Immersion + press
AeroPress coffee recipe
An AeroPress is a plunger brewer: coffee and water sit together in a chamber, then you press the liquid through a paper disc into a cup.
- Coffee
- 15 g
- Water
- 230 g
- Temp
- 90 °C
- Time
- 2:00
This recipe is for one person who wants a quick mug of filter-style coffee, 230 g from 15 g, in two minutes with no kettle skill required. It treats the brew as two separate acts, steeping and pressing, because each one can be adjusted on its own. The word "bright" is the recipe's intent, not a promise about how your coffee will taste.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Coffee | 15 g, medium-fine |
| Water | 230 g at 90 °C (1:15.3) |
| Contact before pressing | 75 s from first water |
| Press | 45 s |
| Total time | 2:00 |
You need
- An AeroPress-style brewer, a paper filter and a mug.
- A scale and a timer, plus a kettle.
- A stirrer: the paddle supplied with the brewer or a spoon.
Ratio 1:15.3 · Grind: medium-fine · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Add water to 230 g.
Put 15 g of grounds in the chamber on your mug and pour 230 g in about 15 seconds.
- 0:15, Stir gently and steep.
Stir gently for a few seconds, then leave it for the rest of the 45 seconds.
- 1:00, Fit cap and prepare.
Fit the filter cap and plunger. Fifteen seconds are reserved for this so you are not rushing.
- 1:15, Press gently.
Push down slowly for 45 seconds until you hear air.
My notes for this recipe
Why these numbers
15 g to 230 g. That is 1:15.3, a little more concentrated than a typical filter recipe, which suits a method where the coffee stays fully submerged. The numbers are authored.
90 °C. Cooler than the 94 to 95 °C used for the pour-over recipes, because the grounds stay in the water for the whole brew. It is an authored preference.
Steep 60 s, cap 15 s, press 45 s. Water touches coffee from 0:00 until the press ends at 2:00, so contact is about two minutes in total. Of that, 75 seconds pass before the plunger moves. The recipe names these phases separately so you can change one at a time.
Medium-fine. The grind range for an AeroPress is wide because a short steep plus a hard press behaves differently from a long steep plus a light press. This page uses one fixed combination so the grind is the only open variable.
What changes the cup: steep time and press time
Immersion time and press time are separate variables, and the temptation is to change both when a cup disappoints. Resist it.
- Sour or hollow. Lengthen the steep by 15 seconds, or grind slightly finer. Keep the press at 45 seconds.
- Bitter or drying. Shorten the steep, or grind slightly coarser.
- Plunger is hard to push. The grind is too fine for a 45-second press. Coarsen, do not force it.
- Plunger drops with no resistance. The grind is too coarse, or the filter is not seated. Seat it and go finer.
- Slow drips before you press. The standard orientation can leak a little during the steep; fitting the cap sooner reduces that, and you can shift the 15-second cap step earlier.
Press time is the better lever for how hard you work the coffee at the end, and the steep is the better lever for taste. Record both in the journal. Each fix in the list is CupTune's judgement for this recipe, not a measured rule.
Evidence and limits
The 15 g dose, 90 °C water and two-minute sequence are CupTune-authored starting preferences. The AeroPress sits between immersion and filter depending on the recipe, which is why its useful grind range is unusually wide; see filter, immersion and what changes. CupTune has not measured extraction for this recipe, and the claim that a variable "brightens" a cup is not tested here. Different brewer generations and filter caps vary slightly in how they drain.
Questions
Should I turn the AeroPress upside down?
This recipe is written for the normal orientation, with the brewer sitting on the mug. An inverted method avoids the leak during steeping but changes the handling, so rewrite the steps if you switch.
Why press for 45 seconds?
A slow press keeps the force low and gives you a clear moment to stop. Fifteen seconds is quicker; the cup will taste different, so note the change.
Can I make it stronger?
Add coffee, not steeping time. Moving to 18 g with the same 230 g shifts the ratio to about 1:12.8.