Aeropress Techniques; Water to grinds ratio in Aeropress

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Aeropress Techniques; Water to grinds ratio in Aeropress

Postby Olings » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:13 am

Ok, I know this might have been covered in some other topic somewhere and I did a search but the threads had developed into monster proportions and I couldn't find what I was looking for. So I decided to label my thread very bluntly to the point so that it might at least serve it's purpose for future referance.

Excuses aside here is the question (actually it's a couple of paragraphs down so if you're bored you can skip the next bit and only read the last sentence; the one above my signature):

I recently got a hold of an Aeropress (finally). I started playing around with it after having read the manual. I was not completely satisfied with the result as I found the coffee a bit on the "strong/dark" side.

I had bought myself two wonderful beans to try out; an unwashed Yirgacheffe (Adido) and Panama Jaramillo. They didn't come out the way I wanted them to after following the instructions. So I used 1 measure of beans and water up to the "3" mark. The result seemed to me to be a bit more right. I'm not sure I'm on the money with it yet though so I wondered how you guys do it.

What is your grind to water ratio for the Aeropress?


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Postby scook94 » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:49 am

Well I tend to use 1 and 3/4 scoops and fill the water to about 1 cm from the top. Stir for 20-30s then "press" the coffee...
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Postby lukas » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:20 am

The instructions that come with it are crap ;)
The very very best results I ever had (despite the single one best cup of coffee from a specific nicaraguan coffee that I'll possibly can never make again) was with a Kenyan: exactly one bodum measuring spoon (I love them) of a bit coarser than filter ground coffee, and water measured to the middle where 2 and 3 overlap.
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Postby zix » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:31 am

I don't even know where my scoop is anymore, I usually don't need *another* thing that will get lost or end up at the bottom of one of the bags when travelling. Instead I fill my turkish grinder up to the top, which is about the same as 25g. Is that one scoop? I pour in water to about 2-3. 20-30 sec. stir, grind is slightly finer than for filter.
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Postby phil2spill » Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:29 pm

Are we saying that a scoop is with the beans/ground coffee level with the top of the scoop, or heaped ? Ta
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Postby lukas » Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:34 pm

scoop leveled with the finger for me.
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Postby cmorgan » Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:55 pm

Interesting topic. What I am picking up here is that I probably need to grind slightly coarser (I currently grind half way between filter and espresso on my Antigua) and I am probably not leaving to brew long enough (I currently leave about 10 secs as per the instructions).

I will now experiment with these variables. Like the op I have been left slightly disappointed with some of the results I have been achieving with the aeropress, but it wins hands down v other methods in terms of convenience.
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Postby scook94 » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:02 pm

cmorgan wrote:Interesting topic. What I am picking up here is that I probably need to grind slightly coarser (I currently grind half way between filter and espresso on my Antigua) and I am probably not leaving to brew long enough (I currently leave about 10 secs as per the instructions).

I will now experiment with these variables. Like the op I have been left slightly disappointed with some of the results I have been achieving with the aeropress, but it wins hands down v other methods in terms of convenience.


I would think that logic dictates that if you grind coarser you should increase the "brew" time. FWIW I grind on the same setting as espresso, I probably could get better results if I played around with this, but then I'm inherently lazy, so...
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Postby Gadders » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:18 pm

Good topic - just in time as i'm about to embark on my Bolivian COE Santa Fe :D

Could we come up with the ultimate Aeropress technique :P ?
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Postby Gouezeri » Fri Jan 26, 2007 12:08 am

Don't want to be a killjoy here, but I think it might be useful to define what kind of drink people are after. The AP was initially sold as a "quasi" espresso maker, which we all know is a little silly, but it can make a nice cup of espresso strength coffee. Personally I use it as a FP replacement, but even then I have two different techniques depending on whether I'm making one cup or many. Actually, I've been meaning to mention this for ages, what I would really like is a 6-8 cup AP, ie. perfect for dinner parties and the like. Not everybody likes proper espresso, FP can be a little "full" for some people and they dislike the grounds in the cup, filter is I can't stand. Which leaves the AP, but making a decent amount for a group of people is a pain. So Steve, fancy putting in a request for an AP mark II, at double the size?
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Postby bruceb » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:25 am

How about buying 2 or 3?

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Postby Olings » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:54 am

Don't see that as being killjoy, Dom. Thats exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for as are the rest of the posts so far. Good alternative thinking makes an interesting discussion. I also tend to use the AP as a FP, not for making espresso-style strength coffee. For that I have a little friend called Giotto.

What I really like about the AP is that it makes a nice clean cup of coffee and to me the size is an advantage as I can have one cup of Yirgacheffe and then one with Panama Jaramillo without maing enough coffee for a batallion.

For dinner-parties I use the Eva Solo coffee maker (FP style), and make the occasional espresso. I can see how it would be nice to make AP coffee for all, but I think the size of the thing would be a tad large.

After trying different ratios myself I've found that my favorite, for now, is how Scook 94 does it.

As an add-on question: What do you prefer? Getting the max amount of coffee by making it the strongest, and then watering it out to an "Americano" or making it exactly right and making one or two cups at a time?

Myself, I prefer the latter. Just seems to go against my grain to water it out.


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Postby GeorgeW » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:09 am

I find this thread valuable as I have to admit that, as yet, I'm completely at sea with the Aeropress. A stick or article might be very useful here.
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Postby GreenBean » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:10 pm

I also find this thread very useful. I have recently purchased an Aeropress following advice on TMC. I am a French Press advocate and was looking for a similar and, hopefully improved result. I have found that I get a similar result from the following:

one full (heaped scoop) of coffee ground mid way between filter and espresso add water to between the 2 and 3 cup marks, stir 20 seconds then press. I then add a little more water to fill my mug.

As others say I find the Aeropress produces a very clean result but I find I am missing the body and the wonderful oils I get with the French Press. I would say the result I have obtained are more like good filter coffee than espresso watered to Americano or French Press.
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Postby CakeBoy » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:39 pm

Thread made into a sticky as requested, and title edited to indicate this is the place for Aeropress info.
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