With AeroPress, all of the brewing process variables are under your control. The variables are water temperature, grind, amount of coffee and amount of water.
When you follow our printed instructions you make espresso-strength brew, which is 4 times more concentrated than American coffee. Our instructions are to dilute this concentrate with water to make American coffee or with milk to make a latte.
Some people are surprised that we press espresso-strength, then dilute. But that makes the smoothest brew. Pressing all of your water through the grounds will taste more bitter.
If you would like to experiment, here are some ideas:
For richer strength, use more coffee and/or finer grind.
For more "bite", use hotter water. But keep in mind that in our blind-tasting tests, coffee professionals and every-day coffee lovers preferred AeroPress brew made with 175F (80C) water. So try that first.
It takes 17 minutes for a small kettle to cool down from boiling to the optimum 175F. The easiest way to get the right temperature is with an adjustable-temperature electric kettle which stops heating at your set temperature. It's fast and consumes less energy than bringing the water to a boil.