Whenever you have to get out of bed in the morning, wishing you could have pressed that snooze button at least once more, dreaming about a cup of coffee seems like the right thing to do. You get out of bed and practically drag your legs to the kitchen, where you have to make a mediocre cup of coffee to start the day.
What if we told you there was a method for you to turn every cup of coffee into a burst of flavors and an experience that would make you fall in love with coffee even more? What if there was a way for you to make coffee whilst preserving all the aromas that you can actually smell when you open the coffee bag? If you want to experience this every morning, literally all you have to do is spend a few dollars to get good coffee and an AeroPress machine.
Best Coffee for AeroPress: Our Top 3 Picks
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Best Overall: Lifeboost Coffee
“I loved it right off: smooth, easy on my stomach and no ‘burnt’ taste.” (Customer review) Best feature: 100% organically grown, non GMO.
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Best for Variety: Volcanica Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee
With a rich taste of chocolate and nuts, and served with both frothed milk of black, the Costa Rica Peaberry coffee is one of the best dark roasts on the market. Best feature: perfect for those with sensitive stomachs.
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Best Dark Roast: Koa Coffee Estate Kona Dark Roast
As coffee specialists and regular coffee drinkers have agreed, the milk chocolate and fruity tones of the Koa Coffee Estate Medium make this the best coffee for AeroPress. Best feature: pre-sweetened with natural sugars, and taste.
What is an AeroPress?
The AeroPress is a manual coffee maker that uses a rather unique and revolutionary method of brewing coffee. The AeroPress uses a pressurized method to render cups of coffee while preserving the aromas and giving you the best results with each cup that you make.
Using AeroPress might seem complicated at first, but this is the type of product that, once you use a few times, you can master to perfection and make quality cups of coffee each time.
At first, this coffee maker might seem intimidating because it appears to have many components, but it’s actually quite simple to use. You have to push the plunger out of the chamber, place the filter inside the cap, twist the cap onto the chamber, place the chamber on top of a mug, use a scoop to put the freshly-ground coffee into the chamber, shake it to level the coffee, add 175 °F water, stir for 10 seconds, insert the plunger and press gently. When you’re done pushing the plunger (you should hear a hissing sound), remove the filter cap and push the plunger to eliminate the used coffee and remove the paper filter.
Naturally, baristas and brewers have created their own AeroPress recipes, so you’re bound to find modified instructions online that teach you different brewing techniques that might be more suitable to your liking.
Types of Coffee Best for AeroPress
If you’ve never used the AeroPress before, it’s natural to wonder what types of coffee it works with before investing in this brewer. The origin of the coffee is rather important here. When you want your AeroPress coffee to be perfect, you need to find a balance of coffee beans. That means that you want blends that can offer dark and fruity flavors, clean cups and heavy bodies, and even bitter-sweetness and acidity.
The region is important because it often helps determine what traits your coffee beans have. Those that love fruity flavors are more likely to find them in coffee originating from Ethiopia. Coffee drinkers with a passion for nutty and chocolate-like flavors will certainly enjoy coffee coming from Central and South America more.
It’s important to remember that one of the main benefits of the AeroPress is the fact that it works with just about any flavor profile. Buying quality coffee beans should be one of the few concerns that you actually need to have, whilst focusing on what tones and flavors match your personal taste.
Those of you that want to turn every cup of AeroPress coffee into an enjoyable experience are much better off buying coffee beans and grinding them yourselves. It’s best to avoid pre-ground coffee if possible (if you choose to buy it, you want to experiment with infusion time to get the best extraction).
Best Coffee Brands for AeroPress
As we mentioned earlier, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing what coffee you want to brew with your AeroPress. While experimenting will always be a significant part of every person’s coffee tasting experience, there are a few brands that baristas and coffee experts recommend as being more suitable for AeroPress use, such as:
Lifeboost Coffee
Taking pride in the fact that they offer one of the healthiest coffees on the market, Lifeboost advertises its non-GMO and chemical-free coffee while supporting sustainable farming practices. Born out of the passion that CEO Charles Livingston has for coffee, the brand delivers Fair Trade coffee grown at an altitude of 5,700 feet, where the grass is greener and the air is fresher.
