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The Best AeroPress Recipe? Here Are 5 of My Favorites

There are so many ways to brew an AeroPress. Here are five essential recipes you should try.

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Asser Christensen

Licensed Q Arabica Grader, M.A. Journalism

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The AeroPress is a legendary device. One of the cool things about it, is that you can brew it in so many different ways.

Every coffee professional/guru worth their salt MUST have created an AeroPress recipe. It’s like a rite of passage.

For that reason, there are hundreds, if not 1000s, of methods and recipes out there.

I have tried many over the years. And not all were equally successful!

But here are some of my favorite recipes.

Tim Wendelboe AeroPress recipe

This is a very classic and old-school recipe. Apparently, this is the method that the Norwegian coffee wizard Tim Wendelboe is using in his famous coffee shop in Oslo to this day.

Bonus Info: Wendelboe’s café in Oslo, Norway was also the location of the very first World AeroPress Championship

I like how simple it is, and also the fact that it uses a slightly stronger ratio than most specialty coffee recipes. That means that it’s easy to get a tasty result, even though you don’t have a fancy, high-end grinder at home.

Recipe

  • 14 g coffee to 200 g of water
  • 96°C/204°F
  • Upright position
  • Medium-fine grind

Directions

  1. Pour in all the water. Then stir 3 times with a spon.
  2. Insert the plunger and pull back slightly to create a vacuum, so coffee won’t drip prematurely
  3. After 1 minute remove the plunger and stir 3 times again. Insert plunger and press it down all the way. Yes, pressing through the hiss is okay with this recipe.

James Hoffmann Aeropress Recipe

This recipe was the culmination of the highly anticipated AeroPress series on James’ YouTube channel.

It was created by testing a lot of variables on-screen. The result was a simple, beautiful recipe.

This method is very different from how most people brew. But to my surprise, I found that it can produce excellent results with the right coffees.
It uses a 1:18 ratio, which is rare to see with immersion methods. However, due to the ultra-fine grind size, the resulting cup is still very full and rich.

I highly encourage you to give it a try. However, if your grinder isn’t top-notch, then you might want to reduce the ratio a bit (i.e., use 12 grams instead of 11).

Recipe

  • 11 g coffee to 200 g of water
  • Boiling water – highest temperature possible
  • Upright position
  • Ultra-fine grind – almost espresso, but not quite.

Directions

  1. Pour in all water quickly.
  2. Insert the plunger and pull back slightly to create a vacuum, so coffee won’t drip prematurely
  3. After 2 minute give the AeroPress a little shake back and forth. This will break the crust similar to cupping.
  4. At 2.30 minutes press down slowly. Press all the way through the hiss.
4 different kind of AeroPress Filters next to each other
Pro Tip: Aesir filters really help with all these different AeroPress recipes

World Aeropress Championship recipe by Wendelien van Bunnik

The World AeroPress Championship started as a small, quirky event for coffee geeks. Almost like a fun prank.

However, it quickly grew into an international event with local competitions all over the world.

In the first years, there were a lot of different approaches. However, from around the year 2015/2016, a particular way of brewing became dominant. This approach relied on diluting a concentrate made with ultra-high doses.

In daily life, this type of recipe would probably be seen as wasteful.

In the scope of the competition, however, this AeroPress technique turned out to be highly successful.

Maybe even a bit too successful.

In 2021, the organizers of the tournament had to change the rules to encourage some more innovation.

However, if you want to try a W.A.C. style brew just once, here’s the 2019-winner, van Bunnik’s recipe.

Recipe

  • 30 g coffee to 220 g of water
  • 92°C /197.6°F
  • Inverted position
  • Coarse grind size (between drip and French press)
  • Use the Aesir AeroPress filter if possible

Directions

  1. Add 100g of water rapidly
  2. Stir 20 times in 10 seconds.
  3. Screw the cap on
  4. After 40 seconds total steep time, flip the AeroPress, and press all the way.
  5. Now you have a concentrate of around 60 ml. Dilute it with 120 ml’s of water and serve.

