Long-time Capital Coffee friends will know that the AeroPress is one of our favourite ways to make coffee at home.
John has been using one for years, and there are good reasons it has stuck around.
It’s quick, compact, easy to clean and forgiving enough that you don’t need half a kitchen full of equipment to make a genuinely good cup of coffee.
It also travels brilliantly. Take it to work, chuck it in a bag for a weekend away, or keep one in the kitchen for those mornings when you want proper coffee without turning breakfast into a science experiment.
So, if you’ve got an AeroPress and you’re wondering what to do with it, this is how we like to approach it.
What is an AeroPress?
The AeroPress was invented by Alan Adler and uses a combination of immersion and pressure to brew coffee.
In simple terms, ground coffee and hot water spend a short amount of time together before you push the brew through a paper or metal filter and into your mug.
That combination makes it possible to produce a clean, full-flavoured coffee very quickly.
The paper filter also keeps most sediment out of your cup, which is one reason an AeroPress brew feels different from coffee made with a cafetière.
And when you’re finished, the used coffee comes out as a neat little puck.
Very satisfying.
What coffee should you use in an AeroPress?
There isn’t a special category of coffee bean that is magically “for AeroPress”.
The best coffee is the one you enjoy drinking.
We generally like using freshly roasted single-origin coffees because the AeroPress does a good job of showing off the characteristics of the coffee without requiring a complicated brewing setup.
Lighter, fruitier coffees can work brilliantly, but so can sweeter, chocolatey coffees if that is more your thing.
You do not have to graduate to increasingly obscure tasting notes before you are allowed to use an AeroPress.
If you buy your coffee from Capital, we can also grind it for you at the roastery at no extra cost. Select the AeroPress grind when ordering and we’ll take care of that bit.
Our Single Origin Coffee Selection Box is a good place to start if you want to try a few different coffees and see what you prefer.
What grind size should you use for AeroPress?
We recommend a medium-fine grind as a good starting point.
If you grind at home, a burr grinder will give you a much more even result than a blade grinder.
But don’t get too hung up on finding the one theoretically perfect setting.
Your grind size is something you can adjust.
If your coffee tastes weak or thin, try going slightly finer. If it tastes overly bitter or harsh, try going a little coarser.
Coffee has a habit of refusing to obey neat little rules, so taste it and adjust from there.
Capital Coffee's simple AeroPress recipe
There are hundreds of AeroPress recipes online.
Some have won competitions. Some involve scales, timers, unusual temperatures and enough instructions to make you wonder whether you accidentally bought laboratory equipment.
This is meant to be simpler.
What you'll need
- An AeroPress
- Paper filter
- Mug
- Freshly roasted coffee
- Hot water
- Ideally, a grinder or coffee ground for AeroPress
1. Heat your water
Boil your kettle.
AeroPress recommends water around 85°C as a useful starting point, although boiling water can also be used if you don't have temperature control.
The important thing is consistency rather than obsessing over one exact number.
2. Add the filter
Place a paper filter into the filter cap and attach it to the AeroPress chamber.
You can give the filter a quick rinse with hot water first if you like.
3. Add your coffee
For one cup, around 16–18g of medium-fine coffee is a useful starting point.
No scales? Use the supplied scoop and adjust next time according to taste.
4. Add the hot water
Place the AeroPress securely on top of your mug and pour in your water.
Give the coffee a gentle stir so all of the grounds are wet.
5. Create a seal and let it brew
Insert the plunger slightly into the chamber, then pull back very gently.
This creates a vacuum which helps prevent the coffee dripping straight through while it brews.
Leave it for around 30–60 seconds.
This gives you the control people traditionally tried to achieve with the inverted AeroPress method, without having to flip a chamber full of hot coffee over your mug.
6. Press slowly
Apply steady, gentle pressure to the plunger.
Don't lean your entire body weight onto it. A slow, controlled press is what you want.
When you hear the hiss at the bottom, you're done.
7. Taste it
This is the important bit.
Drink it as it is, top it up with hot water for a longer cup, or add milk if that's how you like your coffee.
