# Aeropress - how do you use yours?



## autopilot

Just wondering how people here use theirs? Every guide I have read seems different, but up until now I have been using the default method for the instructions that came with it.

I'm enjoying it, but I am confused as to why the official guide which tells you to use 2 scoops (filled to the '2'). That's almost 30gms, yet most other guides suggest almost half that for water up to the 2 level. Why such a differece? Or am I doing it wrong?

I know its down to personal taste, but its good to hear other people's methods and tips.


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## Big Tony

Check this out mate

http://worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes/

fill your boots!!


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## aphelion

I use it inverted:-

basic recipe, 250g water, 15.5g ground coffee, 2 min steep time, cap on/flip, 30 second smooth press onto cup.

I weigh everything, adjust the grind to fit (with a 2 min steep, I make it fairly coarse).

You can also adjust water temp - start at 92C or something

You can stir/agitate etc..just try things out


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## garydyke1

I use it mainly at work, the water there give superb results which I absolutely cannot replicate in the other office in Stoke or here at home, regardless of water!!! So this recipe has evolved purely from the water at work and Ive no idea on temp either!

12.5g little bit finer than chemex grind.

Inverted

Preinfuse for 30 seconds with about 30ml

Top up till full, give it a little swirl as it tops up

Leave for 5-6 mins ,

break crust, lid on and flip

Press for 30-45 seconds

The clean aromatics I get are amazing as is the cup clarity and 'glugability'

Like I said, if I try and replicate with the water in Stoke the result is dull , dead , overly acidic, brown toilet water!

At home results are better than Stoke but still not the same result.

Water plays a huge part in coffee success!


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## ronsil

I use inverted with the fine stainless steel filter.

I'm not too keen on brewed so I dose 25 grams fairly fine (not quite as fine as espresso). Grounds into the warmed Aeropress. Add 120 grams water at 92C. Stir the thick mulch for 10 seconds. Replace cap & turn up the correct way & apply very slow but very heavy pressure for nearly 1 minute.

This method gets you a little crema as well, if that is what you are looking for. I take with warmed, not steamed, skimmed milk for breakfast or without milk during the day.


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## MWJB

Autopilot, the box instructions are aimed at producing "espresso" strength coffee, that can be drunk as is, or diluted down to make a longer coffee, or two (two scoops is essentially 2 servings of coffee). I guess most folks, who are brewing by the mug would rather just brew what they want from the off & are guided by SCAE/SCAA ideas on dosing & strength (not because they are unthinking automatons, but because these guidelines show where coffee has been researched to have a higher preference).

I sometimes use the box style instruction method, but dose for one person (15g, fine grind) & add 82g of water, stir & press. Mostly I'll grind a little coarser (still 15g dose), uninverted, bloom 30-40seconds, add remaining water until 60g/l (250g water total) and just let it drip until water level stalls, or I feel the coffee in the AP is in the zone, then I just use the plunger to express the last of the contents, stopping the press as the water level hits the grounds bed (you can press through, but might want to dose up to 16g of coffee to retain a similar strength).

The different techniques reveal different cup profiles, concentrate methods have good mouthfeel & body but often muted acidity. Other methods can reveal a brighter, livelier cup. It's a very flexible brewer and just about anything goes.

I don't do inverted anymore, call me a big girl's blouse, but after the last time I made a coffee geyser, spraying grinds and just off boiling water up the walls, I kind of felt I was bucking the laws of natural selection ;-)


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## autopilot

Thanks all. So any idea why Aerobie recommended such a high dosage? Or am I wrong?

Edit: missed the post before this one. So basically no one ever seems to use the higher "espresso" dose, the accepted wisom is that it should be less, but with a longer steep.

The other thing that's annoying is everyone (especially in the link tony provided) have a different way to measure the water (gms, ml, cl...). I bought the Aeropress mainly for its simplicity.

My OCD has not passed the point yet where I want to use anything other than the rough measurements markings on the AP (1, 2...).


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## MWJB

autopilot said:


> The other thing that's annoying is everyone (especially in the link tony provided) have a different way to measure the water (gms, ml, cl...). I bought the Aeropress mainly for its simplicity.
> 
> My OCD has not passed the point yet where I want to use anything other than the rough measurements markings on the AP (1, 2...).


