The Ultimate Guide To AeroPress 

AeroPress debuted in 2005 and has quickly emerged as one of the most popular coffee tools for manual coffee brewers across the globe. People love using it at home and it’s not that uncommon in speciality cafes. Its popularity can be gauged from the sheer number of national and international level championships. 

People love to share their own recipes and how creative they can get with this coffee-brewing gadget. In this ultimate guide to AeroPress, we will discuss its history, strengths, weaknesses, and basic techniques to use the gadget.

What Is AeroPress?

AeroPress is a very simple-looking gadget that comes in 3 different parts including a plunger with a rubber seal at one end, a cylindrical brewing chamber and a filter. All the parts of this coffee brewer are made of only polypropylene which is a type of plastic. It is a long-lasting material and is perfect for coffee brewing.

AeroPress uses the immersion method of coffee making. What makes it different is its use of pressure to extract maximum flavours from coffee grounds. Due to its use of around one bar of pressure, it is possible to make a full cup of flavourful coffee in just 2 minutes.

Brief History of AeroPress

AeroPress was invented by Alan Adler. Before AeroPress, he was known mostly for being a successful frisbee inventor. He is a huge coffee aficionado and wasn’t satisfied with all the brewers available in the market at that time. As a result, he decided to put his inventive mind to use and came up with several versions of a coffee brewer. Thus, AeroPress was born.

He started experimenting in 2003. His aim was to create a coffeemaker that was simple to use and could make a great cup of coffee pretty quickly. Finally, he came up with a pressurised coffeemaker designed to speed up the brewing process. It is often compared with the French press as both use the full immersion method of coffee brewing where coffee grounds are kept in hot water for seeping before separation.

He kept experimenting until they launched AeroPress in 2005. Since then, the company has sold millions of these little gadgets and there are hundreds of communities across the world that love discussing their own way of using this device to brew their favourite cup of coffee. 

Strengths and Weaknesses of AeroPress

Like any other coffee brewing gadget, this device also has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a closer look:

1). Portable size — One of the things that everyone likes about AeroPress is its size. In fact, many people have labelled it as the most portable coffee maker ever created.

2). Manual — The AeroPress is not automated which means you may need some effort to make coffee in the morning. However, it’s your perfect travel companion. This means that you can not only use it at home but also take it with you wherever you go. 

3). Durable materials — Since all the parts except the rubber seal are made out of polypropylene, AeroPress is a highly durable device that will last for several years even if you handle it roughly.

4). Process — AeroPress is a quick brewing device that takes less than 2 minutes to make coffee.

5). Versatility — AeroPress can be used to brew a wide variety of coffees. In fact, there are thousands of recipes available online shared by people who like to use their AeroPress in varied ways.

6). Size — In terms of weakness, AeroPress can be used to make only a single cup of coffee. If you want to make coffee for multiple people, you would have to look at other options.

Why Brew With AeroPress?

There are several advantages of using AeroPress for coffee brewing compared to other devices. One of the biggest advantages of AeroPress is that it is versatile which means you can adjust it to brew the kind of coffee you love. The only limitation is your imagination.

AeroPress also prepares clean-tasting coffee that has body and clarity. In fact, most people love it because it gives them a strong cup of coffee that has more flavour clarity as compared to the French press.

Since AeroPress is made of durable plastic, you can keep using it for several years without worrying about it breaking. On top of that, it’s super affordable and you can easily get multiple units.

Lastly, AeroPress is portable which makes it the perfect choice for a take-along coffee brewer, especially if you travel a lot. Cleaning it is also extremely easy.

Basic AeroPress Techniques

Here’s a list of some of the most common techniques coffee lovers use to brew with AeroPress.

1). Normal or inverted method of brewing — While there are many who like to use this device as imagined by Alan Adler himself, there are also an equal number of fans of the inverted method or the upside-down method. Try out both to find which one works best for you.

2). Low temperature — Alan Adler prescribes a temperature of 175°F as the ideal temperature for coffee brewing but conventionally, 200°F has been the ideal temperature. Most people love to experiment with various temperature ranges to find what works best for them.

3). Blooming — Blooming is a simple process where water equivalent in weight to 2 to 3 times of coffee grounds is poured over and you have to wait for around 45 seconds before the next step. The goal of blooming is to let the carbon dioxide escape before proper brewing starts. It is also believed to result in even extraction of flavours.

4). Slurry discarding — This technique involves stopping brewing when the water reaches below the 1 – Mark. It is believed that the last remaining brew water contains a lot of unwanted bitterness or other off-putting flavours.

5). Dilution — Many people love to brew an ultra-strong cup of coffee and dilute it with additional hot water for a lighter flavour profile.

What Does AeroPress Coffee Taste like?

Most people define coffee made in this brewer as having a clean taste and delicate flavours. When you compare it to other manual coffee brewers, it produces much more consistent results.

Many people have this objection that it produces coffee that tastes too clean. It might be due to the use of a paper filter as it absorbs a lot of oils in coffee that induce those flavours. In order to retain those flavours, many people prefer using a metal filter instead of a paper one.

Final Thoughts

Overall, AeroPress is an amazing coffee brewer that works perfectly and comes up with a clean-tasting cup of coffee. It is known for producing consistent results and is loved by hundreds of thousands of coffee aficionados across the globe. It does require some manual effort but the results are quick and worth the effort. Moreover, it’s a durable device that is easy to use, clean, and reliable.

Buy AeroPress at Dolo!

Dolo Coffee Supplies offers a wide range of coffee brewing tools including many international brands. We have several years of experience in the industry and understand the importance of quality coffee tools.