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🔄 Brew Methods · 2026AeroPress's own published method: 16-18 grams of medium-fine coffee, water at 185°F to the No. 4 mark, a 3-second stir, a short steep, and a gentle press to the hiss - with the reasons behind each step.
Written and reviewed by the CoffeeLabAdvisor editorial team · Published 2 September 2026
The AeroPress method, as its maker publishes it: put 16-18 grams (one heaping scoop) of medium-fine coffee in the chamber, add water at 185°F (85°C) up to the No. 4 mark, “Stir gently for 3 seconds”, insert the plunger and pull up slightly to hold a vacuum, wait about 30 seconds, then press gently until you hear the hiss of air. Total time, in the maker's own claim: under two minutes. The sections below explain what each step is doing - and which ones reward changing.
A plastic cylinder, a plunger with an airtight seal, and a paper micro-filter - invented by Alan Adler, who prototyped it in his garage in 2004 and unveiled it at a Seattle trade show in November 2005. Wikipedia's history records the material generations since (polycarbonate, then BPA-free copolyester, then polypropylene, with recent models in Tritan). The design's trick is combining three brewing ideas in one pass - the maker describes them as a pour-over wetting phase, a fast immersion steep, and an air-pressure press through the filter that speeds the finish.
The official recipe speaks in scoops and chamber marks rather than millilitres, and this page keeps to that: one scoop to the 4, two scoops to the 8. Strength then has three honest levers. Dose within the 16-18 g band - two grams is audible in the cup. Steep length - the 30/60-second guidance tracks grind, and the vacuum trick makes longer steeps possible without drip-through. Dilution after the press - the concentrated brew takes hot water well, which is how the maker positions its longer drinks. Change one lever at a time and the AeroPress is among the most repeatable brewers there is - the whole brew is over in the maker's claimed under two minutes.
The three current models brew identically - same chamber geometry, same filters, same method. The Original is the default; the Clear is the same brewer in transparent Tritan, which earns its keep the first time you actually watch a steep; the Go packs the kit into a travel cup. Choose on lifestyle, not on brewing claims - the listings themselves make none that differ. All three take the same paper micro-filters, and the accessory ecosystem (steel filters, the flow-control cap) fits the standard size across models.
The three current models, verified today - the brew method on this page is identical across them, so the cards differ on format, not claims.
The standard AeroPress every recipe on this page is written for. Listing states an all-in-one manual coffee maker - French press, pour-over and espresso style - with a 2-minute brew.
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Identical brewer, transparent chamber - useful for watching the steep. Listing states the same AeroPress brewer in clear Tritan - French press, pour-over and espresso style.
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The packable version - the brew method is the same. Listing states an extra-small portable coffee maker kit for travel, hiking and camping.
Check price on Amazon →From the maker's own instructions: 16-18 grams of medium-fine coffee, water at 185°F (85°C) to the No. 4 mark, a gentle 3-second stir, plunger inserted with a slight pull-up to hold a vacuum, about a 30-second wait, then a gentle press ending at the hiss. Under two minutes in total, by their claim.
Medium-fine, by the official instructions - between espresso and drip. AeroPress is unusually specific, citing Baratza Encore settings 11-13, and pairs a 30-second steep with medium-fine or 60 seconds with medium. Coarser grinds are exactly the territory where people reach for longer steeps.
The maker's published default is 185°F (85°C) - noticeably below boiling - with boiling water listed as an acceptable alternative. The lower temperature is part of the design's low-bitterness pitch; if you use boiling water, the shorter steep does similar moderating work.
One chamber to the No. 4 mark from a 16-18 g dose - a single strong cup - or a double dose to the No. 8 mark. For mug-length coffee, the intended pattern is pressing the concentrated brew and topping up with hot water rather than brewing longer.
Only in packaging: the Go's listing positions it as the extra-small travel kit, with the same brew method. Chamber marks, filters and technique carry over, so everything on this page applies to both - the choice is about where you brew, not how.
Sources for this page: The complete official recipe (16-18 g / heaping scoop, No. 4 mark, 185°F with boiling as alternative, 3-second stir, vacuum pull-up, 30/60-second steeps, press to the hiss, Encore 11-13 grind reference, under-2-minutes claim): aeropress.com's own How to Use page, read 2026-09-02 · The three-phase brewing description (pour-over wetting, fast immersion, air-pressure micro-filtration): aeropress.com's How It Works page, read 2026-09-02 · Inventor and history (Alan Adler, 2004 prototyping, November 2005 unveiling, material generations): Wikipedia's AeroPress entry, read 2026-09-02 We have not lab-tested brewers; where a figure is a manufacturer's, the page names the manufacturer, and machine capabilities come from our own published review records.