The CEO of Lifeboost coffee is a professional that understands the benefits of having quality coffee in your cup every morning. As coffee lover himself, Dr. Livingston was focused on delivering a positive experience to coffee drinkers from all corners of the world, supporting a product that he strongly believed in from the very first moment he drank it.
The beans used to make Lifeboost products are selected by hand so that only the best raw material ends up being roasted. Through many hours of fermentation and cleaning, the beans achieve a perfect humidity content. No part of the process is being rushed, so you can rest assured that every bag of Lifeboost coffee you buy will have the same quality as the last one.
Volcanica Coffee
From the heart of Costa Rica comes Volcanica Coffee, a choice that will always bring exciting flavors in a variety of different blends. Focused on delivering high-quality single origin coffees, Volcanica offers everything from dark roast to low acid varieties to delight the senses.
There are plenty of reasons why Volcanica coffee is one of the top global brands. They’re focused on educating consumers so that everyone can understand how quality coffee is supposed to be harvested, processed, and what benefits every cup of coffee should bring. As a blend of exotic coffees, the brand harvests coffee from mineral-rich soil to offer a product with a concentrated taste.
This family-owned business started harvesting coffee beans from the mountain of Costa Rica, providing a legacy that’s now stronger than ever. They are also invested in charity work, funding projects that are designed to help the environment and support harvesters and industry workers that can be happy with the conditions provided by being part of a large puzzle piece that bring the best coffee to your table.
Koa Coffee Estate
Making premium Hawaiian coffee is the main mission of this particular brand, promising to deliver hand-picked and perfectly-roasted beans every time. Ever since they first started growing coffee back in 1997, Koa Coffee has been recognized as a leading name in the industry and was even proclaimed the best coffee in America.
What first started out as a family business began to expand up to a point where people all over the world recognize Koa Coffee as being rich in aromas. Proclaimed as one of America’s best coffees in Forbes’ “50 of America’s Best” and winning awards that granted the name more exposure, the brand uses hand harvesting techniques to prevent mixture of red and green coffee beans for a higher quality coffee.
Death Wish
While we’re not necessarily fans of the brand’s name, we are fans of how this name makes coffee. Roasting the coffee in small batches, Death Wish manages to provide consistently roasted beans every time. They use high-tech Loring Roasters to reduce the acidity of the coffee and maintain the stronger taste of each bean.
Ever since 2012, the brand has been active in New York, thanks to founder Mike Brown’s wish of creating a coffee that’s delicious and strong for the public to enjoy. Death Wish manages to accomplish its mission that’s to a coffee blend that’s rich in caffeine and uses fair trade beans for each of their products.
In 2015, Death Wish won the ‘Small Business Big Game’ competition, granting them a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl, an accomplishment that helped the brand gain more exposure and a more solid consumer base. Supporting the Special Olympics and the New York Comic Con, the brand expanded to a point where it’s recognized at an international level for offering one of the strongest coffees in the world.
Peet’s Coffee
In 1966, after decades of working in the coffee industry and understanding as much as possible about coffee trade, Alfred Peet opened his first coffee shop in Berkeley. Ever since, the owner dedicated his entire business career perfecting the way quality coffee and tea is made, making sure that the road between the coffee and the consumer is as short as possible.
Roasted by hand, the beans that are used to make Peet’s Coffee are a benchmark of bursting flavours coming from the hands of master roasters that know the craft perfectly by heart. The freshness and richness in aromas is also due to the fact that no coffee bag is made until it’s ordered, to make sure that beans aren’t roasted ahead of time.
Because they understand that delivering good coffee is a process that requires care from start to finish, Peet’s Coffee is a brand dedicated in investing in practices that honor coffee farmers, making sure that sustainability standards are met and that every link in the coffee supply chain is respected and monitored.
Best Coffee for AeroPress (2021 Edition)
1. Lifeboost Coffee – Best Overall
The best medium roast coffee on the market is brought to you by Lifeboost. This ethically sourced coffee is low in acid and has been tested for pesticides to make sure that you’re drinking non-toxic high-quality coffee with each cup.
If you have a sensitive stomach or if you’re a coffee drinker that would appreciate the strawberry, chocolate, and nut tones, then you have to give this coffee a run for its money.
