# Aeropress Ritual Super Enthusaists



## risky (May 11, 2015)

Right, I saw a lot of chat about Aeropress recently all over the place so thought we could stick it all together in here!

Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the *A*eropress *R*itual *S*uper *E*nthusiasts

Firstly I'd like to say, 30 minute steep? You marvellous bastards, it tastes fantastic!

Come one, come all, share your recipes and methods, the wilder the better!

El Salvador Finca Noruega Pulped Natural Bourbon

15g to 250g total brew weight. 30 minutes. Water was 94 when it first went in. All the tasting notes are there, especially the apple as it cools down. Super yummy.


----------



## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm an ARSE and proud!

30 min steep? wtf! I bought mine because its quick (Chemex for when I'm taking my time)

I'll give the 30 min steep a go and report back my findings of this voodoo magic


----------



## fede_luppi (Jan 8, 2015)

1.8 dialed on my feldgrind

12gr coffee 250gr water, off the boil.

10 min steep

This longer than usual steep has been giving me some good brews, but not consistently. Tried the 30 min steep once and the result was OK but not brilliant, similar to most of my 10 min brews. I believe that once the temperature drops under certain value you are no longer extracting, so I am not sure 30 min are necessary, as probably by the end at 50-60 degrees there is no extraction.


----------



## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

That's the great thing with an aeropress. 3min or 30min.

Remember the tin foil hat, not to keep the heat in, but to keep those voices out


----------



## nufc1 (May 11, 2015)

I do like a long steep but for quick morning brews, im using a variation of this method:






13-15g (depending on coffee) with 220ml water just off boiling (~1 min). Inverted aeropress. Add all water, stir gently just to suspend all coffee. Set time to 2 mins. Pop lid with rinsed filter on, push a small amount of coffee through filter, pull back plunger, flip, pull plunger up and then a quick swirl to remove and grounds on the plunger. Slow plunge (~1 min).

Makes more sense when you watch the video!


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

That prufrock isn't too far off where I'm at with my home recipe.

with the lido3 I am all over the 30min steep and also my uninitiated family, sweeeeetness.

home: 12g to 250g at 97C inverted, coarse espresso grind. good stirring with first 50g of water, lid on and flip, leave for 5 min and plunge. Typically EY of 22-23%ey which isn't bad for the speed.

doesn't work with darker coffees (eg: papercup)


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

That's not a bad recipe for a quick brew with the lido, slight silty dryness on my first couple of attempts - I normally associate this with under extraction, suspect I need to adjust slightly one direction or another.

hard to keep within time on this water, the bloom explodes and you can get 160g of water in before you're waiting for it to subside enough to add the other 70g

I suspect downdosing is probably the answer.


----------



## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Am I right in thinking that using an Aeropress in this way is basically a poor-man's Sowden?


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

I dunno - you still have the additional step of forcing the water through the puck - even if you are doing it at a gentle press that's still (presumably) an extra extraction process and still summat different innit.

But yeah, 30 minute steep you may as well Sowden up, I wish I'd brought one with me on my travels.


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

I am starting to think that it's bloody difficult to make a proper good brew

Can't say I disagree with her, perhaps a change of strategy is required.

[edit]

I guess updosing and going to a classic 16g/230g ratio is the answer to the insipidness, certainly results in a stronger brew that has good mouthfeel - but I'm really not a fan, at these classic aeropress recipes we're under-extracting (imo) and missing out on so much flavour - especially with those Has Bean coffees.


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

I used an aeropress for about 3 months when I first discovered speciality/good coffee - I was always impressed with the quality of coffee produced, though it got to the stage where its capacity was limiting my satisfaction; i.e it only holds what, 200-250ml water? With my Chemex I can get a full mug so that sealed the deal in terms of daily usage... Might go back to my chemex soon to change things up a bit.


----------



## risky (May 11, 2015)

robashton said:


> I'm really not a fan, at these classic aeropress recipes we're under-extracting (imo) and missing out on so much flavour - especially with those Has Bean coffees.


This is exactly why I never understood the popularity of aeropress. I'd only ever done short recipes and always found the coffee tasted awful. However, this new found 20-30 minute steep and it tastes great! Just not enough to drink, I will have to acquire a Sowden.


