Somewhat bewildered by the millions of Aeropress recipes on youtube, I’m wondering if daily users end up settling into a reliable, simple process that’s similar from person to person.
In particular, I note that my method (basically a french press) is vastly different from the one in the instructions which is ground much finer, uses less water, and starts dripping through the filter immediately.
Anyway, here’s me:
- 12g mild-roast (coarse ground a touch finer than most people would use for a french press, done with a C2)
- inverted
- one filter paper, not washed, but damp enough to stick
- fresh boiled water (so probs 95°+) 180g
- stir enough to break up the floaties
- push the plunger in far enough that the liquid is almost at the top before I put the filter on
- tip over and start plunging at 1:30, finish by 2:00
- into ~70g warmed milk
I’d love to hear yours.
unpopular opinion. The beauty of the aeropress is it doesn’t matter.
I was like you when I first got my press. All the recipes were overwhelming and I worried entirely too much about figuring out my favorite. This was a barrier to what, to me, is the true beauty of the brewer.
If what you enjoy is something you can constantly fiddle with, the aero press is great because the recipes are endless. BUT if what you want is a good cup of coffee, accept that this brewer makes it easy, travels well, doesn’t need a goose neck kettle or even a scale if you brew to the volume of a known mug.
Can confirm. The AP is far more forgiving than some other methods such as a moka pot. If you use the right amount of water and grinds, and you let it extract for more than a few seconds, the details don’t really matter all that much. If you’re really experienced, you should be able to taste the difference between two recipes, but these tend to be tiny differences that don’t really matter when all you really want is a cup of good coffee in the morning.
However, there is another area where the AP shines: flexibility. By adjusting the recipe, you can make a single cup for yourself or 4 cups just as easily. If you need even more more than that, you need a to go XL or use a pour over.
lol - you are probably right, I’m over-thinking it. The coffee I drink every day now (with an acceptably small amount of fiddling around) is reliably excellent. Perhaps I don’t need to watch the Aeropress movie ;-)