- Roast Type: medium roast
- Aroma & Taste: Strawberry, chocolate, and nuts
- Whole Beans or Grounds: Available in both
- Origin: Central America
- Features: Organically grown, pesticide free, non GMO
Who Would Enjoy Lifeboost?
Lifeboost is considered to be one of the best coffee brands in the world because their products are low in acidity, high in quality, natural enough to provide you with the benefits that you’re supposed to get from every cup of coffee and supported by a natural health living expert that endorses the organic products made by Lifeboost.
Bottom Line
Lifeboost produces some of the healthiest and most ethical coffee around while donating some of their proceeds to save rainforests – you really can’t go wrong!
2. Volcanica Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee – Taster’s Choice
The Volcanica Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee is here to bring sunshine in every cup thanks to its sweet and mild taste that makes it a remarkable medium roast. With citrus tones and aromas of chocolate and nuts, this coffee has a moderate acidity level that prevents you from ending up with an upset stomach.
Enjoyed black or with frothed milk, the Volcanica Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee offers a creamy mouthfeel with every sip.
- Roast Type: medium roast
- Aroma & Taste: citrus, chocolate, nuts
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole bean
- Origin: Costa Rica
- Feature: low acidity for sensitive stomachs
Who Would Enjoy Volcanica?
Being one the most preferred products in large communities of coffee lovers, Volcanica’s coffee is the second best in this list because of it offers a velvety texture, the versatility that makes it perfect for hot and cold brews alike, and the smooth flavour that’s never bitter enough for anyone to dislike it.
3. Koa Estate Dark Roast Whole Bean 100% Kona Coffee – Best for sweet tooth
There are plenty of specialists that recommend the Koa Coffee Estate Kona Dark Roast when being asked what they believe to be one of the best AeroPress coffee on the market. With tasting tones of milk chocolate, honey, and fruit, this is a coffee that manages to balance sweetness with that strong taste you want to experience in every cup of coffee.
It’s an estate grown coffee, meaning that it was grown, cultivated, and harvested all on the same plantation.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: milk chocolate, honey, fruity
- Whole Beans or Grounds: beans
- Origin: Hawaii
- Features: no need to add sugar
Who Would Enjoy Koa?
Because it combines aromas of honey and milk chocolate, the Koa Coffee Estate Kona Dark Roast Coffee is the perfect choice for those who enjoy sweet brews, eliminating the need for added sugar or sweeteners almost completely.
4. DEATH WISH COFFEE Whole Bean Coffee – strongest brew
Advertised as being the world’s strongest coffee, there is more to the Death Wish than meets the eye. When you first take a sip from this AeroPress brewed coffee, you notice the subtle hints of chocolate and bitter cherries.
This Fair Trade and USDA Certified Organic coffee certainly offers flavors that linger in your mouth even after the coffee cup is empty.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: cherries and chocolate
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole beans
- Origin: India and Peru
- Features: fair trade, USDA Certified Organic, world’s strongest coffee
Who Would Enjoy Death Wish Coffee?
The Death Wish coffee is the perfect choice for you if you’re the kind of coffee enthusiasts that loves to feel that energy kick in every sip of dark and delicious morning nectar. It promises to deliver only the strongest coffee beans that are freshly roasted and can offer one of the strongest and high-quality coffees in the world.
5. Peet’s Coffee Single Origin Colombia – best for the price
If you want good affordable coffee for your AeroPress machine, then the Peet’s Coffee Dark Roast Colombia Single Origin is the way to go. With an unbeatable price and notes of stone fruit, this is a dark roast that can totally compete with the bigger names of the coffee industry. The complex brew is quite surprising considering its price, offering you dark roasted beans from the coffee-growing region of Huila.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: stone fruit
- Whole Beans or Grounds: grounds
- Origin: Columbia
- Features: super affordable
Who Would Enjoy Peet’s?
The Peet’s Coffee Dark Roast Colombia Single Origin coffee is a choice for people who are looking to buy good coffee at a decent price, regardless of whether they want a product to enjoy while working from home or are headed for the office and need a coffee that’s not bitter but still has that bold flavour that every true coffee drinker wants to taste.
