7 Amazing Brewing Tips from Aeropress Champions

Sara Al Khoori is a cafe owner and two-time Abu Dhabi Aeropress Champion. She’s also a trained engineer, and her scientific approach to brewing is clearly a winner:

“For your recipe, start with a simple recipe and play around with grind size (contact time), and then test the other parameters such as ratio, water temperature, etc.”

Nicholas Yamada’s career has spanned all facets of the specialty coffee industry, from coffee shop owner to green bean exporter. Now he serves as an author and relationship manager for Perfect Daily Grind, one of the most respected coffee publications.

Yamada tells us:

“The inverted method is my favorite; however, I do enjoy experimenting with different ground size and water quantity, like brewing it as a cold brew. The Aeropress is the most versatile brewing method out there.”

Holly Kragiopoulos has had a long and diverse career in the coffee industry, leading to her current position as co-owner of North Star Coffee Roasters. Among her many roles, she serves as a member of the international jury for the Cup of Excellence.

Thus, she certainly knows a thing or two about a delicious brew:

“Although the standard Aeropress brew guide suggests using one paper filter, adding an additional paper filter, or buying a metal filter extension, can totally alter your experience with the device. An additional filter allows you to create a wide variety of brews, from heavy-textured full-bodied drinks with a metal filter to very light, high-clarity brews with 2 x paper filters per brew.” 

Gwilym Davies is a coffee shop owner, barista trainer, and a 2009 World Barista Champion. So, he’s no slouch when it comes to brewing great coffee. He’s even placed highly in Aeropress specific competitions.

Here’s what he has to say:

“The main issue the Aeropress has is ‘channeling’ when you are pressing the plunger down. Channeling leads to a less even extraction with more bitterness. To help avoid channeling, press the plunger slowly and do not grind too fine. A more coarse grind will help the water flow through the coffee more easily. The downside of this is that less will be extracted from a coarse grind, so a larger dose of coffee will be needed to compensate. […] If you are going into an Aeropress competition, it will be worth experimenting with different paper filters. I came second in the Czech Aeropress competition mostly due to the medical-grade filters I was using creating a more clean brew.”

Alexis Gagnaire is the CEO and founder of Kawa Coffee, a Parisian coffee subscription service. But, more importantly, he was a 3rd runner up in the 2020 Aeropress World Championship. That means he made the third-best Aeropress coffee in the world this year.

We’d better listen to what he has to say:

“Choose Aesir filters; they give you a cup way cleaner. Then, play around with the temperature depending on the roast color. The darker, the lower temperature.”

If you’re an Aeropress lover, then Alan Adler needs no introduction. He invented the brewer in 2004, and we’ve all been reaping the delicious benefits in the years since.

His tip is simple:

“Use 175 ℉ (80 ℃) water temperature and press gently.” 

Asser Christensen was trained as a journalist, so when he fell head over heels in love with specialty coffee, it only made sense to start writing about it. Now his blog, The Coffee Chronicler, is one of the best online coffee information sources.

“My best tip is to use the special Aesir paper filter instead of the original one made by Aerobie. It makes the cup a lot cleaner and more flavorful. If you don’t want to invest in those, you can also use two or even three filters in the cap at the same time in order to get more clarity in the cup.”