Recipe Guide: Brew Pour Overs using the Aeropress

You read it right, you can make pour overs with the AeroPress. Here is how you can do it: 

Recipe Guide

• Dose (g): 15
• Total amount (ml): 225
• Ratio: 1:15
• Grind size: medium-coarse
• Water temperature: 93°C / 200°F
• Bloom: none
• Pouring pattern (ml): none
• Stirring: at the start and end of the brew
• Total time (minutes to seconds): Between 4:00 – 6:00

This method is as easy as it gets for pour overs. But don’t let it fool you. Because it tastes just as good as an actual pour over. 

Taste

The final cup is complex and full. It is similar to a pour over from a Melitta Brew or a Kalita Wave. But with a bit more acidity. 

Compared to a regular AeroPress brew, this method isn’t as heavy. You’ll notice a wider range of flavors since this method lets through a mix of flavors that extract very early and very late within the brew. 

Read more about the difference between Pour Over and AeroPress brews. Click here. 

Brewing Ratio

We recommend a 1 : 15 water-to-coffee ratio for this method. Using the standard method, most AeroPress recipes will recommend ratios between 1 : 13 to 1 : 15 to produce a strong brew with a good mouthfeel.

Since we’re still using the AeroPress for this pour over recipe, we wanted to keep that same level of strength.

Grind size

Like a Kalita Wave or Melitta Dripper, you’ll want to keep a medium-coarse grind setting for this method. Compared to other pour over methods though, you are a bit limited with your choice of grind size here. 

In this case, finer grind settings will extend the brew time and cause over-extraction. For most pour overs, you’ll extend the brew from 15 to 45 seconds as you grind finer. 

With this method, it is a bit harder to estimate by how much finer grind sizes will extend the brew time. But, as long as your total brew time is within the 4 to 6 minute range, you should be good. 

Bloom

Most recipes for the AeroPress (and immersion brews in general) don’t require a bloom. Likewise, we found from our testing that doing a bloom for this recipe doesn’t make much of a difference.

What you’ll need for brewing:

• Optional: Gooseneck kettle
• Thermometer
• Scale
• Timer
• Filtered water
• AeroPress
• AeroPress / Kalita Wave filters
• Good coffee

What we like about this method

No technique required

Yes. We are serious. For once, this is a pour over that doesn’t require any technique or even a fancy kettle. Just dump all the water, stir the grounds, and let everything drain. 

It’s really that simple. And it surprises us every time that this tastes as good as it does.

Heat retention

That isn’t a problem with this method since the filter is only at the bottom of the AeroPress. The tall and narrow shape of the AeroPress also makes it fool-proof since there is nowhere else to pour into. 

Along with the longer brew time, what makes this method so full-bodied is the heat retention. Since you’re pouring all the water in one go, instead of pulsing, there isn’t as big a jump in temperature per pour. 

The material of the AeroPress also really helps since plastic retains the brew temperature better than ceramic, glass, or even stainless steel. 

No bypass

Bypass is a problem you’ll encounter a lot with pour overs – especially with anything that uses a wave filter. Essentially, it’s when you pour on the edges of the filter too much. The water might end up going through the spaces between the filter and the dripper. Thus, unnecessarily diluting your brew. 

Larger serving size

The AeroPress was only really intended for single servings. While it is great at that, it can be limiting if you want to brew for more than just yourself (and if you don’t have other brewing devices around). 

Many like to use the dilution/bypass method to brew larger servings with the AeroPress. But that method isn’t the only way now to make larger brews with the AeroPress. 

With this pour over method, you can go up to a 300ml brew. But we recommend sticking to 225ml as the total amount to keep some headroom. 300ml will fill all the way up to the brim and might even overflow if you’re not careful. 

Makes pour over more accessible

Some common concerns we hear from people with pour over coffee are that: it’s difficult to master, it takes some effort to make, or that it needs fancy tools. 

What’s good about this method is that, because it’s no-fuss, it can better ease you into the art of making pour overs. It can really help you to appreciate the potential of manual brewing. And hopefully from there you become more adventurous with different pour over drippers and techniques. 

Happy brewing!

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