this post was submitted on 21 May 2024
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Coffee
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My local Walmart has given up on Aeropress, so I picked one up today in the clearance shelves for USD$15. The price label says it normally sells for $34.98.
I'll give a report after I figure out how it's best for me to use it.
For my daily driver french press, it's back to working on that bag of Mexican organic dark roast whole beans that I got at Grocery Outlet months ago.
For a dark roast, it's smooth and sweet.
Being able to grind a week's worth of brews at a time is helping the beans retain their flavor longer, I hope.
I picked up a bag of Four Sisters ~~dark roast~~ donut shop blend grounds, again from Grocery Outlet, so I'll be trying that out in the next week or two.
Again looking at what's in Grocery Outlet, I just can't bring myself to buy a bag of Dunkin Donuts beans/grounds with less than a month to their best by date, when there are better options.
I use the winning recipe from the world championship, from the second one (2009). You like brew the coffee for 15 seconds and then done. I only use 14g max, but it's basically instant coffee that tastes like great coffee.
Ahh I found it:
Coffee: 19.5–20g Grind: Slightly coarser than filter grind Water: 200ml @ 75°C Brewer: Inverted Filter: Paper, soaked
Directions:
First attempt: Hmm... Not bad. Nice and strong, certainly tasted better than standard drip.
It lacked that fragrant aftertaste, i.e. the oiliness, that I'm used to getting from my french press though. It could be the paper filter.
The temperature was a bit middling too.
I can see why some recipes call for preheating the Aeropress parts and mug, and blooming the grounds with a little water, then adding the bulk of hot water just before pressing.
It is fast, though that time demanded my full attention not to tip over the inverted brewer.
I was a little disappointed in the volume coming out of my original model too. Even with the water filled above mark 4, my mug was only a little over 1/2 full. I think I really need an XL, or a smaller mug
Things to try next time, with objective of getting hotter coffee: Preheat the mug. Bloom grounds for 30 seconds. Add hot water just before pressing.
Yeah, a smaller mug for the aeropress for sure. It's only like 220ml I think
2nd attempt: It worked! Preheating the mug, half-filling the aeropress with water and grounds, stirring to wet all the grounds, blooming the grounds for 15 seconds, then filling the rest of the volume with fresh hot water just before pressing resulted in a nice hot cuppa!
The taste was about the same as last time: Strong, but without the oily aftertaste of french drip.
Things I am not liking about the aeropress: Fiddling with the paper filters before I've had coffee - They are sticking together. I'm looking into the stainless mesh filters both OEM and third party, Plastic - Although it feels well made and durable, a mostly glass or stainless steel version would be welcome for environmental purposes, and microplastics anyone? Although I suppose the silicone plunger is unavoidable, The brewing process feels bit fiddly - I'm not used to it and haven't optimized my process yet.
Sweet deal. Yeah you'll figure out what works for your flow. It's fun to play with.
I've been thinking about this some more and I suspect when you change over to metal filter your brew may be a lot closer to the French press. Let us know! I'm still rocking the paper filters.
Also, which coffee are you using?
I have also heard that paper filters block the fragrant oils, so we'll see when I start playing around with mesh filters.
I'm still working on that same huge bag of Mexican organic that I've been brewing for the last month, so I know exactly what it should taste like.
What kind(s) of coffee have you found work well with that recipe? Dark? Medium?
I've used it on decaf medium roast, Kona, and my current Kona blend and it works great, but I needed to adjust the amount of coffee as it can brew pretty strong for my tastes. I go between 14g and 12g of coffee and use a grind size equal to that I use on the V60, which is 26/27 on my Encore ESP.
I use water that's 175 F, which is close enough. I also put in more water... I have the plunger pulled all the way below the number 4 and pour water all the way to just before the top to leave a small space to stir without making a mess. I think it's like 225 or so ml. I use a chopstick to stir.
I also see a few other second places ones that are only a few steps. For me the aeropress recipe needs to be like 4 steps and take under a minute.