OK, so if making one mugfull of regular strength coffee, use one scoop of grinds & fill the AP with a pre-heated (so the mug doesn't steal all the heat from the water out of the kettle) mugfull (to the rim) of water & adjust with a little more/less coffee/water depending on the result? Different coffees have different masses, so a "scoopful" will vary a little, but the Aeropress is very forgiving.


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## rodabod

I like to use the rough measurments.

I have two different brews, at oppositi ends of the spectrum:

Faux Espresso. This is an espresso grind, 18g ish, water added with the plunger around "2" and stirred. Press at around 45s-60s. Just enough water to make a slightly large double shot. Top up with hot water in the mug (and milk if required).

Course Grind. This is as low as the plunger can go past "4" and hot water to the top. Steep somewhere in the 5 minute range, but it depends on the bean/roast/balance of acidity required, so could be 3 mins, could be 10 mins. I've only recently tried longer durations, as I originally thought it was a bit OTT.


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## Earlepap

My technique has changed many many times. Currently using non-inverted as I got fed up of accidents while flipping the thing over.

- 250ml water (I use Waitrose essential or Tesco Ashbeck) goes in all at once, usually at 97c

- stir as uniformly as possible

- put the plunger in and steep

- stir again

- plunge for 20-30sec stopping at hiss

Steep and grind depends on the bean/roast. Last beans I used in it were particularly light so the grind was quite fine, 2.5m steep.

Dose changes also, but I tend to start at around 15:1 then adjust if I think it's too strong/weak.


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## tcr4x4

garydyke1 said:


> I use it mainly at work, the water there give superb results which I absolutely cannot replicate in the other office in Stoke or here at home, regardless of water!!! So this recipe has evolved purely from the water at work and Ive no idea on temp either!
> 
> 12.5g little bit finer than chemex grind.
> 
> Inverted
> 
> Preinfuse for 30 seconds with about 30ml
> 
> Top up till full, give it a little swirl as it tops up
> 
> Leave for 5-6 mins ,
> 
> break crust, lid on and flip
> 
> Press for 30-45 seconds
> 
> !


Just tried this method, well loosely. I used 13.5g coffee, infused for 30 secs with all the grounds just covered, stirred, left for 6 minutes, stirred again, flipped and 30 second press. Splash of milk to finish.

Very nice cup, best I've had from the Aeropress for a while. Very smooth and drinkable, very little acidity, just a nice strong bold coffee.


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## ronsil

tcr4x4 said:


> I used 13.5g coffee,Very nice cup, best I've had from the Aeropress for a while


What coffee were you using?


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## tcr4x4

RAVE El Salvador Cerro De Ataco


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## scottcolfer

Hi Autopilot - I'm collecting methods from roasters & baristas, here's the first I got from Terrone coffee (Southern Italy and London):

http://blog.scottcolfer.com/2013/03/23/aeropress-coffee-terrone/


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## drgekko

Out of all the demo's I've seen, this is by far the most simple for me to follow and the one I'm trying to master. I believe the Aeropress was designed for simplicity and I've been making simple cups of coffee consistently using this method:


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## garydyke1

tcr4x4 said:


> Just tried this method, well loosely. I used 13.5g coffee, infused for 30 secs with all the grounds just covered, stirred, left for 6 minutes, stirred again, flipped and 30 second press. Splash of milk to finish.
> 
> Very nice cup, best I've had from the Aeropress for a while. Very smooth and drinkable, very little acidity, just a nice strong bold coffee.


At home I can grind finer and steep for almost double the time for a better cup - all because the Maestro+ creates far less fines than the Porlex at work


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## Wobin19

Hi, I use a Porlex mini grinder backed off 4 notches from zero, 17g of beans. Timings and method all as this guide.

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/aerobie/products/aerobie-aeropress

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/aerobie/products/aerobie-aeropress

I am pretty new to this as just got it last week for a camping trip. I am delighted with the results. Only thing I would say is I do not dilute further as I like it how it comes out, but thats a matter of taste.

Cheers.


