You're turning my world on its head, James. Rinsing the paper doesn't matter. Blooming or not doesn't matter. Inverted or not doesn't matter. Going down to the hiss or not doesn't matter. Popular internet coffee wisdom has led me astray up until this point and I'm shook.
@@djentlover I mean, the brew time probably doesn't change but at least you don't have a load of little extra things to do while it's brewing like wetting the paper or weighing two different amounts of water.
The world of coffee is neck deep in pretentiousness. The best skill in the world of coffee is to develop a good way to filter out the pretentiousness without being rude.
11 years of religiously inverting, pre-heating, and non-hissing right down the drain... And yet I'm grateful that someone finally took the systematic approach and answered some of the biggest questions that keep me awake at night. Thank you!
I might still invert to avoid that dripping. Maybe a control freak side of me. But hey, just so happened the thing popped out on a flip for me last week :'D So yeah, it was interesting to hear that detail about how the rapid gas release on the flip might contribute to that. I'll be more careful from now on :'D
@@lore_house LOL so funny to see her name mentioned here. I had a hard time deciding if I was going to watch the lace insertion video or areopress video first! Laura at Garden Answer won out, but I don't begrudge her the mid video ads because I just adore her.
@@edwardchester1 If you mean in video sponsors, then yes. But no youtube video will ever be ad free, Google puts ads on videos whether or not the creator monetizes them. Only solution is premium or adblock. The creator has to monetize and choose where ads go so they won't automatically be put into the middle of the video.
I don't rinse the paper or bother with blooming (because I'm lazy) or invert (because I'm clumsy), I press through the hiss (easier cleanup) and brew for three minutes. Feeling relieved I don't suddenly have a compelling reason to change any of that up : )
bro this video has literally changed my whole aeropress workflow 💀 no inversion, no bloom, I can hiss now, haha here’s to faster cups of aeropress lads!
Just wait until the ultimate technique is to immerse for four minutes, then press softly. Also use two spoons to remove scum before inserting the plunger.
@@emmanuelnyberg2855 I've actually tried skimming the top off before in an aeropress because of his French Press video lol. Pretty sure it made zero difference haha.
@@emmanuelnyberg2855 I'm a big advocate of the slow press as well. Otherwise liquid bypasses the filter through the slits. Curious to see if James noticed this and if it's part of his recipe
One of the best take-aways from this. You don't have to stress about getting distracted from you brew. It doesn't deteriorate if it goes longer, it just gets better - Winning :)
James, I've been a coffee drinker for about 75 years. I grind my beans and use an Aeropress for the most part. Your series came on quite by accident and I'm really glad it did. Although I truly enjoy my coffee, I'm afraid I'm not very scientific about brewing it. I so enjoyed your videos and your banter. I guess you probably would not prefer my coffee but you gave me a smile and a time of relaxation. Thanks for coming into my home this day,
You kinda know you’re a weird coffee person when a half hour video of James experimenting with an Aeropress is a great Saturday night! Thanks James, that was fascinating.
Wonderful. I think this will be an iconic video in Aeropress folklore in years to come. You've addressed nearly all of the myths surrounding the Aeropress in a systematic way.
I would be interested to see a comparison between different filters such as a single aeropress filter, double aeropress filter, metal filters, metal and paper combo, fellow prismo and the aesir filter. It would also be interesting to see what difference you get by brewing with a small amount of your final water and diluting after pressing or using the full amount to begin with. Thanks for the thorough and informative video James!
He basically answered one. Brewing 15gr with 200 water or with 100 water... the one with more water used in brewing wins. You could compensate the diluted one with grind size and steeping time and such .. but are the brews even comparable at that point?
I’ll echo the request for different filter experiments (though I think we can all try triangle experiments, if we have a friend to swap the bowls around). I’ve been using a paper filter in combination with the Prismo, just because I’m lazy and don’t want to figure out the right plunger-position for true immersion brewing. And... I’ve also tried a cloth filter with the original and Prismo bottom.
