Quick answer: the AeroPress recipe
For a basic AeroPress recipe, use water at about 80 °C (176 °F) for a dark roast or 85 °C (185 °F) for a light roast, steep for about 10 seconds, then press. For a longer, fuller brew, work inside the ranges Wikipedia reports from barista competitions: 14 to 20 g of coffee, about 200 to 230 ml of water, 80 to 92 °C, and 30 to 60 seconds. Both sets of numbers come from Wikipedia's AeroPress article.
| Quick method | Competition range | |
|---|---|---|
| Water temperature | About 80 °C (176 °F) for dark roasts, 85 °C (185 °F) for light | 80 to 92 °C (176 to 198 °F) |
| Coffee | Not fixed | 14 to 20 g |
| Water | Not fixed | About 200 to 230 ml |
| Time | About 10 seconds of steeping | 30 to 60 seconds |
A sensible first recipe sits in the middle of the competition range: 15 g of coffee, 220 ml of water at 85 °C, and 45 seconds from first pour to the end of the press. It is a starting point, not a rule. Move one number at a time from there.
What the AeroPress is
The AeroPress is a plastic brewing chamber with a plunger and a small paper filter. You steep coffee in the chamber, then press it through the filter with air pressure. Retired Stanford engineering lecturer Alan Adler invented it in 2004 and unveiled it at CoffeeFest in Seattle in November 2005, according to Wikipedia. Each unit ships with a pack of 350 paper filters.
Coffee competitions took it up. The first World AeroPress Championship, held in Oslo in 2008, had three competitors. The 2018 edition had 3,157 competitors from 61 countries.
Step by step
- Bring water to a boil and let it cool toward 85 °C, or lower for a dark roast. A thermometer or a kettle with a temperature setting takes the guessing out.
- Weigh 15 g of whole beans and grind them just before brewing, as the National Coffee Association advises for freshness. Start at a medium grind, which the NCA compares to kosher salt for drip coffee, and adjust from there.
- Put a paper filter in the cap, rinse it with hot water, and lock the cap onto the chamber. Set the chamber on a sturdy mug.
- Pour the grounds into the chamber, start a timer, and pour in 220 ml of water.
- Stir a few times so every ground is wet.
- Push the plunger in just far enough to seal. The vacuum holds the coffee in the chamber while it steeps.
- Press down slowly and steadily. Stop when you hear a hiss; that is air, and the coffee is through. Aim to finish around 45 seconds.
- If you used less water for a stronger brew, top the cup up with hot water to taste.
Clean up is the easy part: unscrew the cap over the bin and push the puck of grounds and the filter out in one go.
Troubleshooting your AeroPress
| What you taste or see | Why | Try next |
|---|---|---|
| Sour, sharp, thin | Under-extracted | Grind finer, raise the water toward 92 °C, or steep longer inside 60 seconds |
| Bitter, dry, harsh | Over-extracted | Grind coarser, cool the water toward 80 °C, or press sooner |
| Hard to press | Grind too fine for the filter | Go a step coarser and press more gently |
| Coffee drips through before you press | Plunger not sealed | Seat the plunger right after pouring to hold the vacuum |
| Weak | Too little coffee for the water | Move up toward 18 to 20 g, inside the range Wikipedia reports |
| Flat, no aroma | Stale or pre-ground coffee | Use beans within the NCA's 1 to 3 weeks for whole beans at room temperature |
Roast level changes the answer. Wikipedia's temperatures run cooler for dark roasts and hotter for light roasts. If you switch from a light roast to a dark one, lower the water before you touch anything else.
Oregon coffee for the AeroPress
An AeroPress shows off a single origin well, since one cup lets you taste one coffee clearly. Some Oregon roasters we list, checked 2026-09-27:
- Case Study in Portland brews in formats from Chemex to AeroPress in its cafes, and names the producer, region, variety and process on every lot, such as Guatemala Finca El Tambor.
- Coava sells most of its coffees in either a drip or an espresso roast profile. For the AeroPress, ask for the drip profile.
- Heart gives each coffee its own roast profile instead of a light, medium or dark label, and prints a roast date on every bag, so you know how fresh it is.
- Sterling roasts light and light-medium, the end of the range the 85 °C setting suits.
Beans from an Oregon roaster reach an Oregon kitchen soon after roasting, and the money pays roasting jobs in Portland, not a warehouse out of state. Read more on why local roasters matter.
To try a different Oregon roaster in your AeroPress every 2 or 4 weeks, our club sends a 12 oz bag, whole bean or ground, $16.99 a bag. The first bag is free and you pay $7.99 shipping. Start on the Multnomah Coffee Club home page.
AeroPress questions
What water temperature should I use in an AeroPress?
About 80 °C (176 °F) for dark roasts and 85 °C (185 °F) for light roasts, per Wikipedia's AeroPress article. Competition brewers work between 80 and 92 °C (176 and 198 °F).
How long should AeroPress coffee steep?
The quick method steeps for about 10 seconds before pressing. Competition recipes run 30 to 60 seconds in total, according to Wikipedia.
How much coffee goes in an AeroPress?
Competition brewers use 14 to 20 g of coffee with about 200 to 230 ml of water, per Wikipedia. 15 g to 220 ml sits inside that range and makes one mug.
Do I need special filters?
The AeroPress takes its own small round paper filters, and each unit ships with a pack of 350 of them, according to Wikipedia. Rinse each one with hot water before brewing.
Sources
- Wikipedia: AeroPress (inventor, dates, water temperatures, steep time, competition ranges, filters, championship history)
- National Coffee Association, About Coffee: Drip coffee (medium grind description)
- National Coffee Association, About Coffee: Storage and shelf life (grinding before brewing, whole bean freshness)
- Oregon roaster details: each roaster's own pages, checked 2026-09-27.
Roasters named here are local favorites we list. A listing does not mean a roaster is part of the club, and no roaster pays to be listed.
By Joe McRose, Multnomah Coffee Club. Updated . Wikipedia, AeroPress; National Coffee Association, About Coffee: drip coffee and storage pages; Oregon roaster details from each roaster's own pages, checked 2026-09-27.