# Aeropress Bleurgh



## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Having never made the plunge into brewed I got an Aeropress.

So far the results are bleurgh. Either I am doing it wrong, or am I unable to really appreciate it.

Steps.

1. Grind courser than espresso using hand grinder.

2. Using the normal (not inverted method) put in grinds.

3. Fill water a little at a time until I get it about half full of water stiring lightly to break up the sludge of grinds at the bottom.

4. Leave for a minute (as suggested otherwise to the manual)

5. Stir

6. Plunge

Firstly, when I leave it to brew for a minute following online guides half the water leaks out at the bottom. I have a secure fit and have wet the filter. I have even tried pulling a blank pour to wet it as well as suggested.

Secondly, the result fills about half my mug which should be about right I think. It tastes very weak and watery to me. I don't know if this is true or if this is just in my mind compared to espresso.

This was using two week old Sumatran beans.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Have you seen/tried this ?

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/pages/Aeropress-Brew-Guide.html


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Yes I have tried about ten different methods.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I know this will sound weird, but try using less coffee, and steep for a few seconds longer

Do you have access to scales to see how much coffee and water you are already using?

Too much coffee can result in a weaker brew.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Procedure all sounds normal so grind finer & try again. If still weak, grind finer, try again.

If it get's bitter, reduce your brew water temperature a bit, and steep longer to compensate.


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Righto. Yeah using scales. I will try again in the morning









Thanks


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

I find that 30sec bloom, 30sec steep and 30sec plunge - all non inverted - makes a pretty tasty beverage, dosing 15-18g.

OR

Same dosing but much coarser grind, aeropress inverted, 10sec bloom, 30sec steep while stirring and then plunge allowing the weight of your hands to do it, exerting no additional pressure.

Both for one cup, water up to between 3 & 4 mark.


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

What I don't quite understand about the Has Bean guide is it says fill to 3/4 which I measured (I think) to be about 200ml and then add more water at 2:1 ratio, so that would be nearly 600ml from 17g grinds. Surely that ratio is a bit high.


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

I think it means that the final beverage should be comprised of 2 parts the output of the aeropress to 1 part hot water (to top it up). This would create a beverage which is 300ml in volume.


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

Well that would certainly make a lot more sense, but it clearly states and illustrates with graphics, 2 parts water to 1 part aeropress brew in both the video and pdf guide.


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## JamesG (Mar 29, 2012)

Have you tried this one from Tim Wendleboe:






Its nice little video and its easy to follow.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

You don't HAVE to water it down remember. Have you tasted it without watering it down at all?

If you don't like it leaking out while steeping just use the inverted method, simples


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

chimpsinties said:


> You don't HAVE to water it down remember. Have you tasted it without watering it down at all?


Personally, I have only ever made one aeropress brew, which was last week. I followed the Has Bean guide but I didn't water it down. Now, I wasn't overly impressed with the results, but I don't think the process was wrong. I don't know if you've seen my earlier posts today. One word - TEA.







lol


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I find that every brew method I buy needs a little time to get right, and whilst websites like http://www.brewmethods.com can help with providing an initial process that gets you going, they exclude a lot of the understanding involved in getting it right. I really disliked the AeroPress at first, and a few months later, after changing a few things, it became my favourite for a while.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

tribs said:


> Personally, I have only ever made one aeropress brew, which was last week. I followed the Has Bean guide but I didn't water it down. Now, I wasn't overly impressed with the results, but I don't think the process was wrong. I don't know if you've seen my earlier posts today. One word - TEA.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You can't expect to get it right straight away. Imagine if you gave up after your first espresso on the Classic saying, "Well I followed the instructions right I'm sure I did". Haha! Imagine the amount of tweaks to your technique you've done over the time you've owned it. Every little thing makes a difference and until you've got a good technique that suits your taste, you're probably not going to be over whelmed by it.


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

Sorry, I 've read that again, and its not quite what I meant. I don't expect to get the aeropress right straight away, however, I don't think I was far wrong first time. I don't think the aeropress or the method used was at issue. All my brews are going this way at the moment. I think it might be the beans. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but that they are different flavours than I am used to. The problem is I don't have any beans at the moment that I know I like in brews as I am trying lots of new beans. When I have beans I think I can get right with my brews, I will go back to the aeropress.

I was merely pointing out that the Has Bean guide suggests diluting the brew by a significant amount. When I tried my one and only aeropress brew, I followed their guide and I decided not to dilute because it didn't seem right. If others do dilute with good results then fine, I do not disagree because I have never tried. If it does produce good results, then that's great because it would be a way to make the beans go a lot further. If no-one actually dilutes by that amount with good results it might be worth pointing out to new users.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

One thing I forgot to mention with the methods I use that I think is very important is to stop plunging the second it starts to hiss. This happens towards the bottom when most of the water has gone through. The remaining thimbleful of water is super concentrated yuck that taints any brew with extreme bitterness. At least that's what I've found.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Yes I agree with this. I also think the difference between pressing down with force or just using a hands weight pressure makes a massive difference. This of course relies on your grind size. There are so many little tweaks with the AeroPress. The bloom time, the water temp, the pressure used the list goes on. It's surprising how a tiny little thing can make a difference.