@@jorismak Yeah, he did a fast comparison between different ratios at 10:55 but he didnt dilute them to an equivalent strength before tasting. This way you cant make any statement about which method actually tastes better. It is obvious that the stronger cup also has more acidity. You cant make a judgement about which cup will be more acidic without actually diluting them to the right strength and tasting them.
@@Currywurst4444 you night have a point there. He also said that it wasn't extracted properly, and diluting it down isn't going to fix that. But you might prefer it. Test it yourself!
I just came here to say the same thing, different filters. I was using paper filters at home and metal mesh filter while I am mobile. This might not be a problem to anyone. However, I do travel on bike multiple days. It’s extra weight, and, most importantly, it is hard to store them in panniers or find them if I run out. At some point during lockdown, I was out papers and thought it could be selfish to order only paper from Amazon (high volumes deliveries and not enough drivers etc) and started to use metal at home too. Now I don’t even remember if there was a difference between two and I don’t think I put any effort to adjust to mesh filter. I’m wondering about your experiences.
@@thadsgudenuff Me, too! And I've only been watching him for an hour and a half! What a lot of life I've spent not knowing any of this stuff. And I LOVE coffee!! Today is the start of the rest of my life.
Precisely this, he has encouraged me to explore the wide and beautiful world of coffee and possibly enter the industry in my own way. If someday I am successful in the coffee world, he will be one of the people I wholeheartedly thank.
I still think inverted is better and gives more control (and pleasure) and blooming reminds me more of doing a pour over so I like it and if u do inverted, u GOTTA rinse paper (unless u use a mesh filter) hiss tho, that is bonkers
Yes! I travel a lot so use the Go, well, on the go. I tend to reuse my filter paper for the duration of my stay wherever I may be. The only difference I notice is the resistance increases as the week goes on... But then my palate isn’t as professionally trained as Mr. Hoffmann’s
@@nickpugh8879 I rinse with very hot water (like brew temp) and reuse as well, as does Alan. I definitely notice an increase in resistance after 4-5 uses. Flavor is better in the first few uses, I think, but seems that after that, the flavor does not seem to progressively worsen. I thought it might be an "old coffee" flavor thing, but after watching this video now I wonder if it's the pressure itself changing the flavor.
In turkey aeropress championship, almost everybody was using 2 paper filters in their recipe. I hope James will play with it and share the toughts and his preferance.
I reuse at least 10 times. Until there is a hole in the paper. Why? Same reason I use the Aero press: I find it interesting! I rinse under a fairly high pressure spray stream. I do not notice significant resistance over time.
@@guydavids9402 single or double paper? I rinse mine with the kitchen sink sprayer after every use, then rinse before each use with some brew water like I would with a new filter.
Without access to an espresso machine, I use the AeroPress as a cheap stand-in for trying to get that strong coffee for my lattes, etc. You covered that briefly in a video a while ago, but it may be worth revisiting if you're looking for some sort of definitive series on ways to use an AeroPress.
Yes, I use my AeroPress the same way and would love to see James take on the best way to get an espresso like brew out of an AeroPress as part of this series.
Just my little answer to this as someone who uses the flair and the AeroPress, there is a huge difference in taste(at least for light roasted natural coffees). So yes, you can get a strong coffee out of your AeroPress, but it's not at all like espresso. But I know your problem. So keep enjoying your strong AeroPress brews, and hopefully, you may be the owner of an espresso machine at some point. Cheers
Yeah, he did a fast comparison between different ratios at 10:55 but he didnt dilute them to an equivalent strength before tasting. This way you cant make any statement about which method actually tastes better.
I don’t know when I was more excited when I learned something new or when I saw James’s face when he was wrong. Thank you for showing all the process and not hiding the tests.
Inventor: "Here's an easy to use coffee maker so you can have quick and kinda good coffee at home!" James Hoffmann: Understanding the AeroPress (Episode #2)
@@mrpopenfresh I suppose it's the simplest recipe available and it's very forgiving. Obviously there are plenty better methods but with this you should get a drinkable coffee
@@MrVenom113 It's also functional. I've been using that method for over a year now, and until I get better precision equipment than what came in the box and my kettle, I don't see a need to change it.