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## jeebsy

I'm a bit disappointed with my Aeropress of late. Dunno if it's because i've started drinking espresso after getting my Classic but everything seems to just taste really similar, earthy, generic and not entirely pleasant.


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## garydyke1

jeebsy said:


> I'm a bit disappointed with my Aeropress of late. Dunno if it's because i've started drinking espresso after getting my Classic but everything seems to just taste really similar, earthy, generic and not entirely pleasant.


What technique are you using?


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## jeebsy

Presuming grind size is the problem. I'm trying this today which is three clicks finer on my Hario Slim than I usually use:

View attachment 2725


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## forzajuve

His technique is similar to the Has Bean one, massively updosed and a very short brew time. Here's mine:

12g coffee in 200g water

Inverted, rinsed AP

All water in one pour and stir (no preinfusion)

Brew for 8mins with a stir every 2mins


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## garydyke1

jeebsy said:


>


I would say for his technique to work well you would need a very fine grind + he would likely be using a Marco Uber grinder.

Are your non desirable results regardless of coffee used?


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## jeebsy

Yeah I mix my beans up a bit with the aeropress. Will see how the finer grind adds a bit more life to it today.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## Earlepap

Sounds like under-extraction to me. I'd try lowering the dose by a few grams and seeing what that tastes like. It might be a little weak, but it should push up the extraction.

If you think grind consistency is a problem, you could try grinding coarse-ish then sieve through a tea strainer (keeping the final dose the same). It's faff to be sure, but good for diagnosis.


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## jeebsy

2.5 mins with the finer grind was definitely moving in the right direction. Lost a lot of the unpleasantness. I'll go a little longer after lunch.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## garydyke1

Try 10 mins , I bet its not over


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## jeebsy

garydyke1 said:


> Try 10 mins , I bet its not over


I'll let you know in about 9 minutes...

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## garydyke1

Just dont stir it


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## jeebsy

Stirred it at the start but not again. Was not bad, better than 90 secs but not as nice as 2.5 mins. Think I'll start working up from about there.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## autopilot

garydyke1 said:


> What technique are you using?


I'm in the same boat. Always a bit of a let down after a well made shot with my classic. Never expected it to be as good, but I need to improve it. There is something odd about every coffee I make with it, no mater what bean or method - I'm starting to think its the paper, but I have tried washing it. Maybe I'm just becoming too fusy now, it's still a nice cup.

That said, its still my preferred method after proper espresso. I just don't like the mouthfeel of French press or the bitter/burnt fast of moka.


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## garydyke1

autopilot said:


> I'm in the same boat. Always a bit of a let down after a well made shot with my classic. Never expected it to be as good, but I need to improve it. *There is something odd about every coffee I make with it, no mater what bean or method - I'm starting to think its the paper, but I have tried washing it*. Maybe I'm just becoming too fusy now, it's still a nice cup.
> 
> That said, its still my preferred method after proper espresso. I just don't like the mouthfeel of French press or the bitter/burnt fast of moka.


I went through this phase - under extraction was the cause


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## The Systemic Kid

autopilot said:


> There is something odd about every coffee I make with it, no mater what bean or method - I'm starting to think its the paper.


You could try a stainless steel filter - costs about £10.00. Will pay for itself over time.


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## jeebsy

I've got an Able disk. Saves a bit of faffing about, especially in work.


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## scottcolfer

On the 'paper-taste' front, I use one paper filter per bag of beans (just rinsing in between uses) - that might help?

I've also been using the following method for the last couple of months and it's my favourite so far - from a coffee roaster called 'Workshop' (sort of) in Farringdon, London - http://blog.scottcolfer.com/2013/03/19/aeropress-workshop-coffee/


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## jeebsy

I had a v60 for the first time yesterday and had another today. As a pour over should this be broadly comparable to the type of result I should be getting from my Aeropress? The flavours were incredible in comparison.


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## Earlepap

A v60 will likely have less body and acidity than an Aeropress, but a greater clarity in flavour. Both are equally capable of tasting incredible. Different beans might suit one over the other, depending on personal preference.