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## Squall (Mar 25, 2012)

Sorry to hijack the thread but I'd like some aeropress advice.

I am getting very sour coffee, but when I leave it brewing longer, I still get sourness but with the addition of bitterness. I am drinking Square Mile Blackburn, ground to fine-drip and using about 18g.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

And what's the rest of your technique? Give us a step by step...


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

I'm in love with these beans but had yet to try them in an aeropress so I've just given it a whirl. The result is delicious, even better than the pour overs I've been doing with the beans (roasted on 12th April incidentally).

I used 18g of coffee and took a picture of the grind size for you. The method I used was the 3x30s one I detailed earlier in this thread. Maybe if you're getting sour notes the water isn't hot enough? Mine was off the boil for about a minute and poured straight from the kettle. The filter was rinsed and cup warmed.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

What I tend to do is pour from a freshly boiled kettle into my cup then into the AeroPress. This knocks a few degrees off it and warms my cup


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

I tried another Aeropress brew using the 30-30-30 method after a successful Pour over with the Colombian from coffeebeanshopltd. Filter is the only way to go, I feel, with the Ultra fines thrown by the Porlex.

This method is easy to remember and none of the steps are rushed. Thanks Earlepap. I was on autopilot and only dosed 15g (standard brew dose) and couldn't be arsed weighing more so filled to 2.5 and stopped at the hiss. I think my grind was a bit finer than the photo above, trying to minimise those ultra fines but the results were at least as good as the pour over, plus there is a little less involved and its quicker.

I reckon I need a better brew grinder though.


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Cheers folks. I was really hoping the aeropress would be an out the box job. The testimonials on the box make it out to be. My office kitchenette looks like a meth lab and people are going to be wondering if I'm actually doing any work.









I got better results today. I stirred ten, brewed thirty seconds then plunged with gentle force till hiss. I had about a third of a cup and it was pitch black. It still smelt and tasted a bit like bovril or gravy or something. I topped with water and added milk and it was drinkable. The concentrated brew though I couldn't drink in the same way i would espresso. It just tasted watery and lifeless still. Maybe my palette can only take a real explosion


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

Milesy said:


> My office kitchenette looks like a meth lab and people are going to be wondering if I'm actually doing any work.


Just don't let them stumble upon the cupboard full of cough syrup.

Those testimonials on the box are ridiculous and do nothing but to further cheapen the already gimmicky, 'JML' looking thing anyway.

Aeropress can't make espresso, but it can make very good brewed coffee. I've never had much success with the concentrate - then dilute method, but I only ever use it to make one cup for myself at a time so it's no bother.


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

What is the best way to mix the water with the grounds?

Add grounds then water? Or add some water, the grounds and then the rest of the water?

I am sure some recipes advocated brewing before stirring but once the water is added the grounds are all clumps and not all in contact with the water?

When using the stir and then brew method and the foam is at the top at the end should I stir that all back through the mix again?

Thanks

Chris


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

I always put grounds in then water - regardless of method - then give the bloom a stir. I usually stir before plunging, particularly if using a inverted method as the grounds tend to stick to the plunger.

Tried this the other day - 
Good result and simple? I don't know what an 'able disk' filter is, but I just used the normal paper filters.


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

The Able disk filter is a metal filter for the Aeropress. HasBean sell them if you are interested.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I have one of them metal filters. It was about £10. They're really good. You just give it a rinse when you're done ready for next time. I tend to drop it in with my PF and some PulyCaff once a week when I'm cleaning my machine just to get any nasty old oils off it.

I put grinds in, then a bit of water (enough to wet all grinds) and stir it, then fill up to the top and give it one last stir. This is using inverted method.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

Ah right, I've seen those metal disks. I still have lots of paper filters after about eight months but might give it a go once I've run out.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

For me it just made sense. I was forever carrying around about 10 of those paper filters in a little money back stuffed inside the top of the AeroPress. The metal one can just be left in place under the bottom plastic thing so you never forget it or lose it.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Tribs wrote: "What I don't quite understand about the Has Bean guide is it says fill to 3/4 which I measured (I think) to be about 200ml and then add more water at 2:1 ratio, so that would be nearly 600ml from 17g grinds. Surely that ratio is a bit high."

The video does say fill to 3/4 full, but also shows 140ml of water, so after diluting 2:1 you are looking at 17g:420ml.

Which brings me to the question, when brewing inverted where is "0"? Do you slide the plunger in to halfway up the "4", to the top of the "4", or further?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I go about 1cm to make sure it isnt going to do a buckaroo. That gets me 14g and 230g of water, right up to the brim.


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