@@MrDarren690 I’ve been using an Aeropress since my first deployment to Afghanistan in 2010. I’ve experimented with just about every method and found various different sweet spots including temp, filters, grind settings, steep times, inverted, etc. A decade of experience has instilled in me that the Aeropress is very much Marine proof, and that it is incredibly fault tolerant. The worst cups that James is brewing would still be incredibly good to anyone used to Folgers, K cups, or a coffee urn. Play around with your own coffee settings and decide what you like. My current favorite is a coarse grind, inverted, boiling water, cloth filter (from coffeesock), light stir (and pouring water to wash the coffee off of the stirrer back into the Aeropress), flip immediately over a cup, steep for 2 minutes, press with just the weight of my forearm until bottomed out (through the hiss). Add a small dollop of honey for taste, and a pinch of baking soda to turn down the acidity (due to health concerns).
I use an AeroPress every morning for my coffee and I switched a couple years ago to a metal mesh filter to get away from buying paper filters. I wouldn't mind seeing a break down of how alternative filters change the brew, especially against the standard paper. Thanks!
I bought a metal mesh filter as well and I as well as my friends found it to be much more difficult to use, I think the grounds block the mesh holes and create a vacuum, maybe it'd have better luck with less fine grounds. If you found it works that's great, but I'll give my warning to anyone considering it.
I'm still looking for an answer on whether the metal filter changes the brew much. I suspect it does, for the worse. But I've been using one for 5 years...
@@jsmith1025 Metal filter let's more sediment through, making the coffee more chalky/ muddier. I like the texture and consider it an upgrade for my tastes.
In my incremental steps where I brewed all the way up to 30min, I found out that after 10min there where no gain in letting it steep any longer, it’s also about that mark you typically start drinking in cupping. The 10min where the best absolute but the gain over a 4min brew where small, like very, very small and probably not worth the extra brew time. The biggest benefit seem to be that you can drink it almost immediately.
At a bakery, I'd load the portafilter before going home for 5 hours before the late shift. So it pre-infused and was slow roasted until I pulled the shots at midnight. Very nutty soft flavors.
Please add the cloth filters into this experiment. Been very happy with coffeesock filters but want to know if that’s just my confirmation bias. I want Professor James to weigh in.
It's also interesting to try double filters as an alternative to aesir. I've seen that aesir filters are often used in championships so there must bo something in it... right?
Imagine being Alan Adler and just creating a coffee toy to make yourself a cuppa Joe, and the thing turns into a worldwide competition, and a 30m review of extraction based on technique.
I sincerely doubt the creator of the Aeropress saw it as coffee toy..if you knew how long it took him to do it and his passion for better coffee you wouldn't say that
@@thewowleader I didn't like that "joke". Doesn't really make any sense unless you read it sincerely. What is the comedy in someone putting lots of effort and engineering into a calibrated device only for the thing to be used in competitions? What is the joke If that's the conceit of your comment? Is it a reference that I'm not getting?
Don't forget that he tested it without stirring process. I believe it would be so much water leaked down if he did stir the coffee thus changing the taste. Remember, you can't vacuum it while doing the stirring process.
The 4 stages of Aeropress ownership: 1) Make the coffee like it says on the box. 2) Start getting fancy use better coffee and better technique. 3) Go to extremes, grind size, papers, brew times, water temps, upside-down press, swirling the whole kaboodle. 4) Realize that actually one scoop, fill it with water, wait 60 seconds, press makes is the best repeatable cup.
I know its not a great measurement of 'weight' as the grind will affect the amount of coffee....but TBH 17g versus 19.5g of coffee doesn't make a huge difference to my tastebuds
On top of that, I've seen recipes (and attempted them) with layered filters or paper-metal-paper and stuff like that. I'm sure there's a more general rule in this, but it would be good to see the difference it makes
Love how scientifically and honestly you’ve analysed the different options! And it’s great to know that the simplest approach of aeropress brewing is as good as any other
My educated guess - balance ; at 80 less of the unpleasant factors are extracted (so it's balanced), at 100 enough pleasant factors are extracted to mask - like counterweight - the unpleasant (balanced). Something at say, 90, is unbalanced with too much extraction of unpleasant components. If my guess is correct - actually to prove it right - would be to determine the precise chemical components and carry out experiments based on those. A food scientist with access to a comprehensive analysis of the chemical composition of coffee might be able to make a guess which things would be detectable and unpleasant to most people. Given the multi-billion (trillion?) dollar value of the world's second most traded commodity (next to oil), it seems like they could fund it with simple micro-investing or a GoFundMe-type charity. The information gained from such could benefit the industry from the agricultural side, to instant coffee manufacturers, single-cup brewer companies, etc.
