Aerobie® AeroPress™ COFFEE AND ESPRESSO MAKER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Won’t the AeroPress’ paper filter remove important oils that contribute to flavor that pass through the metal filters in my French press and my espresso machine?
We conducted blind-tasting tests on espresso and French press coffee lovers. They tasted paper-filtered AeroPress brew and metal-filtered brew – made with espresso filters and custom filters which were about three times finer. Every single taster preferred the paper-filtered brew.
This is not surprising, in light of the fact that the fine particles which pass through metal filters are quite bitter.
In the book Coffee - A Guide to Buying Brewing and Enjoying, renowned coffee author Kenneth Davids wrote about making drip coffee with metal filters;
“…you may not like coffee made with these filters as much as you like coffee brewed with paper filters. The mesh allows a good deal of sediment and colloids to enter the brewed coffee, which gives it a heavy, often gritty taste, closer in style to French-press coffee.”
Also, from the same book and page;
“A note on Filter Papers
Virtually all white filter papers manufactured today are whitened without use of dioxin, a carcinogen that was used in bleaching paper through the late 1980’s. For this reason, I feel confident in recommending white papers in preference to brown, which imparts a cardboardy taste to the brewed water and which may harbor some dubious chemicals of their own, including tars.”
2. Coffee
made in my AeroPress is so smooth it seems weak. What am I doing wrong?
There are three possible answers to this question.
• The grind was not fine enough. A finer grind will yield a richer brew. If you are using a blade grinder, be sure to run it for 20 to 30 seconds. If you are using a burr grinder or having your coffee ground at the store, set the grinder midway between drip and espresso grind.
• You are not using enough coffee. Use the AeroPress scoop which is sized to optimize flavor.
• You are accustomed to coffee with a bite (the bitterness) and the smoother brew from an AeroPress without the bite seems weaker.
We have learned that many AeroPress users enjoy their coffee stronger now that they can brew it without the bitterness and with lower acidity. If you wish to try stronger coffee, just increase the amount of coffee used or reduce the amount of hot water used to dilute an espresso to an American cup.
3. I have a whirling blade grinder. Do I need to buy a more expensive grinder capable of a finer grind to fully enjoy coffee made in my AeroPress?
We've tested a number of these grinders and find that they work quite well but need to run a bit longer than their instructions suggest. Try about 30 seconds for two scoops. When the grind is fine enough for rich flavor it will tend to stick in the grinder and you'll have to help it out with a spoon.
Two scoops of a nice grind require about 20 to 30 seconds press time in the AeroPress. Coarser grinds will run through faster and make a slightly weaker cup.
4. To make a regular American cup of coffee using an AeroPress, you basically brew an espresso and then dilute it with hot water. Why not run a whole cup of water through the press?
We tried just that. But again, in blind-tasting tests everyone said that the coffee tasted smoother when made by our recommended method. Pushing too much water through the coffee extracts bitterness.
5. The instructions for the AeroPress recommend using 175° F water. That doesn’t seem hot enough. Why don’t you recommend a temperature closer to boiling?
In developing the AeroPress we spent more time on taste-testing various brewing temperatures than on any other tests. Our tasters ranged from casual coffee drinkers, to coffee aficionados, to professional coffee tasters and consultants. Every single taster preferred brew made at 165F to 175F. They said the hotter brews were ok, but the 165F to 175F brews tasted best.
Books often recommend a brewing temperature of 195F to 200F. This is true for conventional brewing methods that pass hot water through a bed of coffee. In this method, the water rapidly cools, so the lower part of the bed is operating at a lower temperature. However in the AeroPress all of the coffee particles contact the same water temperature during the stirring phase.
6. The AeroPress instructions recommend not cleaning the AeroPress in a dishwasher. What will happen if I ignore those instructions?
The AeroPress is made from very expensive hot-water-resistant polycarbonate and will withstand the dishwasher. We just like to be extra safe with our recommendation. However, why bother to run it through? A simple rinse keeps it clean.
7. Why did you include a stirrer with the AeroPress? Almost any spoon will work.
The handle on the AeroPress paddle prevents the tip from tearing the paper filter. It also won’t scratch the AeroPress chamber.
8. Where can I buy more filters?
Each AeroPress comes with 350 filters so you have enough filters to last many months. Replacement packs of 350 filters are available from many of the retailers selling the AeroPress coffee maker. It is noted on the lists of retailers under “Where to Buy” which retailers sell replacement filters.
9. How can
I make it easier to press?
There are two possible answers to this question.
• People who find their AeroPress too difficult to press are usually just pressing too hard. When you start pressing, depress the plunger about half an inch (one centimeter) and hold it. Let the compressed air in the chamber work for you. Several seconds later, press the plunger a little deeper and hold again. Repeat until you hear air escaping from the chamber which indicates all the liquid has been filtered. Now pressing the plunger down to the "puck" of coffee will be easy.
• If pressing gently does not solve the problem, your grind is too fine or perhaps only some of your grind is too fine (powder in the grind). If you are using a blade grinder, run it a little shorter time. If you are using a burr grinder or having it ground at a store, adjust the grinder one setting coarser.
10. When
I add water to three or four scoops, why does the mix swell up and overflow?
This occurs with three or four scoops when you use water which is hotter than
the recommended 175° F (80° C). Try 175° F (80° C) or even 185°
F (85° C) water and the problem will disappear. If you prefer hotter water
and the bite it will produce in your coffee, limit each pressing to two scoops.
11. Do you
have any tips for making water a particular desired temperature such as the
recommended 175° F (80° C) temperature?
Yes, we have several suggested methods but first a tip. You can microwave water
in the AeroPress plunger. The markings on the side of the plunger are there
for measuring the quantity of water. The wide flange at the top provides a convenient
drip-free pouring lip.
• This method involves boiling a measured amount of water and then adding enough cold tap water to bring the water temperature down to 175° F (80° C). For example if you are brewing a double, fill the plunger to about halfway between the 2 and the top of the 2 oval. Then microwave it until the water boils. Now add cold tap water to raise the level to the top of the 2 oval. The temperature will be about 175° F (80° C).
If you are making a triple, fill the plunger to about one-third of the way between the 3 and the top of the 3 oval. Microwave the plunger to boil the water. Then fill to the top of the 3 oval with cold tap water.
If you heat water in a kettle, simply pour boiling water into the plunger to the above levels and then add the above amounts of cold tap water.
In these examples, the amount of cold tap water is about one fourth of the amount of boiling water. You could also blend in a measuring cup.
• Another approach is to fill the plunger to the desired water level (say for a double) and then heat it in your microwave oven until it reaches the desired temperature. Use a kitchen thermometer to determine the temperature. You should only have to do this once since for successive brewing, all you need to remember is the number of seconds required in your microwave oven. The time to 175° F (80° C) is about 75% of the time to boil.
• Still another way is to fill your cup with boiling water and let it sit for about a minute. Then pour some of the water into the plunger up to the desired level and wait another minute. By this time, first the mug and then the plunger have removed enough heat from the water (You can verify this the first time with your kitchen thermometer.) that you can pour the water from the plunger onto the coffee in the chamber. You can then press back into your mug to make an American cup of coffee.
• Many home "instant hot water" systems deliver 175° F (80° C) water or can be adjusted to that temperature. If you have such a system, using an AeroPress is really simple.
• Some electric kettles heat very quickly and have an adjustable temperature. You can set the dial to your favorite temperature and then just turn it on when you want to use your AeroPress coffee maker.