The Aeropress is a popular coffee maker. It's handy for making a single or double dose of coffee, for example when traveling, at the cottage, or in other places where normal coffee brewing methods may not be available.
In this article, we present two recipes for the Aeropress. One is straight from the hustle and bustle of the competition world and the other is from everyday café life.
There are countless instructions for the Aeropress on the internet, so we started straight from the top. Simo Niiranen won the Aeropress Finnish Championship in 2022 and also represented Finland in Vancouver at the Aeropress World Championships.
Niiranen's instructions are as follows:
Winning Instructions for Aeropress / Competition Performance Recipe
Method: Inverted
Filter: AeroPress filter paper (1 pc, moistened)
Coffee amount: 12.6 g
Coffee grinder: COmandante C40 MK4
Grinding coarseness: 21 "clicks"
Water: Tap water from Joensuu (More detailed water information from Joensuu here .)
Water temperature: 85 C
Total extraction time: 2min 30 seconds
Simo Niiranen preparing winning coffee in the Lappeenranta competitions.
Do this:
1. Add 30g of water, wait 40 seconds (blooming).
2. Mix by swirling the Aeropress back and forth a few times.
3. Add water up to 200 grams.
4. Moisten the filter paper.
5. Stir gently back and forth at 1 min 15 sec.
6. Press the AeroPress to remove the air space and attach the filter.
7. Place the carafe on the AeroPress and turn it upside down at 2:00. Swirl lightly, tap on the tabletop, and start pressing (about 30 seconds).
8. Cool by pouring the coffee back and forth from one container to another a few times.
9. Pour into a cup in a "latte art" style, swirling.
Niiranen ended up with this recipe after several rounds of experimentation.
"I initially tried many variations with the amount of coffee, amount of water, coarseness, temperature and extraction time. For example, I initially used more coffee and a coarser grind, but I wasn't completely satisfied.
I then decided to try it with a much smaller amount of coffee and a finer grind, and the end result started to work for me.
I made several versions of that final recipe with small variations and finally decided that it was the best.
"In addition, someone might wonder why the amount of coffee is given with decimal precision. Here's a little joke, because I always try to somehow sneak the number series 666 into recipes. 6+6+0.6= 12.6 grams," heavy metal musician Niiranen laughs.
Niiranen developed the recipe for the competition coffee, which was a medium-roasted, lightly anaerobically fermented blend of Yellow Bourbon, Catuai and Icatu from the Sitio Santa Catarina farm in Brazil.
Satamatie 6's basic recipe for Aeropress
The second recipe we will present is the basic recipe from Lehmus Roastery's café Satamatie 6, based on which we will start making adjustments for different coffees. The recipe presented here is a little more refined, so that it is an easy starting point for all types of Aeropress users.
Aeropress instructions:
Method: Inverted
14g coffee
220g water (over 90 degrees)
Grinding coarseness: slightly finer than filter grinding
1. Measure 14 grams of coffee into the cylinder.
2. Pour 50 g of water into the cylinder and mix gently. Wait 20 seconds.
3. Pour 170g of water.
4. Stir with a measuring stick or spoon three times.
5. At the minute mark, stir again.
6. Place the moistened filter paper and close the filter cell.
7. Turn the machine upside down and press the coffee into the serving container in about 20 seconds.
Which coffees are suitable for Aeropress?
Practically any coffee is suitable for brewing with the Aeropress. Coffee brewed with the Aeropress is slightly fuller and smoother than coffee brewed with a filter coffee maker, so many people use the Aeropress to brew dark and roasted coffees.
Try, for example, Lauritsala , Kimpi or Pusupuisto from Lehmus Roastery's selection!