The AeroPress Coffee brewing method is quick, fast, cheap, and produces the smoothest coffee know to mankind. Below is my how to make Perfect AeroPress Coffee step-by-step instructions.
I will only tolerate smooth, i.e. non-bitter coffee. That’s why my company, Lake City Coffee, is dedicated to uncompromising, brutally honest, coffee beans and home brewing methods for making super smooth coffee.
So, why is the AeroPress so effective at making a smooth (less-bitter) cup of coffee? I like any brewing method that allows the coffee grounds to steep in the water for a minute or two. This steeping allows the coffee’s oils to sufficiently and quickly infuse into the water. It’s these oils that contain all the antioxidants, bioflavonoids, caffeine, and taste.
My Favorite Brewing Methods
- Cold Brew – Producing by far the smoothest and most naturally sweet cold coffee. See this video of me showing you how to Cold Brew.
- AeroPress – Producing by far the smoothest and most naturally sweet hot coffee. See this video of me showing you how to AeorPress coffee.
- French Press – Perhaps one of the oldest and purest forms of brewing coffee. I think this method is a bit harsh, in the sense that the coffee isn’t as smooth, but if you like a cup of coffee that gently slaps-you-in-the-face, then this is it.
Bitter Coffee Brewing Methods
On the other hand, any water-pass-through method, such as any kind of drip machine or slow drip, or even espresso, allows the water to come in contact with the coffee grounds for only a few moments, which is woefully insufficient for extracting the complete taste of the coffee.
Perfect AeroPress Coffee
As for steeping and water temperature. Keep in mind that I love my coffee hot as hell. Below is my daily AeroPress step-by-step process.
- I love my coffee super hot. Therefore, I’m a huge fan of an Electric Gooseneck Water Kettle (See This Link) and I preheat my insulated 16 ounce Thermos Travel coffee mug (See this Link).
- As for grinding; I use a Krups burr grinder, but any burr grinder will do. Do not use a blade grinder. If you can see the blades, then it’s not a burr. Blade grinders suck. I set my grinder for a medium-fine grind, i.e. from 1 (very fine) to 10 (very coarse), I’m on a 3 setting. I also set my grinder for 2 & 1/2 cups of coffee, giving me about 1/3 cup of grounds.
- The AeroPress does not fit onto my Thermos Travel Mug (See This Link), which is too narrow for the AeroPress. So, I place the AeroPress on top of a sturdy 12 ounce ceramic coffee mug.
- When I pour the hot water into the AeroPress the fresh roasted coffee grounds bubble like crazy; as in 1/3 to 1/2 of the AeroPress is bubbles. So, I just stir it down, add water, stir it down, add water, stir it down, etc. until the AeroPress is full to the very top with water. This whole process takes about one minute.
- Then I give the AeroPress a minute to drip down about 1/8-1/4 inch so I can fit the plunger inside the AeroPress without spewing coffee out the top. Then I slowly press it (30 seconds) into my sturdy 12 ounce ceramic coffee cup.
- I pour the hot water out of the Thermos into the sink and then pour the coffee from my 12 ounce ceramic cup into my 16 ounce Thermos Travel Mug.
- I then top-off the Thermos Travel Mug with another 4 ounces of hot water from the gooseneck kettle, thus filling my 16 ounce mug to the top.
- Now here’s the part that took me a year to learn. The AeroPress plunger is 1/4” longer than the AeroPress outer housing. Thus when you’re all done, take the AeroPress bottom screen off, place the AeroPress over the garbage and press the plunger all the way down. And BINGO! The grounds easily fall into the garbage. You’d think this was obvious, but for over a year, I was pounding the AeroPress on the side of the garbage basket getting coffee grounds everywhere! Then late one night, I’m thinking, those knuckleheads at AeroPress should have made that plunger longer so you could….. Wait! Maybe they did? And there I am at 2:00AM making a cup of coffee just to find out that I was an idiot.
The end result is a super smooth (not bitter), very flavor filled cup of coffee that will stay hot for at least 4 hours.
Inverted Method
Check on YouTube or something for the AeroPress “Upside Down” method. I’ve never done it, but the idea is to let the coffee steep without dripping any of the coffee into the cup.
It seems a bit excessive to me, but maybe it’s better. It just seems like too much work for me.
Perfectly Smooth Costa Rican Beans
Yes the AeroPress will make any roasted coffee bean seem less better. But if you’re looking for the smoothest coffee, then you’ll want beans from Central America (known for being less bitter than other parts of the world). More specifically, the smoothest coffee beans in Central America come from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I find the Nicaraguan beans to be smooth, but lacking much taste.
Each year, my wife and business partner, Alisha, and I always search for the smoothest and most flavorful coffee beans on the planet. Yes, we’re looking for smooth, but we’re also looking for flavor. We want beans that are naturally sweet with chocolate and nut notes. Interestingly, each year we end up picking coffee from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. Last year we choose beans from the Amapola co-op. This year we’ve chosen from the Don Roberto co-op.
With these beans and the AeroPress brewing method, you’d be hard pressed to find a smoother or more flavorful cup of coffee anywhere.
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