13 Aeropress Tips and Tricks for the Coffee Aficionado

If you’re looking to master your Aeropress you need to check out these 13 expert tips and tricks before your next brew.
By
Samanta Fryer
Samanta Fryer
Writer
Samanta Fryer is our senior editor and content writer, at CoffeeVibe. Apart from writing and reading, she’s fond of the coffee brewing process and enjoys tasting new coffe read more
reviewed
Reviewed By
Ryan Hendricks
Ryan Hendricks
Expert
Ryan Hendricks is our tester, who puts products through their paces. He used to be a barista and is now a full-time coffee enthusiast. He’s always testing out new gadgets, read more
Last updated: August 11, 2023
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Coffee used to be considered an unhealthy drink until science debunked that idea Trusted Source Coffee | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Coffee lovers around the world who reach for their favorite morning brew probably aren’t thinking about its health benefits or risks. www.hsph.harvard.edu , showing that coffee may well not only be entirely healthy to drink but even contains health benefits too.

If you’re a coffee drinker, the chances are you like to drink coffee at home and in a coffee shop. Instant coffee used to be the only option for at-home coffee. Instant coffee can be lacking in gusto and flavor, leaving many people dissatisfied with their homebrew experience

Nowadays, though, many people have all kinds of brewing kits and accessories to use to create a delicious cup of coffee in their kitchen at home.

Many people choose to make a delicious, hot cup of coffee using an innovative piece of brewing kit called an Aeropress. Despite the simple mechanical use of the Aeropress being pretty straightforward, the fact is there’s a lot to making the absolute most of this fantastic piece of coffee-making kit.

Would you like to get more out of your Aeropress? Would you love to get the perfect Aeropress brew every day without fail?

We can help!

In this article, we have listed everything you need to know to make sure you make the most of this cool piece of brewing gear, including the 13 Aeropress tips every coffee lover needs to know:

So, Why Aeropress?

The Aeropress is a coffee accessory that is getting quite the reputation amongst coffee lovers for being fantastic for making the perfect home brew.

In The Beginning…

Alan Adler invented the Aeropress in the 1990s as a way to quickly and efficiently create a non-watery cup of coffee at home. The device uses a chamber, filter cap and a plunger, and there are now various Aeropress models to choose from, including more elaborate designs and travel options.

How Does Aeropress Work?

The Aeropress process is easy and accessible to most coffee lovers. You simply add filter paper to the cap, attach the chamber and ground coffee to your mug or cup (or a jug), pour in hot water, and then attach the plunger on top to keep in the heat. Once the coffee is brewed you push the plunger slowly so the coffee goes into your cup or jug. You can then drink it from the cup or decant it from a jug into a mug if you prefer.

Why Aeropress Rather Than Other Brewing Kits?

The Aeropress gets compared with the French press a lot, and many home coffee brewers don’t know which coffee-making gear to choose.

Lots of people do in the end choose an Aeropress because it has so many benefits ahead of its rivals including:

  • Quick brewing time
  • Clean coffee taste
  • Easy to travel with
  • Durable
  • Easy to use
  • Fantastic results

Of course, you still need to use the very best coffee for home brewing in the Aeropress, but the Aeropress method itself is thought to bring out the best in the coffee you buy.

Tools for Brewing

13 Aeropress Tips and Tricks for the Coffee Aficionado
The main Aeropress components are plunger, chamber, seal, filter cap, and scoop.

The Aeropress comes with all kinds of cool accessories and tools that add to its usefulness and brewing ability, and we think the following are the best of the bunch:

Cold Coffee Attachments

Cold coffee attachments work with the Aeropress by slowly dripping the brewed coffee over an iced reservoir, of which there are various methods to follow in order to get that effect. The accessory itself is essentially a slow dripper, and you have to set up the cold brew ‘reservoir’ yourself.

Travel Caps

You can buy travel caps that fit over the end of the plunger, allowing you to fill a sandwich bag full of beans and filters and place it in the plunger without fear of it falling out. This is really handy for taking it to work or taking it on a longer trip in your suitcase or backpack.

