Mr Bill and I use the Aeropress for all of our in-office (and at home) brews. One of our initial gripes with this wonderful device was brew time. As Eric demonstrated in a prior post, brewing via the conventional method sufficed, but you had to plunge the coffee within a few seconds, otherwise the brew would start to leak through the filter.
Above, Mr Bill demonstrates the Inverse brewing method. We've have been using this method for a few months now, and it's been great! Brewing coffee with this method allows for longer brewing time, and depending on the coffee used, can improve the flavor as well.
1) This method starts with inverting the aeropress and adding the grounds.
2) After the hot water has been added, use paddle to stir the coffee. Steep time varies from about 30 seconds to a few minutes.
3) Plunge into cup
4) Once plunged, we empty the grounds to a collection bag, which I take home every week to add to my compost bin at home. More on this later.
As Lotto mentions in the early learning stages of aeropressing, the one drawback was, that a lot of times, the grounds didn't 'coagulate' together and let the coffee stay in the areopress and brew.
ReplyDeleteLotto was doing some research and read about the "reverse press" method. It was a god send.
It allows longer brew times, for some of the more mellow coffees to impart a better flavor, and makes the mixing process a lot better. Normally when you were mixing up the grounds with the water it would usually start draining the water out. Leaving you with a small amount of water left to "plunge" out.
Lotto, Ben and I all have our own little twists on it, but it works well.
I always brew for a 15oz cup, so I use a full 2 scoops of coffee, and I extend the plunger on the aeropress to "above" the number 4 on the end of the tube. This gives me about 6oz of coffee liquid each time, that's weaker. I know I'm going to add another 6oz of water and 2-3oz of milk to mine.
I notice Ben uses a smaller section of the tube and a smaller amount of coffee. this way he gets about a shots worth of really strong coffee that he can cut to the style he wants at that time.
Nice! I will try this method!
ReplyDeleteAdditional notes: The specified way in the directions for the Aeropress say to:
ReplyDelete1. Apply the filter mechanism with a filter to the Aeropress.
2. Set it on top of your cup.
3. Measure in the amount of coffee you need for the drink you are making.
4. Fill water up to the number on the side of the tube that matches the number of scoops of coffee you put in step 3.
The next 2 steps is where a few of us have issues with the water draining through instead of remaining in the Aeropress.
5. Stir with the paddle for 10 seconds
6. let sit for 10-20 seconds
7. Plunge into the cup taking about 20 seconds to finish it.
So a fellow Coffee Nut named Jer, the guy who got me hooked on the Aeropress, had the following to say.
ReplyDeleteI'm paraphrasing here a little bit Jer, sorry if this isn't exactly what you said.
Basically he pours a little water into the tube at the beginning, and lets it drain through. This gets the grounds wet and kind of coalesced together at the bottom. Then you can pour the amount of water you want to be brewed, and it will almost always stay in the press for the required time. Usually with no drainage.
So we just needed to finesse our brewing style and not be so impatient.
I still prefer the reverse method for grinds that are a little lighter roasted. Some of them seem to release more flavor with a longer "sit" time.