The Aeropress recipe below appeared on my old blog in 2014. It’s since been archived, but still comes up from time to time in conversation and search traffic. So… here it is again, slightly adapted for these more more modern and complex times.

  • Start heating just over a cup of water to boiling.
  • While the water heats, measure 15 grams of whole beans. I’m mostly stuck in a rut of whatever the latest roast of natural process beans I can find locally from Peixoto. It’s a good rut to be in.
  • While the water heats, the beans are ground right below the middle setting on my burr grinder — in my case, it’s a little finer than drip coffee setting.
  • The freshly ground beans are dumped in an inverted aeropress on the scale, which should then be zero’d out. If you’re not familiar, this means the plunger is in the aeropress but pulled out as far as it will. The aeropress is, you know, inverted so that the plunger is on the bottom and receptacle faces up so that the filter can be attached on top.
  • Put a paper filter in the top and wet it with that water that is surely boiling by now. And be quick about it because those already ground beans are losing flavor by the microsecond.
  • Set a timer for 1:15 and start it. Pour 250 grams of water into the aeropress taking care to wet all the beans.
  • Attach the filtered cap and turn the whole thing over on top of a cup. No need to stir. The pour, plus the act of turning the aeropress over gives the beans the right amount of agitation. (Many would slight me here for not preheating the cup, but I think I prefer the coffee to start cooling the second it hits the ceramic.)
  • When the timer goes off, press it all out. I don’t time my press, but I give it gentle force, taking about 20 or seconds to press it out. And stop pressing when is starts to pfffft.
  • Well done, you! Enjoy your lovely beverage. If applicable, brag to your children about it and soak in their admiration of your expert coffee brewing skills.