How to Use an AeroPress: Standard and Inverted Methods

An AeroPress is a plastic, steel or glass tube with a plunger. You steep coffee in it like a French press, then push it through a paper filter with your own air pressure, which makes a clean, full cup in about two minutes with almost nothing to clean afterwards. It is one of the most forgiving brewers there is, which is why it travels so well and why it is easy to adjust once you know what each change does.

What you need

The AeroPress itself, a paper filter, coffee, hot water and a mug strong enough to press onto. A scale makes the recipe repeatable, and a burr grinder makes the biggest difference of anything you can add, because an even grind is what keeps a short steep from tasting sour. The AeroPress paper micro-filters are the standard filter for every model; a stainless steel filter is sold separately if you want more body and less paper.

A starting recipe

• Coffee: about 15 g, ground medium-fine.
• Water: about 220 g, just off the boil for a light roast and a little cooler, around 85C, for a dark one.
• Time: about two minutes from first pour to the end of the press.

That is roughly 1:15, a normal strength for a mug of filter coffee. Change one thing at a time from here. Our coffee to water ratio guide explains what moving the ratio does, and the grind size guide shows where medium-fine sits.

The standard method, step by step

1. Rinse the filter. Put a paper filter in the cap, twist the cap onto the chamber and pour a little hot water through it. This removes any paper taste and warms the chamber and mug. Pour the water away.
2. Add the coffee. Stand the chamber on your mug and tip in the ground coffee. Give it a shake so the bed is level.
3. Bloom. Pour in about twice the coffee's weight in water, around 30 g, and stir so every ground is wet. Wait 30 seconds while the fresh coffee releases its gas.
4. Fill and steep. Add the rest of the water, stir once more, and put the plunger in just far enough to seal the top. That vacuum slows the drip through the filter while it steeps.
5. Press. At around a minute and a half, press down slowly and steadily for 20 to 30 seconds. Stop when you hear a hiss, which is air rather than coffee, so you do not squeeze bitter dregs through.
6. Clean up. Twist off the cap and push the puck of grounds and the filter straight into the bin or compost, then rinse the seal.

The inverted method

Some people brew upside down. Push the plunger a centimetre into the chamber, stand it on the plunger end, add coffee and water, steep, then screw on the cap with a rinsed filter, turn it over onto the mug and press. Nothing drips through early, so it suits long steeps and coarser grinds. The risk is real: an inverted AeroPress full of hot water can tip over, so do it on a steady surface and turn it over in one deliberate movement. If you are new to it, the standard method with the plunger sealing the top does nearly the same job.

Which knob to turn

Sour, thin or sharp: under-extracted. Grind finer, steep longer, or use hotter water, in that order. Bitter, dry or harsh: over-extracted. Grind coarser, shorten the steep, or drop the water temperature a little. Weak but not sour: use more coffee or less water. The plunger will barely move: the grind is too fine for the amount of water, or the filter is clogged with fines; go a step coarser. A press should take firm, steady pressure, not your whole body weight.

Which AeroPress to use

All of them brew the same way, and they differ in size, material and how well they travel. The AeroPress Original holds 296 ml, enough for one or two cups, in polypropylene. The AeroPress Clear is the same size in clear Tritan, so you can watch the brew. The AeroPress Go is the travel model, 237 ml, packing into its own mug and travel case. The AeroPress Original XL takes 591 ml and comes with a carafe, for two to four cups. At the top end, the AeroPress Steel is double-wall stainless steel at 360 ml, and the AeroPress Premium has a double-wall borosilicate glass chamber. For the full comparison, see our immersion brewers.

AeroPress or French press?

Both steep the coffee, so both give you a full-flavoured cup. The difference is the filter. A French press uses a metal mesh, which lets oils and fine particles through for a heavier, slightly silty cup. An AeroPress pushes through paper, which holds them back for a cleaner, brighter cup with less sediment, and it is far quicker to clean. A French press makes more at once. If you brew one or two mugs and want less mess, the AeroPress; for a pot to share, the French press.