rasqual Senior Member Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 970 Location: Chicago area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: *$ Barista, non-pressurized Grinder: SMP, KAP Vac Pot: Aeropress Drip: Porcelain Melitta 103 Roaster: "ring roaster", mod popper
Posted Tue Aug 29, 2006, 9:50am Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress- help needed
I'll have to put in a plug for polyester, which in all cases reduces required force and presses much faster than paper. However, since it requires filing the bayonet tabs on the cap and because the material isn't available from popular sources, it's a bit of a pain.
I know I've been saying "I'll provide it" for some time now. With the roast-off and all -- and my real job, and the kids back to school -- it's been darned busy. But steps are being taken (passive voice ;-) I'm at the point where I think an arbor press will complete things, and I can start cutting rounds.
I like the tip for pre-wetting paper; interesting.
Posted Wed Aug 30, 2006, 11:57am Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress- help needed
lpitt Said:
I've been using the aeropress for 6 months and like it's ease and the taste of the coffee.
Lately it has been getting more difficult to press and for the past 2 days I've had to use it more as a drip. I am not very strong but I'm also not physically disabled. Has anyone found a way to use it that takes less muscle strength?
Counterintuitively, to use a very find grind with the Aeropress, you need to press very lightly. I now use a Zass Turkish grinder, as fine as it can be made to go, and stir for 25 seconds. (I use a much lighter roast, usually, than Alan favors.) I put the plunger in and move it just until I see the top of the liquid column start to go down. I then move very slowly, just keeping the distance from the plunger to the liquid more or less constant. Pushing too hard forces the particles into the filter paper, decreasing the flow. Almost no muscle strength required at all.
Posted Wed Aug 30, 2006, 12:34pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress- help needed
DavidMLewis Said:
Counterintuitively, to use a very find grind with the Aeropress, you need to press very lightly. I now use a Zass Turkish grinder, as fine as it can be made to go, and stir for 25 seconds. (I use a much lighter roast, usually, than Alan favors.)
David, I like to hear about different approaches with the Aeropress. Your's sounds very different than mine. I know flavor profiles among tasters can vary. I find that I am very sensitive to bitterness. This leaves me apprehensive to stir for more than 10 sec with a super-fine grind. Assuming a slow plunge, the grounds would be immersed for nearly a minute or more. I haven't tried turkish coffee so this might just be a way to approximate that style. I do wonder sometimes if I am missing out on some flavor elements.
Also I would guess a lighter roast would yield a brighter or more acidic cup. Maybe this would balance the bitters. I would be curious to know your brewing temp. and thoughts regarding your ideal flavor profile from Aeropress brew.
Posted Sun Sep 3, 2006, 1:45pm Subject: Re: Aerobie Aeropress- help needed
Dear lpitt,
First of all, I always counsel "press gently and wait" as a cure for difficult pressing.
But it's interesting that you find that it has become more difficult recently. A possible culprit is that your grinder has become duller and thus is producing more dust. Dust clogs the puck (more so the puck than the paper) and restricts flow. So a sharper grinder should help.
Posted Tue Sep 5, 2006, 7:33am Subject: temp of water by sound
twalker294 Said:
I use a Melitta electric kettle to heat my water and I've found that just as I am beginning to see bubbles it's at around 170-175. I still check it with my IR thermometer though just to be safe ;-)
Todd, I'm used to using sound in my electric kettle to generate the correct temperature in making different types of tea.
I use a bodum kettle, and there seems to be a cycle which likely the same on all machines: 1) tiny bubbles start appearing 2) a faint sound begins 3) steam starts 4) crackle sound starts 5) crackle becomes rumble 6) larger bubbles appear 7) noise gets really loud, reaches its maximum 5) noise gets softer, followed shortly by 6) full boil
Anyone want to measure the temps at the above stages?
rasqual Senior Member Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 970 Location: Chicago area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: *$ Barista, non-pressurized Grinder: SMP, KAP Vac Pot: Aeropress Drip: Porcelain Melitta 103 Roaster: "ring roaster", mod popper
Posted Tue Sep 5, 2006, 7:53am Subject: Re: temp of water by sound
My Melitta roars loudly (the tiny bubbles cavitating, I presume), then quiets to a low rumble just before the boil. Since I usually Aeropress at higher temperatures (200 or so), the cessation of the high-frequency cavitation is my signal to hustle to the kitchen. On the other hand, Aeropressing requires so little water compared with doing a pourover for several folks, that it's possible to just put on the water, measure the beans, do the grind, grab the Aero and the water's already ready. ;-)
I often do an informal "preinfusion" with the Aero. My method in this case (which makes use of inversion and polyester) is to start the water, grind the coffee, add an ounce of moderate temperature water (140 - 180) to the Aero, add the grind, stir, then add the remaining water when it's fully boiling. I generally use a battery-powered stirrer (sometings sold as frothers -- little things) to agitate the brew, which accelerates it quite a bit.
