The Science & Art of Great Coffee

All AeroPress coffee makers are immersion-style coffee makers. Medium-fine ground coffee is immersed in the chamber with a short brew time, unlike the French press brewing process which uses coarse ground coffee and a long brew time. The pressure produced when pushing the plunger through the chamber further extracts delicious flavors. Your coffee will also be free of grit as it passes through a micro-filter. Using your AeroPress coffee maker is simple, but there’s a few key things to remember when you start brewing.

Coffee beans next to ground coffee

Find Your Grind Size

For the best brewing experience: Use a medium-fine grind size, shake to level the bed of coffee grounds before pouring in the water, and pour the water slowly.

The best grind size to use with an AeroPress coffee maker is between drip grind and espresso grind. We call this a medium-fine grind size. A medium-fine grind size prevents most drip through while not being too difficult to press through. If you use a grind size that is coarser than medium-fine, you may see a dripthrough rate that is up to 2x faster than you see with a medium-fine grind. If you use a fine grind size, you may find it more difficult to press.

The average bag of pre-ground store-bought coffee is a medium grind size that is optimized for drip coffee makers.

Learn more about grind size or check out our grind guide for even more great tips!

Go Easy on the Pressure!

Go Easy on the Pressure!

When using your AeroPress coffee maker, applying less pressure actually makes the process faster and simpler. Pressing down too hard compacts the coffee grounds in the chamber making it difficult to plunge all the way down. Start by pressing down half an inch and hold the plunger there to let the air pressure in the chamber do the work for you. After another few seconds, press down another half inch and repeat until you’re all done.

A kettle boiling with steam coming out of spout

Water Temperature

People typically think that good coffee is brewed in very hot water, but using water that is too hot can actually yield bitter, unpleasant flavors. That said, brewing with water that isn’t hot enough can lead to sour or flavorless coffee.  Cold extraction for cold brew is an exception to this rule because a long stir time and finer grind compensate for the lower water temperature. Learn how to make cold brew with your AeroPress Original or AeroPress Go.

We recommend 175°F (80°C) water for hot coffee and room temperature water for cold brew.

Our quick-start AeroPress brewing guide has lots of great temperature tips!

New Crystal Clear Coffee Press

Best brewing times

Finding the right brew time is a balance—brewing too long can make coffee taste bitter or burnt, and under extraction or a short brew time can create acidic coffee.

We recommend stirring the coffee and water together for 10 seconds (for hot coffee) or 60 seconds (briskly, for cold brew) before pressing.

Check out our quick-start AeroPress brewing guide for more brewing time tips!