I'd never heard of the "regular" method of inserting the plunger just a little bit to create a vacuum while the coffee brews. That's not in the Aeropress instructions, so I'm glad it was here!
Try it. I think the filter tastes better, it is cleaner with less solids in it and sweeter but if you have a metal filter make 6g/100ml coffees and just see what difference it makes.
I think you need to explore grind sizes and their appropriate brew times more! As well as different filters, such as the different sizes of Able metal filters and even using 2 paper filters (which I often do!) This could easily be it's own video with how much depth there is to it
Would also love to see an exploration of different roasts! I know he briefly mentioned the difference in brewing temperature, but as a fan of a dark roast I’m curious to see more about it.
+1 on grind size. I don't have a good grinder, so I've gone back to buying pre-ground coffee for the moment. Many types just don't seem to work unless I do the inverted method. If the grind size is too coarse, the water just seeps through the filter even when the plunger is in place to form a vacuum -- if I waited two minutes there'd be nothing left! OTOH I've read that a lot of the Aeropress competition winners used a fairly coarse grind, so I'm guessing that's why the inverted method is popular.
When I realized it was 2 am and I'm having insomnia tonight, it was so so nice to discover an hour and a half of James Hoffmann content, just on the AeroPress.
1 word... lunesta. That stuff is amazing. It helps you stay asleep without feeling groggy at all. I was so reluctant to take sleeping pills but I tried it 4 a week and man... it works so well. I sleep like crap. I can't fall asleep n when I do I wake after an hour or 2. Every hour. It sucks. I lunesta n I'm getting almost a full night of sleep. If you feel comfortable, please ask ur Dr. I would not advocate something unless I take it myself. Lunesta had helped me soooo much. Good luck n best wishes.
@@inviktus1983 and I believe James said at the end, it isn’t really the “ultimate” technique, but a simple one and great technique with good results. Which I’m not complaining about.
I've just tried a 2.5 minutes brew time, with swirling and boiling water for a natural coffee that was a bit rough. I think it's the best cup I've ever brewed with an aeropress, very sweet, caramelised and well rounded! Thank you so much James!
In all these years of aeoropressing thousands of coffees, I finally found the video that speaks to my soul and addresses all my deep-rooted AeroPress-related anxieties and ponderings - Thank you James!
Grind setting!! Even though grind type was referenced, I find that varying the grind setting ever so slightly makes the biggest difference when I am a switching to different beans. It will be interesting to see the good/bad effects as you make the grind coarser and finer.
I would love to see James do some experiments with metal filters, including the one for the aeropress. It would also be interesting (or stupid but funny) to see what using multiple filters would do.
@@Stevesbe assuming you mean metal closest to the coffee and paper in first (closest to the cap), that makes sense. The amount of fines between the two filters is interesting.
Great idea! Some more tests with more modern aeropress recipes, such as wendelien van Bunnink winning world aeropress recipe would be great. I can imagine that for instance preheating makes more of a difference as added volume of water is lower. Also the effect of tds (or specific minerals) might yield some interesting results
I must say I fell out of love with my aeropress when I got my espresso machine but not just this video but the whole series so far have brought back the fun, and succes of using my aeropress again!
I don’t know if James is a scientist by training but he is very much scientific in his investigations. I actually got into coffee over this pandemic since I couldn’t be working in the lab as much and this kind of stuff totally scratches that itch for me. We wanted an Aeropress video and we got this whole investigative series. Thanks for doing what you do and I’m looking forward to the next video!
