A case for the Aeropress!
From automatic drip, to pour over, to the extravagant glass percolators, everyone has their own preference when it comes to brewing their cup of coffee. I learned there isn’t a “wrong” way to make your coffee, as long as you drink it and enjoy it! Of course, there are some tips and tricks we are happy to share to make your experience a bit more enjoyable, but when it comes down to it we are just happy to provide delicious coffee for you to brew up as you wish! I am a big advocate of making coffee and adding all the extras because it’s delicious and why not?! It means every morning when I wake up I get to decide if I want to start off my day with sugar and oat milk or vanilla or, on the rare occasion, straight black coffee.
When it comes to my coffee I like it be cozy and comforting. That’s why when I travel I almost always grab a bag of our Ruca House Blend off the shelf. It reminds me of home which is comforting when I’m spending time in some far off place and it has never failed to impress me even when I drink it black. The only thing that makes my cup of Ruca better is when I get to brew it up using my AeroPress!
Frisbees and Aeroprees
I started using the AeroPress in 2020 (I know, I know it’s not even that long yet!) but it’s my favorite coffee brewing method and I can make a case for it! I would like to mention that in my defense to the previous comment the AeroPress has only been around since 2005 so I’m not that late to the party. It was dreamed up in 2004 by Alan Adler, a retired Stanford University engineering instructor and owner of Aerobie flying rings. He was curious about brewing a better cup of coffee by using pressure, similar to brewing espresso, and had access to the Aerobie ring manufacturing facility. The AeroPress being made of food safe plastics didn’t look like other coffee makers up until this point in time. Due to this, the coffee community didn’t take to it right away and responded with a bit of healthy skepticism. Today we see it and recognize it as a way to make a delicious cup of coffee (in over 60 countries!) and similar to the frisbee, is used in friendly worldwide competitions! (Keep reading to learn more about the World AeroPress Championships.)
Now that you know that the AeroPress was dreamed up and created from the same material as a frisbee, it’s time to return to my own points. Some of these very much speak to my own personality and you might foolishly say they don’t matter because they’re only about having fun, or maybe you’ll hear me out and embrace them as well! Below is my case for the AeroPress.
Will it last?
One thing that is high on my priority list when looking at different brewing methods is the fragility of it. Can the brewer be easily packed into a car or backpack and forgotten about until I get to my destination or will it break in transit? As someone who loves to spend the summer and fall months camping and finding new places to visit, having a durable and reliable method for brewing my coffee is essential. They key component here is that the coffee maker can withstand the accidental drops and bangs that a lot my gear goes through. Regrettably, I am not the most careful person when it comes to holding onto things. My beaten up phone case and scratched thermoses can attest to this. So when it comes to my coffee maker I have to choose carefully.
Backcountry and other adventures
For a long time my camping adventures always included a French press. Mine had a nice plastic frame around the glass vase that protected it for many years camping in Colorado. Then the unfortunate day came where I was washing all my gear after my trip and I took the glass container out of the casing and put it in the sink and ran off to class only to return to shards of glass and a sink still full of dirty camping dishes. To this day I don’t know exactly what happened to my French press but I did know I would have to find another way to make coffee when I was camping. I was lucky though, I didn’t have to go without my coffee on the trail and I didn’t have to pack out a vase of broken glass from the backcountry so I still consider that one a win! This moment also lead me to the awakening that I needed a different way to make coffee when I was traveling.
When I returned from Colorado to the Midwest in 2020 I started at Tala and had access to all the different coffee brewers at my fingertips. Even better, I had access to a community who knew a lot more about brewing coffee than I did. So when I was looking at different brewing methods I could ask all the questions I needed (and so can you- that’s what we’re here for!). I went with the AeroPress because I knew I could bring it anywhere without worrying about it.
Trying it out
At first, my AeroPress was just a way to make sure I had the option of coffee in the morning. I used it while on vacation in Florida and discovered some super cool perks. The AeroPress comes with a scoop that measures the coffee (approximately) if you don’t have a scale with you. Usually I don’t as I tend to travel pretty light. The filters are circular, compact and pretty cute, plus it comes with 100 of them! That’s a lot of cups of coffee and since they’re flat I didn’t have to worry about crushing them. I didn’t need a gooseneck kettle to “properly” make coffee with the AeroPress as would be preference for some other methods. The AeroPress is a straightforward and simple solution to brewing really delicious coffee without needing a lot of equipment which made it very favorable to me.
Then I brought the AeroPress camping with me and everything changed. After seeing how the AeroPress preformed in the outdoors with bladders of water and minimal equipment, I am never going back. All of the things I mentioned above came into play again but even more so. I didn’t have to worry about breaking it as we tried to fit our cooking gear, cloths, tent and sleeping set up snugly into our packs. The filters didn’t need any special attention and were so small. Then there was the fact that the AeroPress has its own measuring system for coffee grounds and for water! There is even a fill line to properly bloom your coffee (not all recipes require this)! It’s the best!
How I brew (while camping):
Equipment:
AeroPress and filters
Coffee (ground similar to coarseness of table salt)
Scoop (to measure coffee)
Paddle or spoon
Watch/ Timer
Mug
Method:
Prep the Aeropress—put the filter in the basket and wet filter and mug with hot water.
Discard water and place AeroPress chamber on mug.
Add a rounded scoop (about 17g) of coffee to the chamber.
Start your timer and pour your hot water (205F- just off the boil) to the number 4 (or 220g). Make sure to saturate all the grounds within the first 10 seconds or so.
Stir your grounds and get the plunger ready by placing it and pulling up slightly to create a good seal!
At 1:15 stir grounds once more and plunge!!! **Do so gently with steady pressure**
Stop once you hear a low hiss (before you reach the bottom of the basket).
Enjoy your cup of freshly brewed coffee and add any fixings you’d like!
The best part
Now the part that sold me on it: take a sip of your delicious coffee and get ready to launch the puck! Slowly decompress the plunger by pulling it back gently until there is a good air pocket between the plunger and the puck of used coffee. Untwist the plastic filter from the bottom of the AeroPress and quickly press the plunger in to launch the used filter and puck out into the wilderness! (Don’t worry, they’re both compostable and will actually help the soil to be more fertile!)
Other Perks
Another piece of helpful information is that the AeroPress was designed in the Silicon Valley and is fully made in the USA so it has a smaller carbon footprint, making it better for the environment (if you’re in the US). You can also brew a cup in as little as one minute! But there are so many recipes to read through so if you don’t like the speed brew keep scrolling until you find one you love! Their website also mentions you can make cold brew with it… something I will now be trying out! :)
friendly competition
Above I have only provided a single brewing recipe when there are literally thousands out there! For example you can view the Tala AeroPress brew guide here or you you can explore the friendly and fun competition that brings hundreds of excited faces and new recipes at the World AeroPress Championships. Scroll through their award winning recipes and see which one you prefer! Or just try a new one everyday until you run out!
After all this fun, all you have to do is rinse the AeroPress barrel and the rubber end of the plunger and it is clean and ready to go back in your pack! You and your AeroPress are now ready for your next adventure!
If you’re interested in this setup and want the lightweight camp mug and an on the go hand grinder and convenient carrying case (I have this setup and can speak to how nice it is to have it all in one place!) check out the Adventure Kit!