Metal Filters

You can use paper filters with the Aeropress, but this isn’t very environmentally friendly and can be expensive too. Instead, you could use a metal filter with tiny holes to let the coffee get through without the coffee grounds sneaking into your brew. Even better, you don’t lose any of the vital flavor-filled oils from the coffee that can be lost with paper filters, so the resulting brew with this accessory is even more delicious.

Espresso Attachments

Espresso attachments enable you to make as close as is possible to an espresso using the Aeropress. They are highly favored by those who like a really strong shot from their home brew, but they can’t be used on thin or frail cups and may not be suitable for those with reduced dexterity or arm strength.

Hand Grinders

Hand grinders are really handy for grinding your beans without using a larger contraption.

While it is nice to use a larger grinder at home, having a hand grinder means you can freshly grind your beans just before brewing, avoiding the need for grinding before you travel and the coffee getting stale.

Some attachments even have an Aeropress adapter, enabling you to grind your coffee straight into the brewing chamber of the product.

Organizers

13 Aeropress Tips and Tricks for the Coffee Aficionado
Organizers can facilitate the storage of Aeropress components and coffee cups and complement your kitchen design.

Lots of companies make special organizers for your Aeropress, coffee cups, and other accessories. This bamboo organizer is a great choice because its natural aesthetic and design go with all kinds of kitchen decor styles.

This makes for more attractive product storage between uses, making it a feature of your kitchen aesthetic rather than an ugly but practical eyesore.

If you’re unsure which accessories work best with the Aeropress, buying the Aerobie Aeropress Coffee & Espresso Maker with a tote bag and handy accessories will give you everything you need to get started. Once you’re into the swing of things, you can then try different products according to your interests and ideas for experimentation.

Clear Benefits

Many experts recommend the Aeropress as the best manual coffee maker because it has clear benefits ahead of the competition. Here are some clear benefits associated with the Aeropress:

  • Versatile – lots of different ways to use the product and create fantastic coffee again and again.
  • Clean coffee flavor – no muddiness in the coffee made and instead, you get a clean, deep flavourful brew from the brewing method.
  • Durable – despite being made from plastic, the product is incredibly durable and long-lasting.
  • Easy to clean – the product is easy to take apart and clean, with no special cleaning accessories needed.
  • Lots of accessories – there are many official and unofficial Aeropress products to make the product even more useful.
  • Serves one person – to avoid waste, it makes sense to use a product that only serves one person at a time, if only one person uses the product. If more than one person uses the Aeropress, it only takes 1-3 minutes to create a brew anyway, so it’s no real hardship to wait to use it.
  • Easy to travel with – the Aeropress is really easy to take to work or put in your suitcase or backpack, so you never have to make do with a lesser quality brew.

Tips And Tricks When Using Aeropress

The Aeropress is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to using it. However, there are certain tips and tricks you should use in order to get the very best from this innovative product. Here are our top 13 Aeropress tips and tricks:

1. Medium and Fine Grinds Work Best

13 Aeropress Tips and Tricks for the Coffee Aficionado
There are different types of coffee grinds: fine, medium, and coarse.

The Aeropress is an excellent coffee maker for those who love to experiment with brewing at home. You should try all kinds of finer and coarser coffee grinds when brewing with the equipment in order to try out different flavor results and see which suits you best. However, overall, a medium/ fine grind does tend to work best, so if you want to get ahead right from the start, opt for this type of coffee grind.

2. Alter According To Climate

The temperature and humidity in your home will affect how you need to brew. Being aware of that fact is great because you can adjust accordingly without compromising your brew quality and not knowing what is going wrong

3. Change Brewing Time According To The Grind

If your grind is coarser, you need to leave the coffee to brew for longer, whereas finer grounds will require less time.

4. Water Quality Counts

The water you use for your coffee has a huge influence on how it tastes. Different bottled water, filtered water and tap water all differ depending on brand and location. If you’re doing everything right and your brew still doesn’t taste right, try altering the water you use to see if that makes a difference.