Literally sipped an aeropress I just made and thought "that the nicest one I've ever made" when this vid popped up... Time to improve even more! Thanks James ♥️
I heard James whistle once when he was tasting. Now every time he tastes I’m on the edge of my seat. Literally one of the coolest/funniest things that exist in the coffee world for me.
More please this is such tedious work, you're the only one who can make it fun and interesting 😩 I want to know more about filters! Metal vs Cotton vs Paper, vs (Paper + Paper) vs (Paper + Metal). Also more on interconnected variables such as degree of roastedness vs temperature etc.. Thanks James!!
Regarding wetting the Aeropress paper disc, I personally prefer to wet the paper as it helps stick the paper to the plastic cap during the inverted method. Sometimes the dry paper can awkwardly fall into the aeropress when placing the cap on an inverted press :)
100% agree, but then there’s no difference in inverting anyway according to this video so I’m scrapping that idea and just going regular style with a, *gasp* dry filter paper! OMG I could have watched a 3 hour video on this subject !
@@nickpugh8879 stop being annoying some of us like the inverted method because it works for us. No reason to GASP. My guy was just pointing out, in the manner of inverted brewing, wetting the paper matters. If that doesn’t apply to you there’s no reason to comment enjoy your method and well enjoy ours. There may not be a difference in extraction but there MAY be a difference in enjoyment.
@@andrewb7104 you mis understood my comment, I have been inverting since hearing about this method too. I’m just happy to hear that going back to normal with a dry filter paper wont effect my quality of cup going forward. Chill dude, have a coffee or something
Thank you, James. From the bottom of my heart. You got me into this hobby and now I make cups that an old me would think were impossible to make. I did not know coffee could be this good. The way you present information, your attitude and your dedication to get to the bottom of everything is a breath of fresh air. I just bought an Aeropress and was quite confused, read a lot of conflicting information. But you have singlehandedly broken all the myths, found out all the tips and presented a simple recipe that just works. Now I can make nice coffee with the Aeropress and maybe find something new that just I like. Once again, just thanks. You're awesome!
A complete waste of coffee. Not only are the ratios ridiculously high and often call for heavy underextraction bolstered by thick ratios, they also count on cool water dilutions and other tricks in competition to stand out when a judge has to drink a ton of coffee back to back. Underextraction + high ratio should give you ridiculous sweetness and acidity especially when the coffee temp is low by the time it reaches the mouth. Just about all aeropress championship recipes are simply not worth your time
I’d be interested to see how these same concepts translate to cold brewing with the aeropress, or if it’s a completely different beast altogether! Love this series and how thorough you are with everything!
I suspected someone would have already asked about the metal filters, I’ll second that. If there is a comparison of filters don’t forget the reusing of paper filters. I seem to remember a video where the inventor recommended reusing the papers.
Me: 2pm halfway through washing my car on this Sat afternoon which is covered in snow foam. James: Drops 2nd Aeropress video. Me: Drops jet wash and car can wait, cause I need to watch this right now!
What the world needs is another RU-vid channel where all of Hoffman’s coffee experiments are recreated at scale, with large groups of up to 100 people performing each taste test and either corroborating or refuting his initial findings.
I wish you had a pdf to download of your findings. I find myself watching videos and making my own notes for later. Thank you for everything you have done for the coffee community.
“Nobody brews like that” The laws of the internet would argue that not only would there be some fringe group of society that does in fact swear by brewing like that, there would also be pornography of it.
When it comes to swirling, I found that it was easy to accidentally form a dome in the coffee bed when it rests, which only really becomes visible as a little oceanic volcano of coffee breaking through the brew water as you push. For that reason I switched to two gentle side-to-side shimmies at right angles to each other, and found that made for a more reliably even bed. Though the temptation to swirl is great...
Been waiting for this episode! Crazy how some of these little methods that have been engraved into the “way to use an aeropress” really don’t matter at all
It's key to note that some of these techniques are for the sake of consistency and ease. The aeropress is a fickle device and while brewed ideal, they might taste the same as a other method, but elements like coarse grind/long steep/low stir can help ensure very repeatable results that eliminate some level of risk of variation in the brew. I personally like to minimise stirring or agitation because it dramatically changes the bitterness of the brew.
