Follow these easy steps to make delicious AeroPress coffee in no time.
How to use an AeroPress — it's not as daunting as you think : Read more
I've been experimenting with an Aeropress and a decent hand grinder for some months, there are multiple variables you can adjust and therefore your recipe is far from foolproof.
The ratio of coffee grounds to water is very important, so you can't just pour in whatever amount of water you like and expect consistent results. If you're using shop bought pre-ground coffee, the only other two variables you can play with are brew time (30 seconds probably isn't enough) and water temp (this should be dictated by the roast of your coffee: medium and dark roasts need different temperatures). If you can, grind freshly roasted beans yourself for best results, and experiment with brew time and water temp. If your coffee tastes sour it's under extracted, so you could for example increase the brew time to compensate. If it tastes overly bitter it's over extracted, so try dialling the brew time down by a few seconds. The key is to find a combination of of variables that suits the type of coffee you're using and that you like to drink, that's all part of the fun of using an Aeropress!
One final point to add: your criticism of the French press and Mokka pot stems from incorrect usage, not because they're inherently flawed. Silt in your French press coffee could be because the grind size is too small and has passed through the metal filter, and/or because you pushed the plunger all the way down (you don't need to plunge at all in fact: provided the coffee has brewed / settled for around 10 minutes you can just pour it through the metal filter).
A Mokka pot needs to be removed from the stove just at the point where brewed coffee starts appearing in the top, to prevent over boiling the liquid. The heat needs to be controlled throughout the brewing process so a steady flow of coffee is produced. This should prevent it from becoming too bitter.
Hope that the above helps. If you want to find out more about coffee brewing, check out the Godfather James Hoffman on YouTube.
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