The AeroPress is a multi-purpose coffee brewer that can make you a good cup in pretty much any situation. Whether on a kayak, on long bikepacking trips, on a plane, or on a train — I've made coffee with the AeroPress just about everywhere. It's compact, sturdy, cheap, and still capable of producing one of the best filter coffees you've ever had. Or one of the worst, if you don't know the basic rules.
The AeroPress sits on the shelf of every coffee geek. One of them is my brother Felix Hohlmann, German Barista Champion 2024 and 2026 and Swiss AeroPress Champion 2016.
Together we've developed countless recipes over the years and were among the first to use the AeroPress bypass method — which is now the gold standard at every AeroPress championship. Along with Felix, we've written down everything about the AeroPress that matters for a really good cup, using the most versatile brewing method there is.
What is the AeroPress and why is it so popular?
The AeroPress was invented in 2005 by Alan Adler, the man behind the Aerobie frisbee. He clearly had good material on hand that also worked well for a filter coffee method.
Adler probably didn't fully realize what he'd invented. In any case, the first recipes that came with the AeroPress were far from the little brewer's full potential.
The device combines pressure extraction with a classic immersion method: coffee grounds are steeped in hot water and then pressed through a filter. Depending on the brew ratio, the result is a concentrated, well-rounded coffee with no sediment, as long as you use a paper filter.
What sets the AeroPress apart from the French Press or drip coffee is that it's incredibly versatile. This became especially clear once resourceful coffee geeks started developing new recipes and brewing approaches. More concentrated methods, cold brew recipes, and bypass methods with different parameters were all tested. Grind size, temperature, brew time, and ratio can all be freely adjusted. That's exactly its strength — and its challenge.
The experimentation-loving community even founded an official AeroPress World Championship, where hundreds of recipes are submitted every year. Also part of the story: we brought the first AeroPress championship to Switzerland in 2014.
What do I need for the AeroPress?
The equipment list is short:
- The AeroPress (Original or AeroPress Go for on the go)
- Paper or metal filters (we generally recommend paper filters, since they give you a clearer and better-tasting cup)
- A precision scale accurate to 0.1 g
- A kettle with temperature control
- Freshly ground coffee or a good grinder
If you don't have a grinder yet, take a look at our hand grinders. Single-dosing grinders are also a good choice.
The AeroPress standard recipe, step by step (Regular)
This recipe works reliably with light to medium roasts and gives you a solid starting point for all further experiments. Felix recommends filter coffee roasts and a medium grind: "You can boost extraction with more turbulence while stirring, even if the grind was a touch too coarse."
The Inverted method: more control, more body
The Inverted method is common in competition circles, and for good reason. You set the AeroPress upside down on the plunger, fill it that way, and only flip it onto the cup right before pressing. This prevents coffee from dripping through uncontrolled during the steep time and gives you more freedom with extraction time. As Felix puts it: "The Inverted method gives me more control. I get to decide when I'm working with the immersion technique — and when I use pressure to push the coffee through the filter."
The Bypass method: Felix's championship recipe
The Bypass method is the most popular technique among world champions. The idea: you first brew a strong concentrate with little water, then dilute it in a second step with hot water. This works so well because it lets you work far more precisely during extraction itself — and the dilution afterward lets you fine-tune both temperature and strength.
Felix developed this recipe in 2016 for the Swiss AeroPress Championship and has used it in several competitions since, including the Open Service round at the Swiss Brewers Cup Championship.
"With this recipe, you get the coffee to about 90% of its potential. If someone has a V60 recipe and nails it perfectly, they can get more out of it. But given the time constraints, this is really a secret weapon."
What the World Championship shows: Bypass is the standard
If you look at the winning recipes from the World AeroPress Championship, a pattern emerges: Inverted plus Bypass has dominated for years. And the dosages are noticeably higher than what most home brewers are used to. 18 g of coffee is the world-champion standard, not 12 or 13 g.
Since 2019, practically every finalist has used the Inverted method followed by a bypass. The winning recipes from 2023, 2024, and 2025: all Inverted, 18 g, Bypass. The full recipes are documented at worldaeropresschampionship.com/pages/recipes.
Carlo Graf Bülow developed this recipe specifically for the AeroPress XL. It scales the bypass method up to a full 500 ml. The AeroPress XL is interesting because it eliminates one of the biggest weaknesses of the smaller AeroPress: not enough coffee for several people. With the AeroPress XL, we can make the whole family or a group of friends on a long bike trip happy too.
Which grind size for the AeroPress?