There are no points awarded for drinking it black.
What about the inverted AeroPress method?
Older versions of this guide recommended the inverted method, and John used it himself.
The idea is simple: assemble the AeroPress upside down, allow the coffee to steep, attach the filter and then flip the whole brewer onto your mug before pressing.
It works.
However, AeroPress now advises against it because an upside-down AeroPress full of hot water is less stable and carries a greater risk of burns if it tips or comes apart.
So although we're keeping a nod to the method because it formed part of our original guide, we wouldn't now recommend it as the default way to brew.
Creating a vacuum with the plunger gives you similar control over steeping without the slightly alarming flipping manoeuvre.
How to adjust your AeroPress coffee
One of the best things about an AeroPress is how easy it is to experiment.
If your coffee tastes too weak
- Use slightly more coffee
- Try a finer grind
- Increase the brew time
- Use slightly less water
If it tastes bitter or harsh
- Try a slightly coarser grind
- Reduce the brew time
- Use slightly cooler water
- Press more gently
If it tastes sour or thin
- Grind slightly finer
- Extend the brew time
- Make sure all the coffee is properly saturated
Change one thing at a time.
If you change the coffee, grind, temperature, water and brewing time simultaneously, you'll have no idea which bit made it better.
Paper filter or metal filter?
Both work.
A paper filter gives you a cleaner cup with very little sediment.
A reusable metal filter allows more oils and very fine particles through, usually giving the coffee a little more body.
There isn't a universally better option.
We tend to like the cleanliness and convenience of paper filters, but if you prefer the flavour and reduced waste of a reusable filter, use one.
Cleaning your AeroPress
This is another reason we're fond of them.
After brewing, remove the filter cap, hold the AeroPress over the bin and push the plunger the rest of the way through.
The coffee puck pops straight out.
Give the AeroPress a rinse and you're essentially done.
A simple rinse is normally enough for everyday cleaning, with an occasional more thorough wash using gentle soap.
How should you store an AeroPress?
Our older guide recommended not storing the plunger compressed inside the chamber, and the principle behind that advice was right.
Push the silicone seal all the way through the chamber when storing your AeroPress. This leaves the seal uncompressed and helps prolong its life.
So, don't leave the rubber seal sitting compressed inside the brewing chamber. Push it completely through after cleaning.
Common AeroPress problems
It's very difficult to press
Your grind may be too fine, or you may simply be pushing too hard.
Try a slightly coarser grind and apply steady pressure.
The coffee runs through before I can brew it
A little drip-through is normal.
Once you've stirred the coffee, insert the plunger slightly and pull back gently to create a vacuum.
My coffee tastes bitter
Try a coarser grind, slightly cooler water or a shorter brewing time.
My coffee tastes weak
Try more coffee, a finer grind or a little more brewing time.
The seal isn't fitting as well as it used to
Silicone seals eventually wear.
Make sure you're storing the AeroPress with the seal pushed fully through the chamber rather than compressed inside it.
AeroPress vs cafetière, V60 and Moka pot
They're all good ways of making coffee. They simply produce different results.
A cafetière gives you a heavier, fuller-bodied coffee because more oils and sediment remain in the cup.
A V60 or pour-over tends to produce a very clean coffee and gives you lots of control, but the brewing technique requires a bit more attention.
A Moka pot produces something stronger and more concentrated.
An AeroPress sits somewhere nicely in the middle: quick, clean, portable, easy to experiment with and fairly difficult to completely mess up.
That's a large part of why we've kept using them.
Our final AeroPress advice
There is no single perfect AeroPress recipe.
That's part of the appeal.
Start with a straightforward recipe, use freshly roasted coffee and then change things according to what you actually taste.
Don't worry if somebody on the internet insists your water should be exactly 83.7°C and your coffee needs precisely 47 seconds of contact time.
If you make it, drink it and think “that's a really good cup of coffee”, you've probably got the important bit right.
And if you want us to take care of the grinding, choose AeroPress grind when ordering your Capital Coffee and we'll do it at the roastery for you.
