The Aeropress is a simple way to make a great one-off cup of coffee: especially when travelling! Here’s how to use an Aeropress.
Looking for THE BEST way to make a single great cup of coffee, especially while travelling? Enter the Aeropress! It might look a little funky, but this little guy makes an extra good cup of coffee. It’s also a pretty affordable coffee maker: just around $30! Since it makes 1 cup at a time, it’s great for one-off cups when you don’t want a full pot. And it’s perfect for travelling! Alex and I have taken ours all over the world, from Italy to Arizona. Here’s how to use an Aeropress to make coffee — including a video tutorial!
Video: How to use an Aeropress
A lot of learning how to use an Aeropress is just watching other people do it! It’s also having the right gear. Before you start, watch this video of me showing you to how to make Aeropress coffee in our kitchen.
What you need to make Aeropress coffee
Before you learn how to use an Aeropress, you’ll need a few pieces of coffee gear. In contrast to Chemex coffee gear, what you need is minimal! Here’s what you need, and links to what we use ourselves and show in the video.
- Aeropress coffeemaker: Here’s the Aeropress we use: it makes 1 cup of coffee per use!
- Aeropress coffee filters: The Aeropress uses special filters; we order ours here.
- Handheld coffee mill: If you’re travelling with your Aeropress, here’s an inexpensive coffee grinder that can travel: or grind your coffee before you go! We also use this Bodum electric burr grinder at home for our Chemex coffee; it’s more expensive but our everyday grinder.
- Electric gooseneck kettle: This kettle is perfect for heating water for coffee and tea; we’ve use ours for 6 years and it’s held up great. It also works perfectly for pour over coffee!
How to use an Aeropress
Using an Aeropress takes a little practice, but once you learn it will become second nature! It’s perfect for traveling, or making a single one-off cup of coffee. Here are a few things to know about how to use an Aeropress — then reference the recipe below for the official recipe. The major steps are:
- Heat filtered water to 200 to 205 degrees. We’ve found that the flavor of filtered water is best (here’s the filtered pitcher we use — of course if you’re traveling, you can skip this!). We use an electric kettle to heat the water.
- Measure out and grind your coffee. For 1 cup of coffee, you need only 3 tablespoons beans! Grind it out to a medium fine grind. We like a light roast or medium roast coffee, but you could use dark roast if that is your preference.
- Add the filter and coffee, and let it bloom. Next you’ll let the coffee bloom for 30 seconds by wetting all the grounds and letting it sit. The bloom releases CO2 from the coffee and causes the grinds to grow & rise.
- Add the rest of the water, stir, and then depress the plunger. Then add the rest of the water to make your coffee, and stir 20 times. Then add the plunger and press down until all the water is forced through the filter. See the video for this part!
And that’s how to use an Aeropress! Once you’ve practiced a few times, it will feel like second nature. When we first started making Aeropress coffee, Alex always made the coffee because I was nervous I’d screw it up. After he showed me a few times, I realized it’s easy to do! It’s perfect for the best cup of coffee when travelling. Do you have any thoughts: have you tried making Aeropress coffee? Let us know in the comments below!
Variation: Aeropress espresso!
Did you know you can use an Aeropress to make espresso? Now, the Aeropress cannot make a true espresso with the bubbly “crema” top that you’d get at your favorite coffee shop. But it does make what we’ll call Aeropress espresso (genius term, right?): a very strong shot of coffee that tastes a lot like espresso. Down it as is, or use it in espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. Go to our Aeropress Espresso recipe!
Looking for more coffee methods?
Outside of how to use an Aeropress, we’ve got a series on how to make coffee using all sorts of gadgets!
- How to use a Chemex to make coffee
- How to make cold brew coffee
- How to make iced coffee
- Chemex Iced Coffee
- Chemex Ratio: Coffee Beans to Water
- All of our Coffee Methods & Resources!
- Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee
- How to Make Coffee: 4 Ways
How to Use an Aeropress to Make Coffee
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup of coffee 1x
Description
The Aeropress is an expensive way to make a great one-off cup of coffee: especially when travelling! Here’s how to use an Aeropress.
Ingredients
- 18 grams coffee, or about 3 tablespoons coffee beans
- Water (preferably filtered)
- Coffee grinder
- Aeropress
- 1 Aeropress filter
Instructions
- In an electric teapot, heat water to 200 to 205°F.
- Grind 3 tablespoons (18 grams) coffee beans to a medium fine grind.
- Place the circular filter into the basket of the Aeropress and wet it so it is fully damp. Screw the basket onto the end of the Aeropress.
- Pour the coffee grounds into the Aeropress, then place it on top of an empty mug.
- When the water is ready, pour a little bit onto the coffee grounds until grounds are wet. Wait about 30 seconds for coffee to bloom.
- Pour water into the Aeropress, up to line 3 1/2. Using the provided stir stick, stir about 20 times. Don’t worry if coffee level drops slightly.
- Insert the plunger into the top of the Aeropress. Gently press down (avoid the urge to force). Wait until the plunger is pressed fully to the bottom; you will hear a hiss of air being released (this process takes about 30 seconds or so).
- Remove the Aeropress, unscrew the basket and hold it over a compost bucket or garbage. Press down on the plunger to release the filter and grounds. Rinse the Aeropress so it is ready for future use. Enjoy your perfect cup of coffee!
- Category: Drink
- Method: Coffee
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: How to use Aeropress, Aeropress coffee, Coffee Recipe, Aeropress
I love making coffee with my AeroPress. Great recipe, but there is one LEETLE flaw. The printed recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of coffee beans, while the video calls for 3 tablespoons of ground coffee, which I feel is what you meant as 3 tablespoons of beans weigh 27g, far too much for 8oz of coffee. 3 tablespoons of ground coffee weighs 13g, much more realistic.
Hi! For our standard light roast, a tablespoon of beans weighs about 6 grams whether whole bean or medium griund. This can definitely vary though, so we prefer to use the scale when possible!