Do you love the easy, inexpensive Aeropress coffee maker as much as we do? Or are you looking for a fast, flavorful way to make iced coffee? If so, you need to check out this method at Serious Eats.
It's still scorching hot where we live and iced coffee is a daily ritual in our house. We make coffee using the Aeropress – which produces a rich, smooth brew free of bitterness – and then chill the coffee in the refrigerator or use a cocktail shaker, shakerato-style. However, next time we're going to try this approach described at Serious Eats.
Used at the Gregory's coffee chain in New York, this process involves pressing the Aeropress over a cup of ice. It's a lot faster than many iced coffee methods and Serious Eats' Liz Clayton writes that "brewing with hot water directly onto ice tends to preserve the brightness of the bean."
→ Read more: How to Brew Aeropress Coffee Over Ice at Serious Eats
More Cold Coffee: Iced Coffee: Recipes, Tips, and Tricks
(Image: Liz Clayton/Serious Eats)
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Aeropress is my preferred way to make iced coffee. But I had to read the SE method twice to realize that they use the press in a slightly different way. They pour the coffee + hot water into the main cylinder - assembled with the plunger, rather than the standard instructions - assembling the main cylinder with the filter assembly.
This is genius! The standard aeropress method leads to coffee slowly filtering through prematurely, whereas the serious eats report gives a method that keeps the water and coffee together for a set time.
.... how i wish i could sneak away from work to try this now!
@Lazy_Lurker, yeah! The upside-down method. My husband prefers that method now too. I feel like the cup is a bit brighter the original way, but both are great options.
I absolutely love my Aeropress! If anyone's on the fence, it makes the best coffee you've ever had.
My friend Sebastian of Seattle Coffee Works taught me that upside down trick and my head just about exploded. 40 seconds for an amazing cup w/o an espresso machine is pretty great.
Yeah, I do this every morning :)
The Aeropress is truly a great coffee brewer and not just limited to iced coffee. We (Venia Coffee Roasters) are solid believers in the inverted brew method (where the plunger is in place and the filter end is up). It leaks less and you are able to more precisely control brew time which is important if you want to get the most out of nice small lot single origin coffees.
Regardless if you are making iced or hot coffee, stick to the 1:14 coffee/water brew ratio and you will make an excellent coffee every time. It is more than okay to brew stronger and dilute with hot water to get to this ratio.I like a 60 second brew time and a 30-40 second plunge time, but play around. And as always, fresh ground coffee is always better than pre-ground.