The rationale for the preinfusion is bloom suppression. For inverted use, the Aero could profit from another inch or more in length, so bloom can be an issue, both reducing usable extraction water and suspending grind beyond reach of said water. An electric stirrer dissipates the bloom, returning the grind to the slurry and agitating the latter as well. Successful bloom suppression in the first few seconds of brewing allows a second addition of as much as an ounce of water, in the case of serious bloom (bear in mind that I'm using as much water as possible when brewing even a single; I haven't used the measuring ovals for months).
onemoreshot Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 86 Location: next to my bikes Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Expobar Brewtus II Grinder: Macap Drip: Aeropress Roaster: Hottop
Posted Tue Sep 5, 2006, 8:33am Subject: Re: temp of water by sound
Rasqual, its been a few weeks since I read the entire thread so if you wouldn't mind could you clarify something for me? If you are making an americano, are you pouring the entire volume of hot water on the grinds, rather than say 2/3rds in the mug and 1/3rd in the Aeropress? Also, what is the dose in coffee grams you are using? Thanks.
rasqual Senior Member Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 970 Location: Chicago area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: *$ Barista, non-pressurized Grinder: SMP, KAP Vac Pot: Aeropress Drip: Porcelain Melitta 103 Roaster: "ring roaster", mod popper
Posted Tue Sep 5, 2006, 2:26pm Subject: Re: temp of water by sound
[aack! major substantive edits . . .]
I use as much water as I can in an Aeropress. Lately for hot cups I use a standard 10 gram measure, and an Aeropress filled with water. With normal use of an Aeropress that'd be 8 ounces of water, but since I'm doing it inverted it's closer to 6 by the time you factor in bloom and grind (I'd recommend that all Aeropress users do some measuring with both the main tube and the plunger measuring marks to get a better idea of what they're working with). Also, since I'm measuring with whole beans I believe I'm probably at around 11 grams.
For iced, I use three such scoops, or two heaping of the black scoop. Again, I obviously fill the Aero with as much water as possible, consistent with my desire to avoid a mess. Bloom suppression is the key issue to achieve an efficient extraction as you put more grind in your Aero. You simply have to get more water in, and you can't do that with a humongous bloom.
To answer your question directly, I always fill the Aeropress with water when brewing, and dilute the outcome as necessary for whatever I'm brewing for. I don't need to add any water to a cup if I'm doing a 10 gram brew and I fill the column with water. If I'm adding grind enough to brew for two hot cups, I'll likely dilute the output about 50%. If I brew for three, I'll use the Aero twice instead of once, in order to keep the water ratio high for the actual extraction. Bear in mind that inversion robs you of an ounce or two of water room, so if you're not doing an inverted press (the only point of which for me is using polyester) you actually have a lot more room for play here.
At the farmer's market, using paper in a normal upright orientation, we also use as much water as possible whether brewing for a 12 oz or a 16 oz cup. I'm sure we're not getting as good extraction efficiency with the triple (the 16), but that's why we're doing it as a triple (two scoops for the 12, three for the 16). Also, I realize this ratio seems slightly diluted, but market folks find the SCAA ratios a bit high. Also, leaving room for cream concentrates the brew a bit more.
So many variables!
The Aero royally rocks. Now if Alan would just mold the bayonet tabs a wee bit different and add an inch to the device's useful length, it would supra-royally rock. ;-)
onemoreshot Said:
Rasqual, its been a few weeks since I read the entire thread . . .
Since the "push" doesn't really affect the brew, but it's the stirring that causes the extraction, is it really just the filter that creates the unique flavors of the aeropress?
Nice one - tautology; I rarely have to look up a word but you had me stumped.
Well this will have me rethinking my current procedure, thx. Until recently I was using 20-23 grams at the top of the 2 oval marking and extracting that into approx 4-5 ounces of boiling water. This changed when I pressed a Nicaraguan CoE that had me shaking my head so I dropped the dose down to 17 grams and wallah, I got the white chocolate mentioned by judges and have since used this weight as a baseline. I will now start to play in a lower gram dosage zone thanks to your comments.
If it can play well at lower ground coffee weights I will be quite happy, not because it means I'm saving money (home roasting takes care of that) but because I will be less caffeinated on a per cup basis, which will allow me to taste more coffee's in a day. ;-)
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