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## MWJB

jeebsy said:


> I had a v60 for the first time yesterday and had another today. As a pour over should this be broadly comparable to the type of result I should be getting from my Aeropress? The flavours were incredible in comparison.


My guess would be typically the Aeropress (the ways that most folk use them - steep, then press through the grinds bed) will have a more sturdy body, with less of a fine point to the flavours. What you can also try with the Aeropress is use it the right way up, bloom the coffee with a little water (2g per g of grinds), then add the remainder of the brew water & don't worry about coffee dripping out the bottom...let it drain under gravity until the output becomes bitter, or the draw down stalls & use the plunger to express the last part.

There are many, many ways to use the Aeropress & you can tailor the flavour profiles considerably.

What brew ratio did you use in the V60?


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## AlexB

I've been using this method:

Inverted AeroPress

15g of coffee

200g of water, 82°C

50 second steep time

30 second press

Taken from the chap who won the World Aeropress Championship this year. It's been producing very good results for me.


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## garydyke1

mega fine grind?


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## AlexB

Not massively; maybe one or two clicks finer than I would normally go on my Mini-mill.


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## autopilot

garydyke1 said:


> mega fine grind?


Thats what most 'recipes' I've seen on the Internet fail to mention, yet it's critical.


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## MWJB

autopilot said:


> Thats what most 'recipes' I've seen on the Internet fail to mention, yet it's critical.


Well, if you are inverting/steeping in the Aeropress, then you can trade of coarser grind with more steep time.

Here's something "I feel" preserves clarity & brightness a little (been doing it with the CCD too), invert the Aeropress, water in first (just off the boil), then add fine grinds (maybe even espresso fine) @56g/l, dunk grinds so all are wet, steep until juicy (tasting off the top - after a minute or two the fine grinds have sunk & tasting is possible without grit), then flip & plunge ...I don't invert or flip the CCD though, just in case any impressionable kids, who are unfamiliar with manual brewing/gravity/scalding, are reading. ;-).

Body seems less oily & heavy, doesn't seem to surpress brightness as much as pouring the water over the grinds? Be interested in what others find?


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## Earlepap

I'll give that a go MWJB. Only problem I find with tasting while brewing is that it can be hard to tell how good it'll be when it's hot.


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## MWJB

Yeah, plungeing while it's "juicy" can be great until the coffee cools, then it can get a bit pithy. It's more of a "safe range" suggestion, waiting until it's at its sweetest (and tasting good cool) can mean slogging through a flat zone?


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## Earlepap

Yeah fair point. I usually try to brew so it tastes best once left to sit for five minutes or so.


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## MWJB

Good point, I'd spoon a little out (or if steeping in a French press/Sowden, just pour a little out) into a cold/non-preheated cup, swirl it around for a few seconds to cool down to desired temp & taste.


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## oop north

Only just joined today - but have been using aeropress for 15 months now. Always grind fresh - one scoop of beans per mug (weight varies a bit - I don't generally bother weighing but when I have it's been 18g or so). Isomac Gran Mancino grinder set to finest possible setting

recently got a kettle I can set to 90 degrees - when clicks off, pour into mug A. Sit for a few seconds to warm the mug (if dont do this, mug takes too much heat from the coffee, cooloing it down) and slightly cool the water, then pour into another mug B. Coffee into aeropress (normal way up) place on mug A and add water from mug B. stir for 15-20s or so, then press down, taking 20s or so

there's probably a fair bit of variability there on most things - but I generally get a very nice mug of coffee. Especially since I started home roasting a few weeks ago!


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## jeebsy

I had a Thunguri Aeropress in Workshop and a Mexican in Nude today. Neither were as good as the Kenyan I had in Glasgow last week (Tegu I think) in terms of clarity of flavour, or maybe it's just that the Kenyan was more 'obvious' to my undeveloped palate. Might start bringing my Aeropress home at weekends to experiment more.


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## Earlepap

MWJB said:


> ... @56g/l, dunk grinds so all are wet, steep until juicy... Be interested in what others find?


I tried this today MWJB with these beans and was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting it to be lacking due to the low dose but it held up. It was under extracted, so I guess I plunged too early (3.5min), or was a bit heavy handed with the mixing as the grinds sank pretty early. But it tasted pretty good and was certainly juicy.

