How to Use an AeroPress: The Box Recipe and the Champions' Trick
Heat water to 185°F (85°C), or 175°F for a dark roast. Put a paper filter in the cap, stand the chamber on a mug and add one heaping scoop, 16 to 18 g, of medium-fine coffee. Fill to the 4, stir for about 3 seconds, set the plunger in to stop the drip, wait 30 seconds and press gently until it hisses. That is AeroPress's own method; with pre-ground coffee it waits 60 seconds.
Key takeaways
- AeroPress's own recipe is 16 to 18 g of medium-fine coffee, water at 185°F to the 4 on the chamber, a 3-second stir, a 30-second wait and a gentle press.
- A level AeroPress scoop holds 12 to 13 g and a heaping one 16 to 18 g, so heap it if you do not weigh.
- Every World AeroPress Champion from 2021 to 2025 used 18 g, and four of the five brewed into about 100 g of water or less, then added water after pressing.
- Brewing strong and diluting separates extraction from strength: change the water added afterwards and the cup gets weaker or stronger without changing the brew.
- AeroPress strongly discourages the inverted method because the brewer can tip, and offers its Flow Control Filter Cap to stop drip-through upright.
- The brewer, 10 oz chamber8.9BrewSift ScoreExcellent
- The grinder AeroPress names for its grind7.5BrewSift ScoreGood
- Variable-temperature gooseneck kettle8.2BrewSift ScoreExcellent
- Paper filters, 350 count8.9BrewSift ScoreExcellent
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The AeroPress box and the World AeroPress Championship agree on exactly one number. AeroPress starts you at 16 to 18 grams of coffee, and every world champion from 2021 to 2025 used 18. After that they part ways. The box fills the chamber and presses at about a minute. Four of those five champions brewed into roughly 100 grams of water and topped the cup up afterwards. Learn the box method first, because it is the one most people will keep, then decide whether the champions' trick earns a place in your morning.
The box recipe, step by step
This is AeroPress's own method for the AeroPress Original when you grind your own beans, from its how-to page. It is upright, single-mug and takes under two minutes.
AeroPress Original, upright, one mug
- Heat water to 185°F (85°C). AeroPress says boiling water is fine if your kettle has no temperature control.
- Put a paper filter in the cap, twist the cap onto the chamber and stand it on a sturdy mug.
- Add one heaping scoop, 16 to 18 g, of medium-fine coffee. AeroPress gives settings 11 to 13 on a Baratza Encore as its reference grind. Shake to level it.
- Pour water up to the 4 marked on the chamber. A little coffee drips through early; that is normal.
- Stir gently for about 3 seconds, set the plunger in about half an inch and pull it back slightly to stop the drip.
- Wait 30 seconds, then press with gentle, constant pressure until you hear the hiss begin and end.
Then hold it over the bin and push the puck out with a pop. AeroPress suggests a rinse after each brew and a wash with gentle soap every two weeks for the Original.
Three details worth not skipping
- Scoop, not scale? AeroPress says a level scoop holds 12 to 13 g and a heaping one 16 to 18 g, so heap it.
- Dark roast? AeroPress recommends 175°F (80°C) for dark roasts and 185°F for medium and light, saying its tasters found hotter water brought bitterness and acidity.
- Pre-ground coffee? The pre-ground version of the recipe uses a medium grind and a 60-second wait instead of 30.
Rule of thumb: heaping scoop, water to the 4, 185°F, 30 seconds, press until it hisses.
What five world champions did instead
The World AeroPress Championship publishes every winning recipe. These are the five most recent champions, read from its recipes page. The brew ratio is our arithmetic: grams of water on the coffee divided by grams of coffee, before any water is added to the cup.
| Year | Champion | Position | Coffee | Brew water | Brew ratio (calculated) | Added after pressing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Némo Pop, Australia | Upright, Flow Control cap | 18 g | 100 g at 84°C | 1:5.6 | 70 g at 50°C, poured into the carafe first |
| 2024 | George Stanica, Romania | Inverted | 18 g | 100 g at 96°C | 1:5.6 | Warm water to 130–135 g, then 20–30 g at room temperature |
| 2023 | Tay Wipvasutt, Thailand | Inverted | 18 g (16 g, then 2 g at 0:45) | 100 g at 89°C | 1:5.6 | Room-temperature water to 115 g, then hot water to about 155 g |
| 2022 | Jibbi Little, Australia | Inverted | 18 g | 94 ml at 90°C | 1:5.2 | 90°C water to 150 g |
| 2021 | Tuomas Merikanto, Finland | Inverted | 18 g | 200 g at 80°C | 1:11.1 | None |
- 5 of 5 champions who used 18 g, the top of AeroPress's 16–18 g range.
- 4 of 5 brewed into 100 g of water or less, then diluted the cup.
- 80–96°C the spread of brewing water temperatures, against the box's 85°C.
Source: World AeroPress Championship, WAC Winning Recipes, 2021 to 2025 champions.
Why brew strong and then add water
Look at what the concentrate method does. It splits one decision into two. The coffee extracts in about 100 g of water, and the strength of the cup is set by whatever you add after pressing. Change the bypass and you change strength without touching the brew. The box recipe ties those two together: the water you brew with is the water you drink.
