How to Get More Coffee Out of Your Aeropress

The Aeropress is arguably one of the best and most versatile brewing devices on the market. Recently, the company launched a new, travel-friendly version, the Aeropress Go. The self-contained form factor made it significantly easier to throw in a bag when on the go, but it didn’t address one of the biggest complaints many people have with the Aeropress: it’s brewing capacity. In fact, the Aeropress Go is smaller, limiting its brew capacity even further. Today, I’m going to tell you how you can get more coffee out of your Aeropress.

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How much Coffee Does the Aeropress Make?

If you’re brewing your Aeropress using the Inverted Method or with the Prismo attachment, you’re likely only going to get a single 8-10oz cup of coffee out a single brew. That number will depend on your preferred coffee to water ratio and how volatile the coffee is (basically, how much it bubbles up when you pour water over it). If you’re using the Upright Method with the standard filter, you may be able to squeeze a little more out of it, but not much. Regardless, 8-10oz is a pretty small amount of coffee compared to other brewers.

How to Get More Coffee Out of Your Aeropress

The answer to this issue is what we call bypass brewing. This is actually the idea behind the original brew method instructions that come included with your Aeropress. We call it bypass because you’re going to take a portion of the water and bypass the brew bed by pouring it directly into the final brew. We are essentially brewing a coffee concentrate and then cutting it with water to get to our desired ratio.

Coffee Concentrate

Thanks to the Aeropress’s use of pressure it’s incredibly efficient at extracting all of the flavors out of the grounds, even when using a lower ratio. Once we’ve pulled all of the delicious solubles out of our grounds, we can then pour fresh water into the concentrate to bring it to a higher ratio without compromising flavor.

Bypass Brew Method

The bypass method is an incredibly versatile recipe. I’ll give you the recipe I use pretty regularly, but don’t be afraid to take it and make adjustments to fit your needs! This recipe works with either the Upright or Inverted methods. Personally, I prefer to use the Upright method.

At a Glance

Brew Ratio: 20g:200g (1:10, coffee:water)
Water Temp: 200°F
Fine Grind
Pour to weight within 30 seconds
Stir 5 times clockwise
Steep for 1 min
Press
Cut with 120g water

Prepare

Begin heating your water and weigh out your coffee
Grind on a fine setting. Go a little finer than you normally would for Aeropress, we want to create more surface area for more efficient extraction.
Rinse your paper filter and pre-heat the Aeropress
Add coffee to Aeropress and shake to level the coffee bed

Brew

Start timer and pour to your target brew ratio weight (200g in this case) within 30 seconds.
- Don’t worry if your target amount doesn’t fit, just make note of the weight of water you poured.
Stir clockwise 5 times. Make sure all of the grounds are evenly saturated in the slurry.

If you’re brewing Upright without a Prismo, you can put the plunger in the top to restrict coffee flow during the steep

Steep for 1 minute.
At roughly 1:30, press until you hear a hiss.

Bonus tip: if you pull back on the plunger less liquid will leak out when you remove the Aeropress from the mug.

Tare your scale and pour the remainder of the water to get to your target ratio.

If your original brew weight of water didn’t fit, simply subtract the weight of the water you poured originally from the total brew weight. For example, if I meant to add 200g but could only fit 180g, I’d subtract 180g from 320g (for my target 1:16 ratio). Meaning I’d add 140g.

Give the resulting coffee a stir with a clean spoon and serve.

How Much is Too Much?

Honestly, I don’t know at what ratio this method stops working. 1:10 is the lowest that I’ve recorded without any issues. I may have brewed at a lower ratio and just didn’t document it. I’m planning to do some further tests to see how much you can really get out of the Aeropress. At some point, I imagine the efficiency of the Aeropress’s extraction will fall behind the amount of grounds added. In that case, I’m guessing we’ll need either more pressure (like espresso) or a longer brew time. Hopefully, I’ll have more on that soon.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your experiences with this brew method! Did it work for you? How much were you able to make at once?

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out! You can leave a comment below, shoot me an email, or message me on IG!

As always, Keep Coffee Handsome

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