The overall brew time is 2 minutes 21 seconds. Coffee should be ground “fine.” On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the finest and 10 being the most coarse, this grind would be approximately a 3.
-Coffee: You’ll need 17g of your favorite medium to light roast coffee.
-Grinder: We are using a Hario Slim Handmill. This is a burr grinder, which produces much more consistent granules than a blade grinder, which is really better suited for grinding spices. Almost any burr grinder is preferable to a blade grinder. We chose the Hario because of its affordability.
-Scale: We are using the AWS (American Weight Systems) SC-2kg pocket scale. To consistently produce good coffee, it is imperative to measure all of your ingredients. (Too much water, you’ll over extract the coffee; too little water, and you’ll under extract the coffee.) We love this scale because it is affordable, durable, and compact.
-Kettle: We are using a Bonavita 1 Liter Electric Gooseneck Kettle.This kettle is very easy to use. You simply need to fill it, switch it on, and it will kick off automatically when it reaches temperature. You will need your water to be right around 200 degrees for brewing. A simple way to achieve this is to let your water reach a boil, then let it sit for a minute or two.
-AeroPress + filters: There are a plethora of parameters for the AeroPress; we are just showing you one of our favorites.
-Coffee cups: Any mugs will do (we are using notNeutral LINO coffee mugs), but make sure you preheat them by filling them halfway full with brew-temperature water to avoid thermal loss to the coffee.
-Timer (or iPhone): Anything that counts in seconds will work fine. Pro tip: You do not need to stop and restart the timer during extraction; you can let it run continuously using a bit of addition.
Step One: The Preparation. Weigh out your coffee (17g) and start preheating your water. We are using a brew ratio of about 1:15 grams (i.e., 1 gram of coffee to 15.39 grams of water), so you will need 260 grams of water for brewing and allow for 100 grams to rinse and preheat your vessel. You can go ahead and grind your coffee while you’re waiting for your water to reach temperature.
Credits // Authors: Isaac Neale and Jason Strother. Photos and Video: Sarah Rhodes. Music: Jeremy Larson. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
26 Comments
Hehe, this is so geeky in the best possible way! My boyfriend is a huge coffee drinker and his birthday is coming up next month – maybe this would be a fun present. Thanks for the tips, guys!
Cat
http://oddlylovely.com
Excellent and beautiful guide! What setting on the Hario grinder is used (essentially, how many “clicks”)?
i LOVE the music Jeremy uses for the videos.
reminds me of life happening in movies….kind of like in my idiot brother. does that make sense?
something’s going on but theres the perfect music to go along with it!
life should always have a soundtrack!
Love it! I’m a huge coffee drinker, so thanks for sharing.
Tamara
http://www.trulytamara.com
I do my aeropress very different, I will have to try this method some time. I stand it upside down (with the stopper in place) put in the grounds and fill with water. I let it sit for just a second or sometimes a bit longer, stir, then flip it to be on my mug and press down. It’s a little easier, but perhaps not as tasty.
I love my Aeropress! Cheers to the professionals, but I can attest that amateurs like myself can use it too.
I don’t pay close attention to brew time & I eyeball my measurements — yet it still makes me a great Americano every time. I do use really good coffee beans – that makes the biggest difference to me. Super easy to clean, too.
Can’t recommend the Aeropress enough!
I love love love my aeropress but honestly, I throw my water in there with the coffee and it makes an amazing cup of coffee regardless! I think that’s the magic of it, you don’t need to do the fancy steps to get a good cup!
Great post! Can you also show how to make basic coffee drinks (latte, cappuccino, etc.) in this format?
I am in love with the exactness of this whole post. Down to the seconds…it makes the inner control freak/type A/nerd very very happy!
Gonna have to look into a handheld burr grinder. Great post!
I’ve got an Aeropress, and have found that the coffee doesn’t stay in the press on its own for any length of time to let it brew – it just filters right through. Protip: press the plunger ever so slightly down onto the press to create a seal until you’re ready to push it through. Gives the coffee time to sit and brew, and the plunger is ready to roll when you are!
My husband and I use this daily — the included instructions are quite a bit simpler than this, especially the timing, and the fact there’s an included coffee scoop that matches the numbers on the press — 1 scoop for one cup, 2 scoops for 2 cups. It is very forgiving for the grind, and I use dark roast with great results! So, no matter what your coffee personality is, this is the best and fastest coffee you can get!
The Aeropress is such a nifty little item. I, too am barista and truly adore it; so smooth and delicious. For less acidity in your coffee, the Toddy system is an excellent method as well. I really enjoyed this article. Stay beautiful. 🙂
I’m so happy you guys posted about the aeropress! Such an amazing brew of coffee. I’m a barista and brewing with the aeropress is just phenomenal.
Such a nifty tutorial! I’ve been looking into those. This has me convinced.
xo
Steph
http://www.iolablog.com/
I’ve been using it for many years, and LOVE it!
Always love your how-to’s and I don’t think this process could get any better, or more hip! This ain’t just coffee, it’s art!
Love this! I’m all about unique ways to brew coffee! This looks divine!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
I have never heard of this before! I prefer my coffee ULTRA fresh (like, I can’t even handle it if it’s been sitting in the French Press for a few hours) so this might be perfect for me. I am totally getting one!
Gorgeous photos! I love this video tutorial of the aeropress. I’ve never used one (or actually even heard of it) but it seems so simple!
xoxo
Taylor
I’ve been wanting one of these, but I gotta say these instructions make it seem like it’s very complicated to use. Which is not what I had heard or why I was interested.
Easy and straight forward.
http://thinkworkandgo.blogspot.com/
How is this a good travel option if it involves a scale, grinder AND a kettle? Those aren’t normal things to put your suitcase. Really?
You’ve GOT to try buttercoffee. Time-release caffeine is the way of the future!!
xo
Anne
http://www.definingdelphine.com
I have been wanting to to get a aeropress for a while now and this is just pushing me a whole lot harder 🙂
i’ve got a question for the coffee guys! what makes a certain type of coffee better for a different brewing style? for example, which coffee roast would you recommend for a french press?
also i’d love to learn more about roasting beans if that’s possible!
Such a great post. I hear about aeropress brewing first time and i must try it. Keep Sharing.
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