5. Do Try The Regular and Inverted Aeropress Methods

As we mentioned above, some people like to use the Aeropress the regular way and some people prefer the inverted way. By trying both ways, you can choose the method that suits your taste the best.

6. Try Different Filter Types and Amounts

13 Aeropress Tips and Tricks for the Coffee Aficionado
You can choose the filter you like more: cotton or metal.

From using double the amount of filters to fully clarify the coffee to using a metal filter for a fuller-flavored result, you can do lots of experimental things with filters in an Aeropress.

7. Use The Perfect Temperature Water

For the perfect Aeropress, experts suggest the water should be around 200 degrees Celsius, although Aeropress recommends 175 degrees Celsius. You can achieve the temperature you think works best by boiling your water and then checking the temperature until it is right before pouring it into the chamber. You could also experiment with using a microwave and taking note of the amount of time it takes to get the water up to the right temperature.

8. Make Now, Enjoy Later

If you use an espresso filter on the Aeropress, you can make it, then add hot water to it later to heat it up and enjoy a full cup of coffee at a time to suit you.

9. Make It Strong, Dilute For Multiple Cups

You can use 60 grams or more to make an Aeropress coffee strong enough to be split into four cups. You can then add hot water to those four cups for strong, delicious coffee for everyone.

10. Experiment With Your Beans

When you start brewing at home, you begin learning about all the different types of coffee beans, where they come from and how they taste. Do you prefer lightly roasted coffee beans, or dark roasted coffee beans? Do you like coffee beans from certain parts of the world?

Experiment with different coffee beans to get the best out of your Aeropress.

11. Invest In A Good Grinder

You can’t make a delicious Aeropress coffee without well-ground coffee beans. By investing in a good grinder, you can ensure your beans are evenly ground and perfect for your favorite coffee flavor.

12. Don’t Bother Rinsing The Paper Filter

Rinsing paper coffee filters is thought to eliminate the favor of paper seeping into your brew. Interestingly, Aeropress filters are actually known not to affect the flavor of the coffee much at all compared to standard filters. So you can avoid the step of rinsing those filters for a little bit of saved time and no impact on the eventual brew. Even better, as an extra filter tip, the filters are really strong and can be used multiple times, helping you avoid filter waste and save money.

13. Do Your Bit For The Planet and Reuse Your Coffee Grinds

Despite coffee grounds being a natural product, studies say Trusted Source What Happens To Coffee Grounds After They’re Used? | Perfect Daily Grind What happens to your coffee grounds after they’re used? Often, they go to landfill, which can have a detrimental impact on the environment. perfectdailygrind.com that around 75% of them end up going into landfills. To do your bit for the environment, try to reuse your coffee grinds as much as possible. The best way to use them is in the garden, which you can find out more about in this handy video.

If you don’t garden, or have more grounds than you need, offer bags of grounds for free on your local sales listing site or forum, so other gardeners can help you do your bit for the planet.

What Coffee Beans Are The Best For Aeropress?

Realistically, you can use any coffee beans in an Aeropress. However, if you are starting out and need some tips on what to try, most experts recommend a light roast suitable for filter coffee, ideally, that comes from specialty beans.

Final Thoughts

So now you know all the Aeropress tips and secrets, what will you try first? Will you try the inverted method or the standard method of use? Double filter or metal filter? Specialty beans or a standard light roast? There are so many Aeropress tips to enjoy to help you get the perfect delicious brew.

The great news is that with this fantastic piece of kit, and the Aeropress tips from us above, you have every chance of creating a cup of Joe that properly gets you going in the morning, for a fantastic start to the day, everyday. What could be better?

References

1.
Coffee | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Coffee lovers around the world who reach for their favorite morning brew probably aren’t thinking about its health benefits or risks.
2.
What Happens To Coffee Grounds After They’re Used? | Perfect Daily Grind
What happens to your coffee grounds after they’re used? Often, they go to landfill, which can have a detrimental impact on the environment.

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