Ground coffee for your AeroPress

Why the AeroPress takes a fine to medium-fine grind

The AeroPress uses a fine to medium-fine grind because the brew is short and ends with gentle hand pressure through paper. It is a forgiving brewer: a slightly finer grind with a shorter steep, or a slightly coarser grind with a longer one, both make a good cup. Go as fine as espresso and pressing becomes hard work while the coffee turns bitter. Coffee as coarse as for a French press gives up too little flavour in two minutes. Because the paper filter catches most of the fines, you won't get the sediment a cafetière can leave, even with a finer grind.

How much coffee in an AeroPress

An AeroPress takes about 15 g of coffee per brew, enough for one cup. After 1 to 2 minutes of steeping, press down steadily; the press itself takes about 30 seconds. The result is a concentrated cup: drink it as it is, or top it up with hot water or milk.

Choosing coffee for your AeroPress

• Blend or single origin. Besides blends, the range includes single origins such as Ethiopia, Colombia and Kenya; brewing one cup at a time makes it easy to taste how an origin differs from a blend.
• Strength. If you add milk, a coffee higher up our 1 to 13 strength scale holds its own better; drunk black or topped up with water, a milder one works well.
• Decaf. Our own Decaf Espresso and Decaf Special are ground for the AeroPress too.
• Roast level. A lighter roast makes a bright, filter-style cup in the AeroPress; a darker roast gives a fuller, espresso-like one.
• A small bag goes a long way. Because an AeroPress brews one cup at a time, a 250 g bag makes about 16 brews of 15 g, a sensible size for getting to know a coffee before you commit to a bigger bag. With "Freshly ground - Aeropress" selected, the grinding happens after your order.

Alongside the AeroPress

If you are torn between an AeroPress and a pour-over cone, What is the difference between Aeropress and V60? puts the two side by side. A moka pot uses a similar fine to medium-fine grind; that coffee is under moka pot and percolator coffee. An espresso machine with a portafilter needs the finer espresso ground coffee, and a drip machine the coarser ground filter coffee. If you own a grinder, order coffee beans and set it fine to medium-fine.