6. Coffee Bean Direct Colombian Supremo – Smoothest taste
The Colombia Supremo coffee delivers a lightly roasted product with undertones of milk chocolate, brown sugar, and juicy lemons. This artisan coffee has a very smooth taste, perfect for people who enjoy slowly waking up to a coffee cup filled with subtle flavors. Perfect for AeroPress, this coffee is also available in other versions, including dark roast, Brazilian coffee, or decaf Colombian.
- Roast Type: Light roast
- Aroma & Taste: milk chocolate, brown sugar, citrus
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole beans
- Origin: Columbia
- Features: artisan coffee meant for tasting
Who Would Enjoy Coffee Bean Direct?
This Coffee Bean Direct Colombian Supremo coffee offers a smooth taste that blends flavours to perfection, so you can always tell the notes apart while still enjoying the freshly resulted aroma as a whole. The rounded flavour and the creamy resulting coffee are perfect for those that enjoy strong and semi-sweet coffee.
7. Tiny Footprint Coffee – best for dark roast lovers
If you enjoy bold dark roast tones that combine fig, chocolate, and bright apricot flavors, you are bound to take a liking from this Nicaragua Segovia roast. It is a 100% organic coffee obtained through a fully washed and sun-dried process. It is advertised as being the first carbon-negative coffee because it donates a portion of the profit made from selling each pound of coffee. The money goes to the reforestation of the Mindo cloud forest in Ecuador.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: fig, chocolate, apricot
- Whole Beans or Grounds: grounds
- Origin: Nicaragua
- Features: 100% organic, carbon negative brand
Who Would Enjoy Tiny Footprint?
This Tiny Footprint coffee is bound to delight drinkers that enjoy strong and rich flavours. It’s the type of coffee that you’re always happy to grind and brew because the aromas are just what you need to eagerly wait for your Aeropress coffee to be done.
8. AROMISTICO | Italian Dark Roast Whole Bean Gourmet Coffee Blend – best for a chocolate lover’s dream
If you enjoy having a delicious cup of coffee with some dark chocolate in between sips, then you’re going to love the aroma of this Italian dark roast. Made with coffee beans grown in the Brazilian region of Santos, from the Central African mountains, and from India’s Kaapi Royale, this coffee brings forth a taste of smoky, malty, and dark chocolate – like aromas that delights the senses and offers a flavor to think about long after the cup of coffee is empty.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: smoky, malty, dark chocolate
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole beans
- Origin: Central Africa
- Features: antioxidants, easy re-seal bag
Who Would Enjoy AROMISTICO?
If you’re a coffee drinker that enjoys having a bite of chocolate with their morning coffee, then this Italian Dark Roast will be perfect for you. The chocolaty flavours and the strong aroma are enough to delight every choco-coffee enthusiast in the world.
9. Dancing Moon Dark Roast – most eclectic taste
When it comes to rich flavors and a coffee available at a good price, few other options can beat the Dancing Moon Dark Roast Mexian Chiapas. It is an organic coffee that comes straight from Sierra Madre Mountains, offering and aroma that combines brown sugar, citrus, cocoa, and cashew. The nutty and sweet flavor feels very deep and showcases dark roast like you’ve never experienced it before.
- Roast Type: dark roast
- Aroma & Taste: brown sugar, citrus, cocoa, and cashew.
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole bean
- Origin: Mexico
- Feature: 100% organic
Who Would Enjoy Dancing Moon?
The Dancing Moon Dark Roast Mexian Chiapas is a coffee that boldly combines a wide range of flavour that harmoniously blend with one another to give you a rich aroma that makes you want to enjoy a cup of coffee again and again and again. Perfect for avid coffee drinkers.
10. Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC – best breakfast brew
Brought to you by French Roasted Coffee LLC, this Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is another USDA Organic and Fair Trade product that’s perfect for AeroPress brewing. It is definitely a winner for those that prefer the taste of sweet lemon tea and bright citrus, offering a dose of optimism and energy with every sip.
- Roast Type: medium
- Aroma & Taste: citrus
- Whole Beans or Grounds: whole bean
- Origin: Ethiopia
- Feature: USDA organic and fair trade
Who Would Enjoy French Roasted Coffee?