Hi James! At 13:57 You mention that it's the rapid degassing of coffee that causes a sharp increase in pressure, leading to a tendency for the plunger to pop out. The more pronounced effect at play here is that the pocket of air between the plunger and the steeping liquid gets trapped after inversion. The act of inverting, causes the liquid to quickly heat up the now trapped air. The volume of the air pocket being constant, the pressure of the air goes up proportional to the temperature delta. PV=nRT (ideal gas law) The same effect takes place when blending hot food item/liquid in blenders. Rapid heating of trapped air. This effect can be mitigated by having lesser air trapped, to begin with. I.e Fill the inverted aeropress to the brim. A caveat here, the pressure differential will still be the same, but will only require a smaller change in volume to equalize. This will be provided by either a little bit of liquid flowing down after inversion (holding the plunger securely) or a smaller upward movement of the plunger. I believe you've even cautioned about the safety of this method in previous videos. Even so, I used to swear by it. I'd gotten it right every single time. Till I didn't. Love your work!
This is absolutely amazing. All those fable-like myths about inverted brewing, hiss vs. no hiss, all cleared up and sorta-scientifically (definitely nerdy enough) tested. I was in awe for the entirety of the video. Wow.
@@HsNiccoTutorial Yes, one is about coffee, where numbers matter very much. The latter is about cooking, where doing things by feel is much more acceptable. Carrots in grams, really?
@@maartenbosmans9585 Ottolenghi does it all the time. I don't think it's weird to pass on a recipe where even the carrots are in grams if it matters enough. You can use this as a basis to vary on.
Great video James, thanks, I watched it from start to finish in one go! Brutally honest, myth-busting stuff. You covered everything I wanted - and more! - apart from one small thing: paper filter versus metal filter. Switching from V60 to Aeropress, I initially felt better about my reduced paper usage, but now after a few years of Aeropressing, I'm concerned by all those little paper discs... I bought a metal filter a while back but have only used it briefly so far without much success - I recall preferring the paper result, but didn't pursue it further. Do you have a view on reusable metal filters?
i second this...would live to see James dive into how the filter material affects the final outcome. Been using a metal filter for over 5 years and prefer it over paper.
Yes, I use a metal filter when travelling as I don't want to deal with the paper filters going everywhere in my bag, I wonder if there is any discernable difference in taste and extraction between paper and metal filter
@@christianmarth9989 The main difference for me the much cleaner cup that paper gives. I use a Prismo on mine, which comes with a metal filter. But I still add a paper filter for the cleaner finish.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! All your hard work helps me understand what I am trying to do with my Aeropress. I understand it is my preference of taste of cup, but all this testing helps me not waste my good tasting coffee. I appreciate you!!
I've always found with inverted I can get rid of nearly all the air in the chamber by knowing the amount of water going in, positioning the plunger accordingly and doing a little press with the cap on before inversion. Wonder whether air/airless makes any difference?
What a great watch that was, loved it! Too many content creator would feel the need to hide their blind tasting "fails", glad to see your honesty shining!
I watched the first one and decided to buy it. I found a recipe I liked and it seems to do a lot of the things he said were good so that is nice. Wanting to see pt.3 to compare to my current recipe
Wonderful video! One thing I would like to add about why I still pre-rinse my paper. It’s not for taste but instead to make sure the seal is properly made with the body. Before when I didn’t bother, I had two incidents of the paper shrinking or warping in some way when I poured in the hot water thus letting the grounds into the cup. Just a little anecdote from a filter-rinser.
I feel like this is one of those Masterclass episodes on Aeropress brewing. Also I am glad I can finally abandon the inverted method. I don’t know why I started doing it. I tried it once and got coffee and hot water all over my kitchen and didn’t use that method for a while till I moved to a place with a bigger kitchen.
If you stir with the Aeropress provided plastic paddle instead of a metal spoon, you will get the same results as a swirl. The long paddle and its large surface area does a good job of moving all the volume in the tube equally.
