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Brew Exceptional Coffee at Home: Aeropress Edition

ATTN: COMRADES IN CAFFEINATION!

We are supremely stoked to be rolling out the virtual red carpet for our rad new series of brew-at-home features. For those of you who have been sorely missing the cafe, we totally get it, which is why we decided to present this quarantine-friendly alternative to getting your daily dose of really, really tasty coffee.

To kick things off, Courtney (one of our resident coffee ninjas, former barista, current roaster, and all-around badass) will be breaking it down, Aeropress-style. You can follow along to our handy instructional video via our Instagram page, @moderntimescafe.

REQUISITE EQUIPMENT:

  • Aeropress
  • Ground coffee
  • Water kettle
  • Scale
  • Spoon or aeropress paddle
  • Timer
  • Aeropress filter
courtney aeropress illustration
Illustrations by Courtney

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Finely grind 18 grams of coffee (a little bit courser than espresso).
  2. Bring 300 grams of filtered water up to temp (between 190 & 200℉).
  3. Set-up your aeropress using the inverted method (see video).
  4. Place your aeropress on the scale.
  5. Pour the ground coffee into the aeropress chamber.
  6. Bloom that coffee! Start a timer & add 50 grams of hot water. Wait 30 seconds.
  7. At 0:30, add 100 grams of water and stir quickly for 10 seconds.
  8. At 1:30, put the cap with a pre-rinsed filter onto the aeropress, then flip it over onto your cup.
  9. Plunge down until you hear a delightful hissing noise.
  10. Place your cup back on scale and add 150 grams more hot water.
  11. ENJOY! You’ve put in the work, and deserve to savor this glorious experience.
     

PERKS OF THE AEROPRESS:

  • Budget-friendly (the average cost of one of these bad bois is around $30).
  • You can brew just about any type of coffee with it (ex. a classic brew, iced coffee, or espresso).
  • Highly portable; good for traveling & camping. Compact, durable, & kick-ass.
  • Easiest clean-up, like, ever.

A WORD FROM COURTNEY:

I love using the aeropress because once you have a recipe you like, it’s so easy to execute that perfect cafe cup of coffee. On days where I want to put minimal effort into my coffee but I still want it to taste good, I go with this method. It brews just around two minutes and takes seconds for clean-up! Any coffee would taste good, but I chose our single-origin Mexico La Canada because this is a flavorful coffee with notes of mango sorbet, white grape, and cantaloupe; and I think the Aeropress does a great job  brewing that quickly, making a rich and smooth cup with not too much acidity.