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Want to brew craft coffee at home? Here’s our Aeropress recipe: it’s a quick and easy way to make a killer cup of coffee. We love making light roast craft coffee at home: we’ll show you how to use an Aeropress below!

What’s the first thing you consume in the morning? In this household, it’s one word: coffee. That enchanting elixir brings warmth and comfort into our lives on a daily basis, and we are truly smitten (a better term than addicted, right?). Nothing makes me happier than rolling out of bed to a cozy mug of that intoxicating, dark aroma. If you’re into coffee, you’ll know there is a plethora of brewing methods out there, many bordering on coffee nerd-dom: think French Press, Chemex, V60, And as budding coffee nerd-snobs, we have our favorite method to share with you: the Aeropress. Keep reading for our Aeropress recipe!
What’s an Aeropress?
The Aero-what? It sounds and looks a bit space-agey, but it’s simply a (BPA-free) plastic tube used to press water through coffee grounds. Reasons we love brewing coffee with an Aeropress:
- It’s quick (5 minutes tops, without the grinding).
- It’s easy (even I can do it).
- It’s easy to clean (literally 30 seconds to discard the grounds and rinse).
- It’s portable (we bring it on vacations).
- It makes a killer cup of coffee.


The type of coffee to use in this Aeropress recipe
The Aeropress works great for any roast of coffee. If you’re looking for espresso, you can certainly use a dark roast. However, we have fallen in love with light roast craft coffee. If you’re in Indianapolis, our favorite roaster is just down the street (Blue Mind Roasting). We love single origin craft coffees since as Ethiopian, Peruvian or Costa Rican.
An Aeropress is pretty forgiving as far as the size of the coffee grind, but we recommend grinding the beans to a medium fine grind. We love our Bodum Burr Grinder for a consistent grind every time.


Our Aeropress recipe
Since we’ve had so many requests for tutorials on how to use an Aeropress, we decided to share all our secrets! Our favorite Aeropress recipe is below. Try it out, then remember you can (and should!) customize the method to your own liking. Try playing with variables like more or less coffee, stirring and not stirring, and so forth until you come up with a method that you love.

Listen to how to use an Aeropress
To compliment this recipe, we’ve also demonstrated how to make Aeropress coffee on the air in our podcast! Check out the podcast episode “For coffee lovers only” for more. We’d love to hear what you think, and what kind of success you’ve had with any type of brewing method. Let us know in the comments below!
Where to buy an Aeropress
We bought our Aeropress online, but you might also find them at a local coffee show! You can order an Aeropress here (affiliate link).

Looking for more coffee methods?
Outside of how to use an Aeropress coffee maker, we’ve got a series on how to make coffee using all sorts of gadgets!
- VIDEO: How to use an Aeropress
- How to make iced coffee
- Best pour over coffee maker
- How to Make Coffee: 4 Ways
- How to make cold brew coffee
- How to use a Chemex coffee maker
- All our Coffee Recipes & Resources
Our Aeropress Recipe: How to Use an Aeropress
Want to brew craft coffee at home? Here’s our Aeropress recipe: it’s a quick and easy way to make a killer cup of coffee.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Aeropress
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 18 grams or about 3 tablespoons coffee beans
- Water (preferably filtered)
- Coffee grinder
- Aeropress
- Filter
Instructions
- In an electric teapot, heat water to 195°F.
- Grind 3 tablespoons coffee beans to a medium fine grind.
- Place the circular filter into the basket of the Aeropress and wet it so it is fully damp. Screw the basket onto the end of the Aeropress.
- Pour the coffee grounds into the Aeropress, then place it on top of an empty mug.
- When the water is ready, pour a little bit onto the coffee grounds until grounds are wet. Wait about 30 seconds for coffee to bloom.
- Pour water into the Aeropress, up to line 3 1/2. Using the provided stir stick, stir about 20 times. Don’t worry if coffee level drops slightly.
- Insert the plunger into the top of the Aeropress. Gently press down (avoid the urge to force). Wait until the plunger is pressed fully to the bottom; you will hear a hiss of air being released (this process takes about 30 seconds or so).
- Remove the Aeropress, unscrew the basket and hold it over a compost bucket or garbage. Press down on the plunger to release the filter and grounds. Rinse the Aeropress so it is ready for future use.
- Enjoy your perfect up of coffee!


Am i missing a step …. do you then dilute with water, or drink it this strong???
We don’t dilute it any, but if you have a bit more fine grind on your coffee it might be coming out stronger.
Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! I just got a Bodum grinder to go with my Aeropress. Where on the dial did you set your device to get the grind you described?
Hi! We do a notch finer than medium.
Hey, helpful article. Yes the Aeropress has been my favourite brewing method for a while. One hack that I have found helpful is to use two paper filters instead of one. It just makes the coffee even nicer and incredibly smooth.
What methods could you tell me I am exploring ways.
Click through the winners here for their methods! https://aeropress.com/championships/wac-recipes/
Aeropress is great but requires more coffee than comparable methods, so it is a bit more costly over time.
We LOVE our Aeropress.
We had heard about them, but never had coffee from, or used one ourselves, until a couple of years ago. When our third espresso machine gave it up (no fault of our own), we decided that enough was enough. We weren’t prepared to buy another machine, certainly not the low-mid-range priced that we had been, and we weren’t ready to shell out serious bucks. We were skittish.
A local coffee house that sells the Aeropress offered to make us a cup of coffee. We tried it. The coffee was so smooth and easy to drink. We bought the press on the spot. I haven’t used my French Press since.
We now also own a Keurig, but we still use the Aeropress. It’s a no fail. ;)
I’ve never even owned any coffee machine as much of a coffee lover I am. But the coffee experience I’ve ever had was in travelers rest sc at the tandem creperie and coffee house.
Mmmm……coffee! I really enjoy starting out the day with a cup of coffee! The warmth, the comfort and the zip to get going! I really enjoyed listening to your podcast about coffee! The descriptions of the different blends was interesting, as well as hearing about the Aeropress!
I have an Aeropress and I love it. Makes a great cup of coffee.
What a fun press!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
We’ve been using an Aeropress for a couple years now. My husband learned that if you want your coffee to ‘brew’ a little longer, assemble the press upside-down (stick the plunger in the top and flip), add grounds then water, let sit for desired time. When ready, twist on the cap with filter, flip onto cup and press.
We use a French press, but I would love to try an aero press! My favorite coffee experience is more about the person than the coffee. My grandpa, a very short man, loved to ask me why I didn’t drink coffee and I would tell him because it stunts your growth. He thought that was so funny! He would love to know it’s a MUST for me now! Thankfully, I am done growing ;)
I just had to tell you as I sit here in quarantine reading this article I got down to comments and read yours and it made me laugh. Your relationship with your grandpa sounds adorable. Thanks for the belly laugh and I am glad you are done growing so you can enjoy your coffee now. Go get you a aeropress you will not regret it. I got lucky and found mine on clearance for $8.00 at tjmaxx can you believe it! But it is worth the 20 you usually pay for it.
Ha! I had forgotten I even commented on this post. Thanks for your kind words. I still don’t have an aeropress, but this may have prompted me to check them out again. Hang in there during these crazy times!
I love my Aeropress! I used to prefer my French Press, but I’ve converted!!
Aeropress is definitely the way to go for me. Best flavor, easiest method and you can buy individual parts for the darn thing! We’ve had ours for nearly five years. Add to that we got a peet’s coffee subscription so it’s always fesh and super tasty.