didn't materialise, so I could sell you one for £30 delivered, if it would be of any interest (they were from amazon and currently just under £35: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhinowares-RHGRIND-Hand-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00M0NS8A4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452693596&sr=8-1&keywords=rhino+hand+grinder)


----------



## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

+1 for scales with 0.1g resolution. They're about £7 on ebay and really help with coffee making.

The only downside is that Ebay will assume that you're a stoner or small time puff dealer and will suggest other items like bongs and 'spice mills' (yeah right, 'erbs and ting more like). ?


----------



## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

@jlarkin thanks for the offer, unfortunately I was impatient and after reading some comments on here last night I ordered myself a hario hand grinder from Amazon. I'm gutted as I would of had the rhino off of you, I even tried cancelling my order but as I'm an Amazon prime member the order had already been dispatched and the cost to return an item to Amazon isn't worth while. Appreciate the offer though.


----------



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

No worries Kyle.

Having any grinder should up your coffee game . I was told that within ten minutes of grinding the coffee loses a lot of the (I'm paraphrasing because it's from memory) volatile gases that help give it the delicate flavours. Think of it a bit like cutting fruit (fair enough coffee is roasted/cooked) but once you cut it up you expose it to the oxygen which generally has a negative effect on freshness of things...Apart from heavy roast and sitting on shelves, I think that's why so much coffee you'd have would just "taste like coffee" and fresh roasts with a grind just before using will give you a whole bunch of different flavours...


----------

