How to Use an AeroPress (Step-by-Step)

The AeroPress looks intimidating the first time you open the box, plunger, chamber, filter cap, and a little scoop with no obvious instructions. In practice it's one of the fastest and most forgiving ways to make a genuinely great cup of coffee, and once you've done it twice you won't need to look anything up again.

What You'll Need

• An AeroPress (standard or AeroPress Go)
• AeroPress paper filters (or a reusable metal filter)
• 17 grams of coffee, ground fine, close to table salt texture
• 250 grams of water, just off the boil, around 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit
• A kitchen scale that measures in grams
• A stirring paddle or spoon
• A mug or server to brew into

The Standard Method, Step by Step

Step 1: Rinse the Filter

Place a paper filter in the plastic cap and twist the cap onto the chamber. Set the AeroPress on top of your mug and pour hot water through the filter before adding any coffee. This rinses away the papery taste the filter can otherwise leave in your cup and preheats the chamber, which helps keep your brew temperature stable.

Step 2: Add the Grounds

Add 17 grams of finely ground coffee to the chamber. Fine here means noticeably finer than what you'd use for a V60 or Chemex, close to table salt in texture. Too coarse and you'll end up with a thin, underextracted cup no matter how long you steep it.

Step 3: Add Water and Stir

Start your timer and pour in 250 grams of water heated to roughly 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir gently for about 10 seconds to make sure all the grounds are saturated evenly. Uneven saturation is the most common reason for a sour, unbalanced cup.

Step 4: Let It Steep

Let the coffee sit for about 1 minute 30 seconds total, including the stir time from step 3. This is shorter than a typical pour-over steep since the AeroPress uses full immersion, so the grounds are surrounded by water the entire time rather than water passing through once.

Step 5: Attach the Plunger

Insert the plunger into the top of the chamber and seat it gently against the coffee. Don't press yet, just let it rest there. This creates a small amount of pressure that helps prevent grounds from dripping out the bottom before you're ready.

Step 6: Press

Push down slowly and steadily over 20 to 30 seconds. You should feel gentle, even resistance the whole way. If it suddenly gets much harder to push partway through, your grind is likely too fine; if it plunges with almost no resistance, it's likely too coarse. Stop pressing as soon as you hear a hissing sound, that's the sign you've pushed through the coffee bed and started pressing air.

Standard vs. Inverted Method

Once you're comfortable with the standard method, it's worth trying the inverted method, which many AeroPress users prefer for its slightly fuller body and more consistent extraction.

In the standard method, the filter cap and chamber sit upright on your mug from the start, which means water can begin dripping through the moment you add it. In the inverted method, you assemble the AeroPress upside down, plunger end down, chamber open end up, so no liquid can escape until you flip the whole thing over onto your mug right before pressing. This gives you a true full immersion steep with zero early drip, which is more forgiving if you tend to stir slowly or get distracted mid brew.

The tradeoff is that flipping a chamber full of hot water and coffee takes a steady hand the first few times. If you're brand new to AeroPress, start with the standard method for a week or two before trying inverted.

Dialing In Your Ratio

The 17 grams of coffee to 250 grams of water ratio above is a solid, well-tested starting point, close to a 1 to 15 ratio, and produces a cup strong enough to drink straight or dilute with hot water for something closer to drip coffee strength. If your cup tastes weak or watery, try 18 grams of coffee instead of 17 while keeping the water the same. If it tastes overly strong or bitter, drop to 15 or 16 grams, or add a splash of hot water to the finished brew rather than changing your whole process.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping the filter rinse is the most common shortcut people take, and it's the one that most affects flavor, since the papery taste it prevents is genuinely noticeable once you know what to compare it against. Grinding too coarse is the second most common issue, since it's tempting to use whatever grind setting you already have dialed in for a French press or drip machine, but AeroPress genuinely needs a finer grind than both. Finally, pressing too fast is an easy habit to fall into once you're in a hurry, but a fast press pulls more bitterness out of the grounds; a slow, steady 20 to 30 second push consistently produces a cleaner cup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What grind size should I use for AeroPress?

Use a fine grind, close to table salt in texture, noticeably finer than what you'd use for a V60 or Chemex. This finer grind is necessary because the AeroPress's short steep time needs more surface area on the grounds to extract fully.

How long should coffee steep in an AeroPress?

About 1 minute 30 seconds total works well for most beans and roast levels, including your initial 10 second stir. You can extend this to 2 minutes if you're using a slightly coarser grind or want a stronger cup without adding more coffee.

Is the inverted method actually better than the standard method?

Neither is objectively better, they produce slightly different cups. Inverted tends to give a fuller body and more consistent extraction since there's zero early drip, while standard is simpler and lower risk for beginners since there's no flip involved.

Can I use regular drip grind coffee in an AeroPress?

You can, but you'll likely end up with a thin, underextracted cup since the AeroPress's short brew time is designed around a finer grind. If a finer grinder setting isn't available to you, extending your steep time to 3 to 4 minutes can partially compensate.