The published finals are also small. George Stanica's 2024 cup lands at 150 to 165 g in total and Tay Wipvasutt's 2023 cup at about 155 g, well short of a full mug. These are competition cups, built in head-to-head elimination rounds around that year's competition coffee. Stanica says his method was tailored to that specific coffee and roast, and tells readers to adapt it to their own palate.
Which method fits your morning
Use the box recipe if:
- you scoop rather than weigh
- you buy pre-ground coffee
- you want one full mug in two minutes
- you drink dark roasts
Try the champions' concentrate if:
- you weigh coffee and water already
- you want to tune strength cup to cup
- you brew fresh light or medium roasts
- you are happy with a smaller cup, or will add more water
Upside down: the inverted method and the maker's warning
Four of the five recent champions brewed inverted: the chamber stands on its plunger, open end up, and gets flipped onto the cup at the end. AeroPress's FAQ says people do this to prevent early drip-through, control longer steeps and use coarser grinds.
It also says it strongly discourages the method, because the inverted brewer is less stable and prone to tipping over, exposing you to hot liquid. Its alternative is the AeroPress Flow Control Filter Cap, which it says stops drip-through with a pressure-actuated valve, so you can steep as long as you like the right way up. That is exactly how the 2025 champion, Némo Pop, won: upright, on a Flow Control cap.
Rule of thumb: AeroPress strongly discourages the inverted method because the brewer can tip; a Flow Control cap stops drip-through upright.
When the cup or the press goes wrong
AeroPress's FAQ answers most first-week problems directly:
| What happens | AeroPress's explanation | Try next |
|---|---|---|
| A lot of coffee runs through before you press | Water poured too fast, grounds not level, or the grind too coarse | Shake the grounds level, pour slowly, then go finer if it persists |
| The plunger is hard to press | Very fine, dust-like particles from a cheap or dull grinder block the flow | Press gently, there is no rush, and use a burr grinder for an even grind |
| Bitter cup from a dark roast | Water hotter than its 175°F dark-roast recommendation | Drop to 175°F (80°C) |
The even grind matters on both fronts. A burr grinder like the Baratza Encore gives particles of a similar size, which is what AeroPress says keeps the press smooth. A variable-temperature kettle such as the Bonavita Variable Temperature Gooseneck lets you set the temperature AeroPress asks for rather than guessing. Paper filters are the one part you keep replacing; a box of AeroPress paper micro-filters lasts a long while. More options sit in manual brewers, kettles and grinders.
For the bigger choice of brewer, read AeroPress vs French press or AeroPress vs Hario V60. To scale any recipe in grams, use the coffee ratio calculator.
Gear for this method
AeroPress Original
The most forgiving, most fun way to make a great single cup — and it's nearly indestructible.
Encore
Baratza's classic filter grinder — 40 settings from fine drip to French press, parts you can replace for years, and the cheaper Encore if you never pull espresso.
Variable Temperature Gooseneck
A long-favorite budget gooseneck many consider the best cheap pour for Chemex.
AeroPress Paper Micro-Filters, 350 ct
350 AeroPress filters for under $10 — about 3 cents a cup, the cheapest consumable on the site.
V60 Drip Scale (VSTN-2000B)
Hario's own pour-over scale: a built-in timer, a footprint sized for a V60 and server, and 0.1 g up to 200 g.
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FAQ
How much coffee do you put in an AeroPress?
AeroPress recommends one heaping scoop, or 16 to 18 g, of medium-fine coffee per cup. A level scoop holds 12 to 13 g, so a heaping one is the right amount if you do not weigh. Every world champion from 2021 to 2025 used 18 g.
What water temperature is best for an AeroPress?
AeroPress recommends 185°F (85°C) for medium and light roasts and 175°F (80°C) for dark roasts, and says boiling water is fine if your kettle has no temperature control. Recent world champions brewed anywhere from 80 to 96°C.
How long should an AeroPress steep?
In AeroPress's own recipe, 30 seconds after a 3-second stir with medium-fine coffee, or 60 seconds with pre-ground coffee at a medium grind, then a gentle press of about as long as it takes to hear the hiss.
Is the inverted AeroPress method safe?
AeroPress strongly discourages it. It says the upside-down brewer is less stable and prone to tipping over, which can expose you to hot liquid. Its Flow Control Filter Cap stops drip-through with a valve so you can steep longer the right way up.
Why is my AeroPress hard to press?
AeroPress says very fine, dust-like particles from a cheap or dull grinder block the flow through the coffee bed. Press gently rather than forcing it, and use a burr grinder that gives a more even grind.
Sources
- AeroPress — How To Use AeroPress (Original signature brew: 16-18 g, 185°F, fill to 4, stir 3 seconds, wait 30 or 60 seconds)
- AeroPress — FAQ (scoop capacity, 175°F and 185°F by roast, inverted method warning, Flow Control Filter Cap, drip-through and hard-to-press fixes)
- World AeroPress Championship — WAC Winning Recipes (2021 to 2025 champions' doses, water and methods)