Aerobie AeroPress
LukeSeubert’s Smooth Americano recipe
I like my Americano made with 175F water to the top of the "2" oval, with our standard ten-second stir, and press with no steep time. Then diluted 1:1 after pressing.
Mark likes his brewed with much hotter water, with a 40 second steep time and he likes to push all of the water through the press, rather than diluting aftewards. His recipe has much more edge (which I might call bitterness).
"Espresso strength"
I find that the drip-through, even with long steep or long stir times, isn’t enough to affect the final brew. So I think you can get where you want to go without suction.
Furthermore, you’ll get a richer extraction if you stir right up until you press. 30 seconds of stirring will extract more than 30 seconds of steeping.
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Rasqual: The best grind for an Aero press is definitely to the fine side of drip, but not so fine as espresso.
AA: My normal procedure is to push only about a half-inch, then hold that pressure and wait about ten seconds for the pressure to move some liquid, then push another half-inch, and repeat until the liquid has run through. I like a grind that takes about ten to fifteen seconds total press time per scoop of coffee.
Rasqual: lighter roasts profit from higher brewing temperatures in the Aero.
Rasqual: It’s a French Press with a filter, simply put. Therefore, it allows complete control over extraction time, and the filter allows much briefer extraction because you can use a finer grind. Yes, it’s a new brewing method – but what it allows is just a greater range of variable control than familiar methods it’s most like. You’re in familiar territory with it. but with a whole new set of options. [Fewer ‘fines’]
Rasqual: I’ve long since discarded Alan’s water amount recommendations. I use about double his recommended quantity for a given amount of grind. I don’t steep at all, I just stir until I press (which is simply to say I accelerate steeping).
Gate: Tea definitely should NOT be squeezed. It makes it bitter. Never squeeze a tea bag, by the way. This is particularly noticeable with mild tasting teas, such as green, and maybe even more so with green jasmine, and really, any jasmine or flower tea. I squeezed tea bags for years, not realizing how much better tea could taste until I consulted with a lady who ran a Chinese restaurant and whose tea was the best I’d ever tasted. If you’re making your tea in an AeroPress, stop short of pressing to the bottom, and let the leaves have a little room!
A very easy fix is to stand the AP on its head with the plunger set in place then prepare the coffee in this "inverted" AP, cap with a filter and the cap and then revert on top of the cup and press. No muss, no fuss, no drip through. More of the good stuff makes it into the cup also.
AA: I like to give my AeroPress a shake to level the bed of coffee prior to pouring in the water. I also dribble the water in slowly for the first few seconds to wet the bed. I found that if I poured it in too fast, it would occasionaly bore a hole right through the bed of coffee and run through.
AA: Fill the plunger to halfway between the number 2 and the top of the oval surrounding the 2 with boiling water. You can use boiling water from a kettle, or fill it with cold tap water to this point, then nuke it until it bubbles in the microwave. Next add cold tap water to raise the level to the number 3. The mix will be about 175F.
Planet: Fill the plunger 3/4 up the 2 range with just off-the-boil water, and top off with refrigerator-cold water, to the top of the 2 range. I tested this method several times (letting the equipment return to room temp each time) and was between 168 and 172. A 4 degree variation within, all within the instruction’s 10 degree recommended band, sounds really good to me, especially as I need no timer and no thermometer!
FullCourtPress: First, don’t back off the grind. You’ll want to stay with as close to an espresso grind as possible. Try pre-wetting the filter, before adding grinds. This may seem counterintuitive but I think it expands the filter fibers before the micro-grinds can clog the pore spaces. I have noticed a difference in force required with this one step alone. You might try applying less force during the first 10 seconds of plunging, then gradually increase force over the next 20 seconds. If it takes more than 30 seconds to plunge your coffee with probably be over-extracted. This also probably means you have too much micro-grind or coffee dust in your grind and you will need to grind coarser or get a better quality grinder.
DavidMLewis: Counterintuitively, to use a very find grind with the Aeropress, you need to press very lightly. I now use a Zass Turkish grinder, as fine as it can be made to go, and stir for 25 seconds. (I use a much lighter roast, usually, than Alan favors.) I put the plunger in and move it just until I see the top of the liquid column start to go down. I then move very slowly, just keeping the distance from the plunger to the liquid more or less constant. Pushing too hard forces the particles into the filter paper, decreasing the flow. Almost no muscle strength required at all.