Like clockwork, most Americans rise from their nightly slumber and almost drunkenly make their way to the kitchen, where a pot of coffee—or as I like to call it, The Dark Lord—is patiently waiting to make everything right with the world. For me, and for many other self-proclaimed specialty coffee aficionados, their coffee isn’t made in an automatic coffee dripper, but, rather, with a combination of tools: a plunger-like contraption, a scale, an electric kettle, and a Hario coffee grinder.

It’s a ritual I’ve come to embrace every morning and a method that yields an exceptional cup of morning greatness.

Enter, the AeroPress.

Invented by Alan Adler of Aerobie—yes, the makers of the flying ring that resembles a frisbee—in 2005 when he became frustrated with his coffeemaker because it made far too many cups of coffee than the single cup he preferred. Adler set out to invent an alternative to the existing brewing methods by using air pressure in a plunger-like chamber and his creation has become a brewing favorite among the specialty coffee community (to the point that there are world championships dedicated to the AeroPress).

Today, the AeroPress is my preferred brewing method (though the French Press will always have a special place in my heart) for its ease of use and rather speedy process of making a smooth cup of coffee.

Making Coffee with the AeroPress
(inverted method)

What you need

• AeroPress with paper filters
• 15g of quality coffee beans (beans pictured: Huckleberry Roasters)
• 230g of near-boiling, filtered water
• Kitchen Scale (optional but highly useful)
• Coffee Grinder (recommended: Hario Coffee Mill Grinder)

Method

1. Grind coffee as course as table salt (grinding coffee moments before brewing will allow for better taste and aroma).
2. Attach plunger into the AeroPress chamber to the marked “4”. Invert it so the numbers are upside down.
3. Add coffee into the chamber.
4. Add 30g of hot water and let the coffee bloom for 30 seconds. Gently stir to even out the grounds.
5. Add 170g of hot water and let steep for 1 minute.
6. Add paper filter to AeroPress cap and run any remaining hot water through the filter and into the coffee mug. Discard water from mug (this will help warm up the mug before extracting the coffee).
7. Gently stir coffee once more.
8. Securely place AeroPress cap (with the filter) onto the chamber and—with confidence and quickly—tilt the AeroPress right-side up over the coffee mug. Begin to plunge down for 20-30 seconds until you hear a hissing sound which means all of the coffee liquid has been extracted out into the mug.
9. Release the cap, discard the coffee grounds, and rinse aeropress.
10. Drink coffee. Enjoy.