Something I've noticed is that generally, inverted recipes seem more accepting of lower doses than normal use. Any idea why this might be?


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## MWJB

I could only speculate, which is tantamount to "just making things up"...so I really shouldn't...

Oh go on then, twist my arm...;-)

All else being equal:

I reckon that whilst steeping, the extraction rate is slower than if you are putting water on top of the grinds then plungeing through. After 3.5min, a significant level of extraction has taken place and the brew is less hungry for dissolved coffee solids. I'd guess that after a decent steep time, there is less extraction taking place during the actual plunge? Maybe with longer steep more brew water is retained in the grinds too (unless pressing right through), bolstering TDS?

Right way up, short steep, you're pushing hungrier water through the bed, in a more dynamic environment and it's picking up more TDS during the actual plunge, higher doses stifle extraction yield & are necessary/less likely to overextract. If you press right through the hiss you drop TDS slightly for a given yield too.

I seem to do all my steeped brews around 55-58g/l these days. I'll go higher though if I want to specifically highlight acidity.

I just got a long handled tamper though & will be trying a light tamp, fill right way up, then quick plunge at higher ratios to see what I get that way too...


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## jeebsy

Tried something a bit different today. Took my scales in to work to see how big a standard cup of hot water was to take some guesswork out the process.

Was 175ml so went with 10g coffee, ground with my Mignon two full turns courser than my rough espresso range. Also changed beans to Has Bean El Salvador Finca Argentica Fincona 2 Tablon Natural Bourbon. Tried 90 secs, 120 secs and 250 secs. Think the 90 sec cup was the best but going to have to do a lot more trial and error.


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## rodabod

How coarse is that? Like granulated sugar?


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## autopilot

I have tried various inverted recipes of the last couple of weeks, never quite it quite perfect, mainly due to never being entirely sure what the best grinder setting to use.

Today I ground 20g's of hasbean beans on the same setting I used for my Gaggia espresso. Normal way up, stirred for 10 secs and steeped for 30 before plunging over 25ish seconds. Probably the best cup have made; sweet and full of the flavours hasbean put the tasting notes.

What grinder setting is everyone using here? Anyone else find espresso level fines work well, or do you always prefer a much courser grind?


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## jeebsy

rodabod said:


> How coarse is that? Like granulated sugar?


Maybe slightly finer than granulated sugar. I'll take a photo in the morning when I grind my work beans.



autopilot said:


> I have tried various inverted recipes of the last couple of weeks, never quite it quite perfect, mainly due to never being entirely sure what the best grinder setting to use.
> 
> Today I ground 20g's of hasbean beans on the same setting I used for my Gaggia espresso. Normal way up, stirred for 10 secs and steeped for 30 before plunging over 25ish seconds. Probably the best cup have made; sweet and full of the flavours hasbean put the tasting notes.
> 
> What grinder setting is everyone using here? Anyone else find espresso level fines work well, or do you always prefer a much courser grind?


On Sunday I asked a barista in Nude about which grind they recommend for Aeropress and he wasn't very helpful (nice guy though). Had a chat with the barista in the cafe beside my work (White Mulberries, St Katherine's Dock) and he advised going for a fine grind - not quite espresso though - with a total time of roughly 70 secs.

I tried an espresso grind yesterday and it was so hard to press a few people in work were giving me funny looks - had pretty much my whole bodyweight on the thing and it took ages so wasn't a good effort. Definitely tasted better to my palate but i'm going to try it again in the morning.


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## MWJB

autopilot said:


> What grinder setting is everyone using here? Anyone else find espresso level fines work well, or do you always prefer a much courser grind?


Yes, espresso grind works well for me (both fast brew, non-inverted, higher brew ratios & longer steep, inverted, lower brew ratios), but about the only grind I find that's hard work is coarsest/French press territory...even that can pan out with some thought though.


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## GS11

I use a 14g coarse grind (using a zass handgrinder)

Plunger fully extended and Inverted with a 2min steep time

Allways pre-wet the filter paper.

