AeroPress Recipe: How to Get the Most Out of Your Coffee
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The most versatile brewer in specialty coffee.
No piece of coffee equipment has a more devoted following than the AeroPress. Invented in 2005 by Alan Adler — an engineer better known for designing the Aerobie flying disc — it was originally dismissed by coffee purists as a novelty. Within a few years it had its own World Championship and a community of obsessive recipe developers that rivals anything in the coffee world.
The reason is simple: the AeroPress works. It produces a clean, rich, low-acid cup in under two minutes. It's practically indestructible. It travels anywhere. And unlike the V60 or the Chemex, it is genuinely forgiving — small variations in grind, temperature or timing rarely ruin the result.
If you own an AeroPress and you're not sure you're using it well, this guide will change that.
How the AeroPress works
The AeroPress brews by combining immersion and pressure. You add coffee and water to the chamber, let them steep together briefly, then press a plunger through the chamber to force the liquid through a filter and into your cup.
The result sits somewhere between a French Press and an espresso in terms of body and concentration — richer than a pour over, cleaner than a French Press, less intense than a true espresso but with some of that same depth.
That combination of immersion and pressure is also why the AeroPress is so forgiving. The steep time gives you extraction even if your grind isn't perfect, and the pressure helps extract evenly without requiring the precise pouring technique that a V60 demands.
What you need
Equipment:
- An AeroPress (original or AeroPress Go for travel)
- AeroPress paper filters (or a reusable metal filter for a fuller-bodied cup)
- A burr grinder
- A kitchen scale
- A kettle
- A mug or a vessel to press into
The coffee:
- Specialty coffee, medium roast works particularly well — the AeroPress handles acidity well and brings out sweetness and body beautifully
- Light roasts work too, producing a brighter, more delicate result
- Avoid very dark roasts — the AeroPress tends to amplify bitterness in over-roasted beans
The standard recipe
This is a reliable starting point that works well with most specialty coffees:
- Coffee: 15 g
- Water: 200 ml at 90–94°C
- Grind: medium-fine (slightly coarser than V60)
- Total brew time: approximately 2 minutes
Step by step
Step 1 — Set up and rinse
Place a paper filter in the AeroPress cap and rinse it with hot water. This removes any papery taste and preheats the brewer. Attach the cap to the chamber and place it on top of your mug or vessel. If you're using the inverted method (more on that below), skip this for now and come back to it.
Step 2 — Grind and add coffee
Grind 15 g of coffee to a medium-fine consistency — slightly coarser than you'd use for a V60, similar to rough sand. Add the ground coffee to the AeroPress chamber. Give the chamber a gentle shake to level the coffee bed.
Step 3 — Add water and stir
Start your timer. Pour 200 ml of water at 90–94°C over the coffee. If you don't have a thermometer, bring the water to a boil and wait about 45 seconds. Stir gently for 10 seconds to make sure all the grounds are saturated. Place the plunger on top of the chamber — just enough to create a seal, without pressing down yet.
Step 4 — Steep
Wait for 1 minute from the start of the pour. During this time the coffee is steeping in the water, extracting its flavour compounds evenly. The sealed plunger prevents heat from escaping and stops any dripping through the filter.
Step 5 — Press
At the 1-minute mark, begin pressing the plunger down slowly and steadily. Apply gentle, consistent pressure — the press should take about 30 seconds.
Stop pressing when you hear a hissing sound. That sound means you've pushed all the liquid through and you're now pressing air — going further will force bitter compounds into the cup.
Total brew time from first pour: approximately 1:30 to 2:00 minutes.
Step 6 — Serve
Remove the AeroPress from the mug, unscrew the cap and eject the coffee puck directly into the bin. Rinse the rubber seal and chamber — cleanup takes about 10 seconds. Your coffee is ready to drink immediately.
The inverted method
The inverted method is a popular variation that gives you more control over steep time and prevents any dripping before you're ready to press.
Instead of placing the AeroPress cap-down on your mug, you flip the chamber upside down — plunger end down — before adding coffee and water. This means the coffee steeps without any risk of dripping through the filter prematurely.
When you're ready to press, you attach the rinsed filter cap, carefully flip the whole assembly onto your mug, and press as normal.
The result is very similar to the standard method, but some brewers prefer it for the added control it gives during the steep. If you've tried the standard recipe and want to experiment, the inverted method is a natural next step.
How to adjust the recipe to your taste
The AeroPress is one of the best brewers for experimentation because small changes produce noticeable results. Here's how to troubleshoot:
If the coffee tastes bitter or harsh:
- Lower the water temperature (try 88–90°C)
- Shorten the steep time
- Grind slightly coarser
If the coffee tastes weak or flat:
- Use more coffee (try 17–18 g)
- Grind slightly finer
- Extend the steep time by 15–20 seconds
If the coffee tastes sour or sharp:
- Raise the water temperature
- Grind finer
- Stir more thoroughly after adding water
If you want more body:
- Switch to a metal reusable filter — paper filters retain oils that contribute to body and texture
- Try a slightly finer grind
AeroPress vs V60: which should you choose?
Both are excellent for specialty coffee, but they suit different preferences and situations.
The V60 rewards patience and technique. When everything is dialled in, it produces a clean, transparent cup that expresses the nuances of the origin with exceptional clarity. It's the better choice if you want to really analyse and understand a coffee.
The AeroPress rewards flexibility and speed. It's more forgiving, faster, and easier to travel with. The cup is richer and less delicate than a V60, but no less enjoyable — just different in character.
Many specialty coffee drinkers own both and choose between them depending on the mood, the coffee, and how much time they have.
Want to master the V60 too? Read our full guide: How to Brew V60 Coffee at Home →
One last thing
The AeroPress has an unusually active community of recipe developers — every year the World AeroPress Championship produces dozens of new techniques and approaches, many of them radically different from the standard recipe above.
Once you're comfortable with the basics, exploring those recipes is genuinely fun. But start here. Get the fundamentals right, understand what each variable does, and then experiment from a position of knowledge.
A good AeroPress recipe is only as good as the coffee inside it. Start with something worth brewing.
Looking for a specialty coffee to try in your AeroPress? Visit our shop and find your next cup.
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