The best cup of AeroPress coffee in the world

In 2016, 71 Aeropress championship events are scheduled worldwide, with more than a thousand participants. Edward Beumer from coffee bar Trakteren in Amsterdam is one of them. At the end of March, he won the Dutch Aeropress Championship, beating 26 other participants. On June 23, he will compete in the World AeroPress Championship in Dublin, and FavorFlav asked him a few questions about this special way of brewing coffee. 

The AeroPress is a small plastic device costing less than forty euros, which you use to make slow-brew coffee. You can see exactly how it works here. And now there are competitions all over the world where a jury decides which brewer makes a perfectly balanced cup of coffee with the AeroPress. That means a cup of joe that is neither too sour nor too bitter, but above all excels in its sweetness. FavorFlav caught up with Beumer.

What is the secret to brewing a good cup of AeroPress coffee?
It is important to have complete control over all the variables that can be influenced in the coffee-brewing process. And what can you influence? A great deal: the amount of coffee, the amount of water, the grind size (how coarse or fine you grind), the temperature of the water and the type of water you use. Water has a certain mineral and pH value, which affects the taste.

The search for the perfect coffee is a matter of trial and error. A lot of training is required. When you enter a competition, you receive a batch of coffee, for example 250 grams. You can then brew coffee with it eight times to arrive at the perfect recipe. According to champion Edward, you are a sort of coffee DJ. You line up all the flavors so that you get the best presentation of the coffee.

What makes this coffee so delicious?

These will all sound like cliché answers, but it is incredible how beautifully the flavors from coffee can come through with this small device. You get a light extraction with lots of fruit and berry notes; it is almost like tea. In fact, this brewing method is furthest removed from what we think coffee is. But, in my experience, this is the most authentic and pure form of coffee.

When will the masses embrace the AeroPress?

The AeroPress is a niche within the specialty coffee world, but more and more people appreciate slow coffee. Perhaps you only start craving this form of coffee once you have tasted everything there is to taste in coffee. People go on a long flavor journey, after all. You can compare it to drinking wine. You often start with accessible Spanish or South African wines, but eventually you discover what a perfect Pinot Noir does for you.

The same applies to coffee. Slow coffee is that beautiful Pinot Noir, which perhaps not everyone can appreciate yet. But otherwise, it is a very easy method for making coffee at home. It is standard filter coffee, but just a little more delicious and exciting. Do you want to taste body, bitterness, acidity, fullness, nuttiness, spice, a hint of cocoa, fruit, sweetness or red berries? You can taste all of that.

Want to get started at home? This is Edward’s winning recipe:

Coffee/water ratio in grams: 30/220
Grind setting: 10 (Mahlkönig EK 43)
Grind 30 grams
Pour 120 grams of water at 85 degrees Celsius over it in 15 seconds
Stir for 15 seconds
Press for 30 seconds
Continue pressing, and add 100 grams of water at the end

Text: Nora van den Heuvel
Images: Shutterstock & Trakteren