AeroPress Coffee Brewing Method Introduction - Comparison of AeroPress and Delter Press: Differences, Advantages, and Disadvantages

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The Aeropress is not just a fleeting trend in brewing equipment. Its appearance doesn't resemble typical brewing devices, and the company that invented this brewing tool is primarily known not for coffee equipment but for frisbees. However, today's Aeropress has not only become a beloved brewing device for many people worldwide but also has given rise to the World Aeropress Championship (WAC) and even has a documentary film dedicated to it.

The Origin of Aeropress

This small, two-component Aeropress can quickly brew coffee with a rich, full body simply by pushing hot water through a filter. Unlike pour-over brewers, its invention was inspired by espresso machines, though it doesn't rely on electricity and lever-generated pressure, but rather on pressure applied by human hands.

It shares some similarities with the French press, although the French press isn't particularly popular in the specialty coffee community. Additionally, Aeropress's recommended brewing water temperature and brewing time are much shorter than those of a French press. In other words, while the Aeropress has become increasingly common, it was indeed a distinctive brewing device when it first debuted in 2005. Alan Adler, the owner of Aeropress company, initially approached the invention of Aeropress from an engineering perspective. To solve coffee bitterness, he decided to find a solution by reducing extraction time.

To shorten extraction time, he discovered that extraction must rely on pressure. Therefore, he created a sealed space to increase the pressure generated by pushing, allowing users to brew coffee more quickly. (However, now there are many Aeropress brewing recipes, some with even longer extraction times than conventional brewing methods.)

Aeropress Gains Prominence in the Coffee World

Initially, many in the specialty coffee industry responded with skepticism, viewing Aeropress as merely a toy manufacturer rather than producing an innovative coffee brewing device. However, this began to change over time. Alan responded to these doubts with brewed coffee samples, and word started to spread. After all, the most direct way to prove whether Aeropress works is through the flavor in the cup.

But with so many brewing devices on the market, what makes the Aeropress one of the most prominent ones?

Coffee is a global movement, with various brewing methods from all over the world, while the Aeropress can brew delicious coffee in just one minute and is easy to clean, portable, affordable, and versatile. Perhaps there are other reasons behind the Aeropress's popularity, but perhaps it's because it allows for many brewing experiments, which evolved into the specialized World Aeropress Championship.

Brewing time, pressing time, coffee amount, coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, using it upright or inverted, and so on... The Aeropress has many different methods, and these different approaches will yield coffee with different flavor profiles.

Aeropress Champions from Around the World

There are many professional competitions in the specialty coffee world, such as the World Barista Championship (WBC), World Brewers Cup (WBrC), World Latte Art Championship (WLAC), World Roasting Championship (WRC), and many more. Additionally, there are numerous green bean evaluation competitions. But in 2008, a completely new competition emerged when someone designed a fun, light-hearted competition called WAC for Aeropress in Oslo, Norway. Despite high enthusiasm, only three people participated initially, launched by Tim Varney and renowned barista Tim Wendelboe. (They still operate this competition together with Tim Williams today.)

But like the Aeropress itself, this competition began to gain more recognition and became well-known in the specialty coffee community. By 2018, 3,157 people from 61 countries had attended the competition in person, with 68,265 online viewers.

The Aeropress has many uses, and these competitors continuously find new applications and refine existing methods, which is a completely different development direction from barista competitions that use espresso machines to their fullest potential. WAC is a competition for everyone—anyone can participate, even without the financial resources and green beans of a large coffee company. It is a competition full of creativity and experimental spirit, and these creative experiments inspire more delicious coffee.

Let's Brew a Cup of Coffee with Aeropress

This time, we're using "FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Little Tomato" beans. When brewed by pour-over, the coffee flavor features bright acidity of dark plum and cherry tomatoes, with the sweetness of snow pear!

Coffee amount: 18g
Grind setting: EK43s setting 7/90% passing through #20 sieve (finer than regular pour-over grind)
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:11 (approximately 200ml)
Water temperature: 90°C
Extraction method: Inverted press

We can pre-wet two circular filter papers on the filter cap and then use water to make them adhere. (If you don't have circular filter paper, you can cut regular filter paper.)

1. Assemble the plunger and chamber, then push the plunger to around the ④ mark and invert!
2. Pour in the ground coffee, then add an equal amount of hot water and start timing!
3. Use the stir stick to stir the coffee grounds in the chamber for ten seconds. (Slow circular motion)
4. Attach the filter cap with the adhered filter paper to the chamber.
5. Then attach it to your prepared container.
6. When the time reaches one minute, invert it and begin pressing downward to "press out" the coffee.

The extraction is complete, taking approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds. The stability of the inverted press method is higher compared to the upright method, which can significantly reduce the difficulty for beginners. The resulting Kenya coffee tastes sweet and sour, with a full, juicy mouthfeel—excellent!

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