I get better results with lower hot water temps. (well off the boil)

Got to say The Rave coffee Java Jampit is exceptional with the aeropress (as well as being enjoyed in other sections of the forum)


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## fatboyslim

New technique for me. 14g of fine ground (not quite espresso, still a few noticeable chunks) into preheated aeropress, add about 30 ml of hot water and stir it to oblivion.

Then fill up to 200ml and replace plunger. Stir at around 45 seconds, plunger back in then plunge down at around 1:30 - 1:40. Extremely tasty once you get the grind fine enough.


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## jeebsy

I switched to paper filter recently - previously using an Able disk - and prefer it a lot more.


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## The Systemic Kid

jeebsy said:


> I switched to paper filter recently - previously using an Able disk - and prefer it a lot more.


Why do you prefer the paper filter?


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## jeebsy

The taste seems a bit 'cleaner' - my palette isn't developed enough to give a more detailed explanation but it just tastes a bit nicer.


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## flibble

Hi all,

I am introducing someone new to the aeropress forcefully (as a present!). I wanted to include a number of method descriptions, and feeling rather lazy I wondered if anyone knew a site where a number of methods were described?

I know I could copy out some ideas from here, but as I said ... I feel lazy!

Also - as much as the recipes on worldaeropresschampionship are interesting - they are a bit 'detailed'.

So I was wondering if there was a website with basic inverted and non-inverted methods (with diagrams would be even better?)


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## Earlepap

http://www.brewmethods.com/ has several, varying in complexity; some with pictures/video.


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## dabac

All the recipes on the web I've found so far have been recommending steep time between 40 and 90 seconds, and following this I've continuously been not-completely-satisfied with somewhat "boring" cups that didn't diversify too much, regardless of the beans used (also wasn't aware that I'm supposed to grind really really fine).

So, today, I've done some experimentation with longer steep time - 5 minutes - for two different coffees (HB's Costa Rica and Rave's Yirgacheffe). Both coffees I did for two different grind settings - so four cups in total - and was really surprised how much the overall flavor in the cup changed from cup to cup - for the better (compared to shorter steep).

So, having temperature (85 C at the beginning of pour), dosage (14g coffee for 200mL water) and steep time (5 min) the same, I found:

For Yirga, I liked better the finer setting as I could feel better its fruitiness - the difference compared to the coarser setting was noticeable but not too big.

For Costa Rica, I had two very interesting flavors: sharper, more chocolatey for the fine setting and smoother, more earthy for the coarser. I still didn't decide which one I preffered









I'm quite happy that I was able to get such big differences for different coffees and different grind settings, which using short steep times (1 min) didn't come anywhere close - now I'm starting to understand what the fuss is all about and why people are so enthusiastic about this little machine







. I envision some happy experimentation days ahead of me..


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## jeebsy

garydyke1 leaves his for in excess of eight minutes sometimes i think. How coarse were your grinds?

I brought mine home from work to have a play about with tomorrow. I'm consistently disappointed with the results I get from it. Everything tastes the same. Get a much better cup out the V60


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## dabac

"20 and "35" on Rocky. I use 3-5 for espresso.


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## jeebsy

What does it go up to?


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## MWJB

Numbers stop at "40" but (I added some more...) it goes up to "80" or so...but grind isn't consistent at coarser settings, I keep mine between "10" & "15" for brewed (my burrs touch at "2").


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## Earlepap

dabac said:


> So, having temperature (85 C at the beginning of pour)


I'd have a go with a higher temperature. Should help bump up extraction giving you more wiggle with grind size and steep time. At the moment I use my Technivorm to fill up the AP which on paper puts out water at 95c. That probably drops by at least 5c once it's in the AP. When I used a kettle (electric, stove-top) I'd pretty much use straight off the boil.


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## dabac

Earlepap said:


> I'd have a go with a higher temperature. Should help bump up extraction giving you more wiggle with grind size and steep time. At the moment I use my Technivorm to fill up the AP which on paper puts out water at 95c. That probably drops by at least 5c once it's in the AP. When I used a kettle (electric, stove-top) I'd pretty much use straight off the boil.


I started out with higher temps, but have lately realized that temps between 80-85 degrees suit me better, as the final cups seem smoother and less bitter..


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