Alternative Aeropress Recipes

The Aeropress is a wonderful thing. Its versatility allows you to make many different kinds of coffee of varying intensity. Below are a few favourite and very different alternative recipes when using the Aeropress. Use a chopstick to stir too, it’s much easier with the narrow tubes.

Aeropress picture credit - Caleb Hoskins

Intense Fruit Burst

For this recipe choose a fruity coffee, preferably a honey or natural processed origin. As the recipe creates quite a sour hit, beans processed in this way as opposed to washed should help reduce acidity. Pick a fruity, natural Ethiopian or the delicate, citrus and stone fruit flavours in honey-processed Costa Ricans. To setup:

Aeropress – Inverted

Coffee – 30g, grind fine

Water – 80g, 92°C

Contact Time – 45 Seconds

Method – Set the Aeropress up for the inverted method. Add the coffee and then, using scales, quickly pour the water onto the grounds. Give it a vigorous stir up to the 30 second point. Put the cap on, place the cup on top and then flip and plunge. It will be quite difficult to push the Aeropress down because of the fine grind and coffee weight. Make sure you’re not pushing onto your scales!

What should I expect? – Big, intense taste with high acidity, fruity sweetness and a syrupy body. If the coffee is bitter, stir less or speed up the process. If it’s too sour, use 24g of coffee or add more water/lengthen the contact time. You can also dilute this coffee. Pour half into another cup and top it up with water. Try it side-by-side with the undiluted and taste the difference.

Sweet and Full

This recipe is much like brewing French Press style with a clean filter at the end. Go for sweet Colombian or Central American coffees here.

Aeropress – Upright

Coffee – 20g, French Press coarse

Water – 250ml, 94°C

Contact Time – 4 Minutes

Method – Set the Aeropress on a cup in the regular fashion. Add the coffee and pour 50ml of water to pre-infuse, then stir. At 30 seconds fill the rest. After a gentle stir, put the plunger in to stop the drip. At the 3 minute 40 mark plunge the coffee.

What should I expect? - A full and balanced coffee with plenty of sweetness. The idea is to prevent over extraction, so easily achieved in the more basic Aeropress recipes.

Cold Brew Drip

A drip cold brew can be made using a plastic water bottle (50cl) filled with ice. Use any medium roasted coffee for greater sweetness and chocolate like flavours.

Aeropress – Upright/Regular

Coffee – 40g, Medium-coarse grind

Water – Fill plastic bottle with ice (cut off the bottom)

Contact Time – However long it takes ice to melt at room temperature.

Method – Set the Aeropress with soaked filter paper onto a carafe or cup that holds 400+ml. Add the coffee and add another soaked filter paper on top to avoid displacement of grounds. Cut the bottom of the bottle off and fill it with ice. Remove the lid and use an elastic band to hold a thin piece of fabric or filter paper to the bottle. This stops the ice dropping in during melting. Place the bottle onto the Aeropress and leave out until the ice has melted and passed through the grounds into the cup.

What should I expect? – A smooth and sweet coffee that is neither sour nor bitter.

Spiced Coffee

This is for those who want something a bit different. A mild tasting coffee would be better here, rather than the fruity or acidic coffees from East Africa.

Aeropress – Upright

Coffee – 16g, Fine-medium grind

Spices – A pinch of each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and cardamom.

Water – 250ml, 90°C

Contact Time – 2 Minutes

Method – Place the Aeropress upright onto a cup with pre-soaked filter paper. Add the coffee and spices. Pour 50ml of water for pre-infusion and stir. After 30 seconds add the rest of the water, stir and then fit the plunger. After another minute, push the Aeropress through to finish at the 2 minute mark.

What should I expect? – A coffee with the spicy kick of the pepper, citrus and floral notes from the cardamom and a spicy sweetness from the nutmeg and cinnamon. Experiment with different kinds (cloves, ginger etc.) and weights of spice to find your perfect recipe.

Note – Make sure you clean your Aeropress properly, particularly with the cold brew and spiced recipes. You don't want to be tasting previous brews in your coffee.

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