How to make delicious coffee with your AeroPress

• The AeroPress is an innovative, easy, and clean way to make delicious coffee on the go. 
• It's a low-cost and low-waste solution to buying coffee every day so you'll also help reduce waste and use fewer paper cups, plastic straws, and more. 
• See more: The best programmable coffee makers

I used to travel a lot, and that means I'd often wake up to a hotel room equipped with a K-cup brewer and a selection of stale coffee in plastic cups. I care a lot about coffee and the planet, so I tend to eschew the K-cup in favor of my trusty AeroPress.

I must have made close to a thousand cups of coffee in the six or seven years I've had my AeroPress. I've used one everywhere from Alaska to Atlanta and regardless of whether I wake up in a hotel suite or a sleeping bag, it's my go-to on-the-go coffee maker. 

At just under $30, the AeroPress is not that expensive. In fact, it has saved me money by avoiding the lobby coffee bars so many times.

The AeroPress makes a coffee concentrate that isn't really espresso but more like a concentrated filter brew. If you know how to handle it, the strange-looking giant syringe can turn out a delicious cup. And when you're done, you simply push the puck of grounds into the trash and rinse out the AeroPress, so you don't have to mess up your hotel sink with coffee grounds. 

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make great coffee with the AeroPress.

What you'll need to make AeroPress coffee:

• Coffee beans (we recommend checking our guide if you need inspiration)
• An AeroPress coffee maker
• Hot water and a mug
• A coffee grinder (optional)
• A metal filter disc (optional)

How to make AeroPress coffee

1. Boil your water in a kettle. If you can't boil it, microwaving or running the K-cup machine without a pod in is fine. In the latter case, I run one cycle first to clean out any stale coffee taste. 
2. While the water boils, prepare your coffee. I like to use a scale when I can, but when I can't, I try to eyeball the same 20-gram dose that I normally weigh out at home. 
3. Grind your coffee. If at all possible, grind your coffee fresh since this preserves flavor and means you get the most out of your brew. If you can't, have your coffee shop grind it to a medium-fine setting. If you are interested in a grinder for travel, the Hario Skerton Plus is small and easy to use. Here's our full review.
4. Assemble the AeroPress according to the instructions and turn it upside down so the hole faces upward and it's standing on the plunger. If you are using a paper filter, rinse it well to take away the papery taste. I prefer metal filters as they're less wasteful and reusable so I never run out of filters on a trip. Place your preferred filter in the cap. 
5. Put your coffee in the AeroPress chamber and add enough water to saturate it (about 50 grams if you have a scale) and let it bubble for 30 seconds. Ideally, the water should be just lower than the boiling point, so leave your kettle open about 30 seconds after it shuts off. 
6. Now fill the AeroPress nearly to the top and let it stand for a minute. Give it a quick stir with the included stirring wand and put on the cap. 
7. Now invert the AeroPress and push down on the plunger. 
8. Enjoy your delicious coffee.

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