How to Choose Grind Size for AeroPress? AeroPress Coffee Brewing Methods?

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After brewing pour-over coffee for a while, sometimes you'll want to try other brewing methods. Coincidentally, I've recently become interested in the AeroPress device, so I decided to use the AeroPress to make a cup of coffee! But then I suddenly thought of a problem: if I use an AeroPress, what grind size should I choose? After all, grind size is very important for a cup of coffee! So today I'll first determine the appropriate grind size for AeroPress!

Today we're using the following beans for our experiment—FrontStreet Coffee Panama Elida Typica

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama · Elida Estate

Region: Panama Boquete Region

Estate: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1850 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing: Natural

Roast Level: Light Roast

Panama's Elida Estate is located in Panama's renowned specialty coffee region—Boquete. Coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1670 to 1850 meters. In such high-altitude environments, low temperatures cause coffee cherries to mature about a month later than normal; while the fertile volcanic soil provides ample nutrients for the coffee, combined with the excellent microclimate brought by Baru Volcano, enabling Elida Estate to consistently achieve excellent results in cupping competitions.

The grind sizes tested this time are BG 5M (60% pass rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve), BG 5R (58% pass rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve), and BG 6M (47% pass rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve), with other parameters and techniques kept basically consistent.

Parameters: 15g of coffee, water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, (timing starts when water is added) extraction time: 2 minutes

Technique: Directly pour water to 225g, stir at 1 minute, invert the AeroPress at 1 minute 30 seconds and press the coffee out.

BG 5M

Flavor: Rich fermented fruit aroma, with blueberry and cocoa flavors and a genmaicha (brown rice tea) aftertaste. Overall feeling is quite balanced but slightly mixed with impurities.

BG 5R

Flavor: Initial taste brings starfruit and berry flavors, with a light fermented wine aroma and genmaicha aftertaste. Overall flavor is clean and light.

BG 6M

Flavor: Carries fermented fruit aroma, slightly sharp acidity on the palate, with berry, nectarine, lemon peel, and genmaicha flavors. Overall feeling is light.

Conclusion

After comparing the three grind sizes, I feel that among these three grind sizes, BG 5R would be more suitable for FrontStreet Coffee's Elida beans, similar to the grind we usually use for pour-over coffee.

If the grind is too fine, it's easy to extract impurities, and the coffee will have a fine powder sensation when drinking; while if the grind is too coarse, it tends to have sharp acidity and may also result in under-extraction. BG 5R represents a relatively moderate grind size, where the extracted coffee shows balanced performance in both acidity and sweetness.

When using pour-over brewing, this FrontStreet Coffee Elida has distinct raisin sweetness and peach-like sweet and sour notes; while when made with AeroPress, it presents more of a refreshing feeling. Changing the extraction method has truly given us a completely different experience!

However, other AeroPress brewing methods can be paired with different grind sizes~ As for what other methods exist, we'll explore them in future opportunities. Coffee enthusiasts interested in this can also explore on their own to find brewing methods that suit their personal taste!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473