AeroPress Recipe for Two

Maybe I’m biased since I developed this recipe, but I feel it belongs in the list of essential AeroPress recipes. It fulfills a need that most people have sooner or later: to brew a bigger AeroPress batch – enough for two persons.

In the past, the most popular way has been to brew a concentrate and dilute it.

This has sometimes been known as the “bypass” technique. However, I’m not a fan of this brewing style since it changes the extraction significantly.

So instead, I came up with this method, where you can brew two cups while getting an excellent extraction yield.

This method isn’t just a gimmick; it really works! So I hope you’ll give it a try. I have a separate post (and video) where I detail all the small steps, but if you want the quick and dirty version, here it is

The most important aspect is that you learn a little technique, where you plunge 1 inch, and then when you start to feel resistance, tilt the plunger and remove it from the brew chamber. This way, you can add water to the brew chamber several times without disrupting the brew bed.

Recipe

  • 26 g coffee to 400 g of water
  • 93°C /200°F
  • Normal position
  • Medium grind size
  • Use the Aesir AeroPress filter if possible – otherwise two regular filters

Directions

  1. Add 200 of water rapidly
  2. Put down the plunger, and press 1 inch. Let the resitance/back pressure help you push the plunger back up, while pulling the plunger to the side.
  3. Reinsert the plunger and follow the same step again.
  4. Keep doing this until all water has been forced out. This should take around 45 seconds to 1 minute.
  5. Then add 200 g of water again. Insert the plunger and pull it up slightly to create a vacuum seal.
  6. Wait 1 minute, and press down until you hear a hiss.
  7. Enjoy two cups of AeroPress!

A Light Roast AeroPress Recipe for fruity coffee

This recipe is very easy and it tastes great once you have found the right grind size. Another key point to get it just right is to use the Aesir paper filter. I have already mentioned it a few times in this article, but the Aesir filter is really essential if you want to get the same flavor clarity that you get in a pour over.

I’m not sure who the inventor of this recipe is, but all clues lead to an anonymous Reddit user going by the handle Skelethon0703.

Whoever it was, this is a simple, easy recipe to have handy for those light roasts that you encounter.

Recipe

  • 17 g coffee to 260 g of water
  • Close to a boil
  • Normal position
  • Fine grind size – close to espresso territory
  • Use the Aesir AeroPress filter if possible – otherwise two regular filters

Directions

  1. Rinse filter with hot water
  2. Add coffee, and add all the water quickly
  3. No stirring & no bloom
  4. Steep for 50 seconds
  5. Press for 20 seconds
  6. Stop pressing before the hiss

Learn More: AeroPress Iced Coffee & Cold Brew Recipes

FAQ

How do you make the best AeroPress?

It’s important to study various techniques to really get the most important elements of the AeroPress down. Besides that it’s also important to keep your AeroPress clean (which is something that a lot of people forget) and to find a suitable recipe for your preference.

What Roast is Best for AeroPress?

My personal opinion is that you can use almost any roast. If you like dark or medium, then go for it. You can also use lighter roasts, but that requires a bit more when it comes to technique and recipes.

What is the Correct Ratio for AeroPress?

You can use a wide range of different ratios and recipes. Most people should probably start with a 1:14 ratio.
If you like your coffee really strong, almost like an Americano, then go for a 1:10 ratio. If you have a high-end grinder and some barista-experience, you can increase the ratio to 1:16.6. This thinner ratio works well for light roasts.

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Asser Christensen

Hello, and welcome! I'm the editor & founder of this site.
I have been a coffee geek since I started home roasting more than a decade ago. Since then, coffee has taken me on countless adventures: From ancient coffee ceremonies in Ethiopia to the volcanos of Sumatra.
My background is in journalism, and today I'm also a licensed Q Grader under the Coffee Quality Institute.