Recognized as one of the best morning coffees out there, the combination of citrus and typical coffee aromas almost make you feel like you’re having caffeine and tea in the same cup. It’s perfect for drinkers that enjoy smooth flavours and don’t mind adding a few ounces of milk to their coffee.
Tips for Owning & Using an AeroPress
While a lot of people know what an AeroPress is, there are also loads of users that don’t make the best out of this manual coffeemaker, which is a real shame considering the multiple benefits it can offer. If you’d like to know more about what you can do with your AeroPress, here is a list of tips that might just provide you with some new and interesting information:
You can use the AeroPress anywhere. That’s because these products are made from a material that is very difficult to crack or break: food-grade polyurethane rubber. Stronger than almost every other type of brewer out there, the AeroPress can be used even at heights of 30,000 feet. That means that you can definitely rely on it if you want a brewer while you’re hiking and camping overnight.
This brewer comes with a reusable metal filter that gives coffee a whole new flavor. Due to the small amount of microscopic grounds that enter the mug through the filter, coffee ends up having a richer flavor. These metal filters also allow the coffee’s natural oils to pass through their surface, meaning that the brew will maintain vibrant flavors that true coffee drinkers always appreciate.
In the 2013 US AeroPress Championship, winner Andy Sprenger showed the world that adding an additional filter on the top AeroPress container allowed him to add a few more grams of coffee and allowed double brewing.
If you’ve read the AeroPress’ instructions, then you know that they recommend heating the water to a temperature of 175 ℉. Controlling the water temperature can be pretty difficult but using a microwave might render better results. In order to do that, you are going to have to slowly microwave the water and constantly check its temperature using a thermometer. Once you’ve done the entire process a few times, you’ll be able to heat the water that the precise temperature of 175 ℉ without having to pull out the water to constantly check its temperature.
While some suggest cleaning the paper filter and using it multiple times, note that there’s a metal version for this filter available for online purchase. Granted, it’s a better choice for those that love the taste of unfiltered coffee, but it is something that could save you money in the long run if you don’t want to constantly buy new paper filters.
When every ingredient is in place, keep in mind that probably the most important piece of advice inventor Alan Adler gave is to press the plunger gently if you want to get rich-flavored coffee.
If you pre-rinse the AeroPress filter using warm water, you will eliminate some of that paper smell and taste, thus leading to a more delicious coffee taste.
Never fill your AeroPress all the way to the top because there are high chances of overflow when you put the plunger in its place. This could also lead to you burning yourself with hot water when the container overflows.
RELATED READING: How to Make a Latte Without an Espresso Machine
AeroPress Coffee FAQ
Is AeroPress better than French press?
The AeroPress isn’t necessarily better than the French press, but it does offer a few more advantages, such as shorter brewing time or the possibility to brew more types of coffee compared to the French press which is pretty limited in that sense.
Is AeroPress really that good?
If you are a true coffee enthusiast and you love brewing your own coffee, the AeroPress becomes a must-have. In the end, coffee preferences are a matter of taste, but there is a good reason why the AeroPress has gained such a large fanbase. It’s inexpensive, easy to clean, hard to break, and it can be used for brewing multiple types of coffee.
Is AeroPress better than pour over?
It’s difficult to say which of these methods is better. The AeroPress is basically a pressured version of French press brewing, while pour over coffee uses similar principles but with more manual control. A lot of people prefer pour over because they have more control over the process.
Is AeroPress coffee or espresso?
There is a specific technique that you can use to make some form of espresso using the AeroPress, but true espresso drinkers might not be fans of the result because it does not have the same level of concentration as true espresso. AeroPress espresso is made by using a small amount of hot water, finely ground coffee, and a rapid plunge.
CONCLUSION: How to Make AeroPress Coffee
The AeroPress is very versatile when it comes to what types of coffee you can brew with it. If you are a true coffee lover, invest in a grinder, an AeroPress, and the coffee of your choice, and you can experience an explosion of flavors with each cup you drink.
Remember that with the AeroPress, freshly-ground coffee is your best bet if you want to make the best out of each coffee-drinking experience.
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