BREW GUIDE · No 05 / 06
Caffeine & Co · Brew Guides
AeroPress,
pressed to taste.
AeroPress, sourced: 14 to 18g of coffee, medium-fine grind, water between 175 and 205 Fahrenheit, pressed inside two and a half minutes. Cited.
Brew along
Watch it fill as you scroll.
The clock and the vessel track your place in the brew. Every step carries its moment on the timer, and the reason it matters.
in the vessel: 210g of a 210g target
Heat water, rinse the filter
Heat water to 80 to 85°C (175 to 185°F) per AeroPress's own instructions, or up to 96°C (205°F) if you brew hotter. Rinse a paper filter in the cap.
AeroPress's official guidance recommends 175°F for dark roasts and 185°F for medium and light. Counter Culture brews noticeably hotter, at 205°F, and says the official low temperature reads flat to their taste. Both are documented; hotter tends toward more clarity and acidity, cooler toward smoother and softer.
18 g coffee, medium-fine grind
Add 18 g of medium-fine ground coffee to the chamber, close to a 4 on a 1 to 10 grind scale. AeroPress's own scoop measure is 14 to 15 g heaping.
Counter Culture's published recipe uses 18 g; AeroPress's official instructions default to one heaping scoop, 14 to 18 g depending on the model. Either is a legitimate dose to start from.
Pour to 210 g, all at once
Start the timer as you pour. Add all the water in one go, filling to roughly 210 g for Counter Culture's recipe, or to the marked fill line if you're using AeroPress's own scoop method.
210 g of water against 18 g of coffee is a 1:11.7 ratio, close to what most competitive AeroPress recipes converge on, roughly 1:12 to 1:14 by Square Mile's slightly weaker 17.5 g to 250 ml recipe.
Stir at one minute, cap it
At the one-minute mark, stir for about 10 seconds, then fit the filter cap and lock it down.
AeroPress's own instructions call for a shorter 3-second stir before inserting the plunger to create the seal; Counter Culture's inverted recipe stirs later, at one minute, for more deliberate turbulence and extraction.
Press slowly, don't force it
Press down with steady, gentle pressure. Aim to finish the press by around 2:00 to 2:30 total, letting the last bit pass through as a hiss.
Counter Culture's total brew time is close to 2:00; Square Mile's runs about 2:30 including a 30-second dedicated press. Forcing the plunger doesn't speed extraction, it just risks blowing water past the coffee bed unevenly.
Pop the puck, rinse and store
Push the plunger the rest of the way to eject the spent grounds, then rinse the rubber seal.
AeroPress's own care instructions ask for this every brew to keep the seal clean and the next cup's vacuum tight.
Dial it in
Turn the knob. The maths follows.
Drag the dial to how many cups you are brewing. Dose and yield update live, on the same ratio as the guide.
Counter Culture's published recipe: 18 g of coffee to 210 g of water, a 1:11.7 ratio. Square Mile's 17.5 g to 250 ml recipe (1:14.3) scales just as cleanly if you prefer a lighter cup.
Troubleshoot by taste
The taste compass.
Tap what is wrong with the cup. Get the one move that fixes it.
Sour · under-extracted
Not enough heat or contact time pulled through the grounds.
- Grind finer
- Brew hotter, toward Counter Culture's 205°F
- Stir more at the one-minute mark to add turbulence
Bitter · over-extracted
Too fine a grind, too hot water, or too hard a press.
- Grind coarser
- Try AeroPress's own cooler 175 to 185°F range
- Press more gently and stop as soon as you hear the hiss
Weak · under-strength
The ratio is looser than most published recipes recommend.
- Tighten toward Counter Culture's 1:12
- Read the full ratio and grind size breakdown for AeroPress
- Use the full 18 g dose rather than a single light scoop
Harsh · uneven extraction
The plunger moved too fast, or the filter wasn't fully seated.
- Press slower and steadier, over the full 20 to 30 second window
- Double up paper filters if you're getting sediment through
- Make sure the filter cap is twisted on fully before you start
Common questions
AeroPress FAQ.
What's the best AeroPress ratio?
Counter Culture's published recipe runs 18 g to 210 g, about 1:12. Square Mile's runs 17.5 g to 250 ml, about 1:14. AeroPress's own official instructions default to 14 to 18 g per cup measured by the fill line rather than by ratio.
What water temperature should I use for AeroPress?
AeroPress's official guidance is 175°F for dark roasts and 185°F for medium and light. Counter Culture brews hotter, at 205°F, for more clarity and acidity. Both are documented starting points; try both and see which you prefer.
What grind size is right for AeroPress?
Medium-fine across every source: AeroPress's own instructions, Counter Culture's recipe (a 4 on a 1 to 10 scale), and Square Mile's (fine-medium, like caster sugar).
How long does AeroPress take to brew?
Around 2 minutes total for Counter Culture's recipe, or about 2:30 for Square Mile's, including the press itself.
Should I use the inverted or standard AeroPress method?
Both are legitimate. Standard (chamber sitting on the cup) is AeroPress's own default method. Inverted (plunger up, flipped before pressing) is what Counter Culture's own published recipe uses, and it gives you more control over steep time before the press starts.
Can you make cold brew with an AeroPress?
Yes. AeroPress's own cold brew method uses a medium-fine grind and room-temperature or cold water with a brisk one-minute stir before pressing, finishing in about two minutes rather than the 12 to 24 hours a jar or French press needs.
Fits the recipe above
Gear for this method.
Transparency: the buttons below are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Fit notes come from manufacturer specifications read against this guide's recipe, not hands-on trials.
To-the-degree temperature control on a 0.9 liter gooseneck hits every window in our guides, from 80-85°C AeroPress water to the 92-96°C we specify for pour-over and French press.
An all-in-one manual press with a brew cycle of about two minutes, in line with the 1:12 ratio and the 1:30-2:00 total time in our AeroPress guide.
Hario's own spec sheet pairs a built-in timer with 0.1g resolution from 2g to 200g, precise enough for the 15g pour-over dose and 18g AeroPress dose our guides call for, within a 2,000g total capacity.
Bonavita's own manual lists six factory presets from 60C to 98C that land on or bracket the water temperatures our pour-over and AeroPress guides call for, backed by an up to one hour heat-and-hold.
Acaia's own spec sheet lists a 2000g capacity, 0.1g readability, and a built-in Auto-Start Timer Mode, covering the 15g/250g pour-over and 18g/210g AeroPress doses our guides call for.
Prima Coffee's spec table puts the C40 MK4's burr at 39mm outer, 30mm inner conical steel, and Voltage Coffee Supply states the range runs from espresso to cold brew, spanning both the medium grind our pour-over guide calls for and the medium-fine grind our AeroPress guide calls for.
One system, six methods
Every guide is this same skeleton wearing its method's numbers: the dials re-read, the vessel changes shape, the compass carries method-specific fixes. Design once, brew six ways.
What you need
- AeroPress (Original or Go)
- Paper or metal filters
- Burr grinder
- Digital scale and timer
- Kettle with temperature control, if you have one