----------



## Wobin19 (Mar 19, 2013)

nufc1 said:


> I do like a long steep but for quick morning brews, im using a variation of this method:


This is similar to my routine at work. In the past I was definitely putting too much coffee in. I have settled at 14g ish slightly courser than espresso with a full load of water. Results are so much better now. Never tried the long steep and tin foil wizardry. I get enough funny looks at work grinding my beans in the porlex.


----------



## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

I love my AP but part of the appeal is the simplicity and speed - 15-16g med grind (20 on the Virtuoso), inverted, fill, stir a few times, submerge the bloom, top up, lid on, 1'45" and slow press to 2'. Reliably gives me a great brew.

I have a Sowden as well and also love that for really long brews of 30-40 mins, but annoyingly I bought the 4 cup, so its a little too much just for me really. If I could get a 2 cup I'd use this most mornings when I'm home I reckon.


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Well I've pretty much ended up on The Barn's recipe by chance which is 16g, 230g of water, a few stirs, lid on to stop drop, stir at 1 minute and plunge to 1:25

With a change to the water I'm using in this area of France this seems to be yielding tasty coffee - I'd be interested to see what the EY is but it tastes great so shrug.

Agitation seems to be really, really, really important if you're doing short recipes, as does the pressure, if not done right it ends up massively under-extracted. I think I'm going to have to sit at home with the refrac and understand each of these actions in more detail in isolation to each other.

Family is proper happy with the coffee, my dad is even asking about getting his own Lido3 + Aeropress because he's going to miss the fruity sweet stuff when I'm gone.


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Agitation will boost extraction yield in any brew method and can lead to over extraction issues especially with immersion methods like Aeropress. It can be difficult to control so it's important to stick to the same amount of agitation, i.e. stirs during each brew and, ideally, refract to accurately measure E.Y.


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Yeah, I'm on five stirs after water and before plunge with the back of a dessert spoon with the light German stuff I'm using at the moment (my stirrer got left behind in one country or another) - I'll do some refracting when I get back to better understand it.

I've been primarily focusing on espresso and long gentle immersions at home this trip has been a whole new ballpark for me in working out how to make coffee without my usual gear or time flexibility.

i didn't realise how nice a 1.25 could taste when done right with good water, most aeropress I've had in shops have been total dish water. Could argue that agitation in this case is far more critical than time.


----------



## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

I don't think a Lido3 and Aeropress is slumming it&#8230;.

Have been enjoying 17g Small Batch's Blue Note, ground at 1.3 on the hausgrind, inverted, filled to No 3 with water at 94 degrees, left for 30 seconds with one stir; filled up, one stir, left for 1'30", turned the right way up, left for 1'45" and pressed out. Works a treat to my taste - recipe recommended by a barista in Caravan, Kings Cross, because she had made me the best one that I had ever tasted in a shop.


----------



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

The only problem with the more ritualistic recipes (I find) is that they're sometimes harder to tweak for other coffees - long soaks you just change grind size for greatness (what I do at home) and the short ones I suspect agitation is the key (one stir + the turnover are both agitation of a sort).

I'm still not sure how you're supposed to do a "turbulent wiggle" consistently for example.


----------



## Lawman (Jul 26, 2013)

Is an aeropress better for extracting the flavour than a french press?


----------



## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

Can any A.R.S.E. post their long steep method please?


----------



## SRcoffee (Oct 7, 2015)

I've been using inverted for two minutes steep an turning over onto my cup and creating a vacuum in the pump before leaving for ~20mins. This seems to extract lots of acidity but makes a really nice cup.


----------



## JackBlackmore (Nov 1, 2015)

20 minutes just seems insane, I'll definitely be giving it a try tomorrow


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Lawman said:


> Is an aeropress better for extracting the flavour than a french press?


Generally, no. People tend to grind finer for Aeropress because of the paper filter (I don't, same fine grind for both) so this helps extraction & the AP paper filter reduces bittering suspended solids in the cup (careful technique with French press can achieve a similar result). Aeropress paper filter can affect the flavour of the coffee, whilst a French press mesh makes next to no difference (as long as those suspended solids are kept out of the cup).

All things being equal (grind, temp, time, ratio, covering the brew if necessary) the extraction between the two will be similar, the AP will measure a bit higher because the brew is pressed through the bed into the cup, whilst the FP is poured off the bed.

The AP can do a higher extraction at very short brew times (like the Wendelboe method), so, good for a quick cup & fast clean up.


----------