Grind size is the parameter most beginners get wrong first. Too coarse and the coffee tastes watery and sour. Too fine and the puck clogs up, pressing turns into a workout, and the coffee turns bitter.
As a starting point for most recipes: medium-fine grind, roughly comparable to table sugar. Finer than French Press, coarser than espresso. For the bypass method, Felix recommends a notably coarser grind, comparable to cupping — relying on temperature and turbulence to steer extraction instead. Freshly ground is always a must: pre-ground coffee ages fast, and you'll notice the difference after just a few days. A good hand grinder is a perfect match for the AeroPress.
| Grind size | Comparable to | Result in the cup | When to use it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very fine | Flour | Bitter, over-extracted, hard to press | Never. |
| Fine | Fine sand | Intense, rounded, slightly bitter if too long | Short brew times under 1 minute |
| Medium-fine | Table sugar | Balanced, sweet, clean finish | Standard recipe, Inverted: the sweet spot |
| Medium | Coarse salt | Lighter body, more acidity-forward | Light roasts, longer steep times |
| Coarse (cupping) | Fine sea salt | Concentrated, soft, works well for bypass | Bypass method, cold brew |
Water temperature: hotter for light roasts, cooler for dark roasts
90 °C is a good starting point, but it's not the optimum for every roast. The basic rule: light-roasted coffee needs higher temperatures to extract the harder-to-dissolve notes and reach its full potential. Dark-roasted coffee extracts faster and turns bitter easily at high temperatures. For lighter roasts we go above 95 °C, and for darker roasts we stay in the 90–93 °C range. Felix sums it up well: "Your tongue is the best refractometer. If the coffee tastes good, it tastes good."
| Roast level | Recommended temperature | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Light roast | 94–97 °C | Fruity, complex, needs and benefits from high extraction |
| Medium roast | 88–93 °C | Balanced, caramelized notes |
| Dark roast | 82–88 °C | Bold, chocolatey (slightly bitter if the temperature is too high) |
Most recipes settle on 90–93 °C as a compromise. With the bypass method, you can still fine-tune the final temperature via the temperature of the bypass water. By the way, the AeroPress also works great for cold brew — stirring adds turbulence that boosts extraction.
AeroPress vs. French Press: when to use which?
The two devices are often compared, but they work in fundamentally different ways. The French Press is pure immersion extraction with no pressure component, using a metal mesh instead of paper. That produces more body, more oils in the cup, but also more sediment.
| AeroPress | French Press | |
|---|---|---|
| Filter type | Paper or metal | Metal (mesh) |
| Sediment | None (with a paper filter) | Always present |
| Body | Light to medium | Full, oily |
| Coffee oils | Mostly filtered out | Fully present in the cup |
| Brew time | 1–3 minutes | 4–5 minutes |
| Yield | 1–3 cups | 2–8 cups |
| Variability | Very high | Low |
| Travel | Ideal (AeroPress Go) | Risk of breaking if glass; other versions now exist |
In short: if you want clarity, complexity, and control, reach for the AeroPress. If you're after a robust, "honest" coffee for several people, the French Press serves you better. Both have their place — it's not an either-or decision.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The coffee tastes sour and watery. A classic under-extraction issue. Either the grind is too coarse, the temperature too low, or the brew time too short. Start by making the grind finer, then raise the temperature.
The coffee tastes bitter. Over-extraction. Coarsen the grind, lower the temperature, or shorten the brew time. Pressing too hard or too long can also pull bitter compounds out of the puck.
Pressing is really hard. The grind is too fine. Set it coarser.
The AeroPress drips through before you press. This happens with the classic method when the grind is too coarse. Either go finer, or switch to the Inverted method, which prevents the problem by design.
The coffee cools down too fast. The AeroPress chamber is plastic, and rinsing it with hot water helps. But the cup right underneath matters just as much. Preheated cups make a noticeable difference here.
Bottom line: small, versatile, forgiving
The AeroPress is cheaper than most grinders, fits in any travel bag, and, with the right recipe, produces one of the best filter coffees you can brew at home. It tastes solid almost every time — and with our tips, you'll get a lot more out of every cup.
Our tip for getting started: keep the standard recipe constant for a while, then change only one parameter at a time. Like Felix Hohlmann, who practices regularly with the AeroPress, you'll quickly notice that the learning curve is steep — but the results make it worth it.
You'll find the next step in our shop: we carry the AeroPress and the AeroPress XL, plus a selection of coffees especially well suited to the AeroPress. From fruity natural-processed coffees to washed Ethiopians. Our coffees are seasonal. A great place to start is our filter coffee blend "Amigo" — designed to be easy to brew and to taste soft, full, and balanced in the cup.
