Europe
We could define the Aeropress as a relatively recent coffee extraction method seeing as it was invented only 13 years ago, in 2005, thanks to the intuition of Alan Adler, president of a company producing Frisbees; a fanciful character, always on the lookout for new inventions, Adler, who over the course of his life registered 40 patents.
One of these – and the most famous – is certainly that which decreed the invention of the Aeropress, an object formed from a cylindrical section with two filters, one in plastic and one in disposable paper, and a second part with a rubber seal which is needed to provide the pressure boost during the extraction.
The Aeropress functions like a large syringe which, however, far from scaring or daunting people, fascinates and thrills its users and coffee lovers alike.
So much so as to find itself at the centre of an international competition, the World Aeropress Championship, which started in 2008 and which today has more than 3000 participants throughout the world.
Extraction methods with the Aeropauses
This extraction method is undoubtedly simpler and more intuitive to use compared to the Chemex or Cold Brew.
There are two types of coffee extraction with the Aeropress: the first is the traditional one, which means positioning the Aeropress with the filter facing downwards, thus allowing the coffee to percolate slowly before applying the final pressure; the second is called inverted and involves carrying out the infusion first, turning the central cylinder round so that the filter is facing upwards, allowing total infusion of the coffee before turning it round again and applying the pressure needed for the extraction.
How is the Aeropress used?
If we have sparked your curiosity with this post and you want to find out how to use the Aeropress, or if you already know the method but you want to make sure that all the steps you use are correct, keep reading and you can find out the best method for using it.
The preparation
These are the parameters you need to refer to:
- Ratio: 0.63 oz of coffee powder / 8.82 oz of water
- Grinding granulometry : 600-800 micron
- Water temperature : 194-197.6°F
- Extraction time: 1.10 minutes (pre-infusion 30 seconds + 40 seconds of infusion)
The procedure
Whether you want to use the traditional method or the inverted one, it will be necessary to wet the filter with hot water and place it in the appropriate space, heat the water to the ideal temperature and then pour it into the Aeropress.
Then you can add the ground coffee and, based on the method that you prefer to use, position the filter of the Aeropress at the top (open to allow the water and coffee powder to be placed inside and with the piston applied) or at the bottom (with the filter applied but without the piston, making sure that it is positioned above the designated vessel) but always vertical.
The third step is the same for both methods and requires the coffee to remain in infusion for the time needed based on the coffee blend you have chosen (approximately one minute).
Finally, once the infusion is completed, it is necessary to stir the ground coffee and push down the piston slowly for a maximum of 20 seconds, thus allowing effective extraction of the coffee.
