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I normally like a dark roast, but I'm struggling to get as good a cup from my Aeropress as I do with lighter roasts.

What factors can I adjust to improve the flavors, compared to how you'd brew a lighter roast? Less brew time? Colder water?

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  • Your question would be easier to answer if you told us exactly what is it about the taste you don't like. Too bitter? Weak? Strong? etc.
    – PJNoes
    Commented Jan 26, 2016 at 22:54
  • @pjnoes I find they can be overpowered by bitterness, without any of the subtle flavours of the beans.
    – AncientSwordRage
    Commented Jan 26, 2016 at 23:38

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Dark roasts from an Aeropress easily become too bitter.

I would recommend keeping the water temperature just below boiling. Flip your Aeropress upside down so that you can control the brew time. Add your beans and water, and then brew for 30-45 seconds.

With lighter roasts, I do the above but let them brew much longer. I've found you have to adjust the brew time for darker roasts.

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A darker coffee will be much more soluble - and extract much faster than a lighter roasted coffee. Coarsen your grind, use a lower water temperature (around 200F or wait about 45 seconds off boil), and use a quicker brew time. I would use a heavier coffee-to-water brew ratio, and extract less than you normally would. Something like 1-parts coffee to 16-parts water (1:16).

If you struggle to find any sort of sweetness from your coffee - then it may simply be too dark and burnt, to which there are no sugars left to develop.

Good luck!

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  • 200F is about 93°C isn't it? I've heard that you should use something closer to 85°C for lighter, so how can 93°C be right?
    – AncientSwordRage
    Commented Jan 26, 2016 at 7:37
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    85°C is an exceptionally cool temperature. I know that Aeropress (on the box) recommends a lower temperature - but that almost forces your coffee to be underextracted. You can really only grind so fine with an aeropress in which it still works well, and while you could of course agitate the grounds more, I believe a hotter temperature is the better way to go. Now as far as a really dark roast goes - 85°C totally might be the sweet spot if it's very soluble. Up above you said that your coffee is overpowered with bitterness - which tells me you need to extract less and maybe use less coffee.
    – Induction
    Commented Jan 27, 2016 at 2:27
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The good news and bad news about an Aeropress is the number of factors you have total control over during the brew cycle. Here is a partial list off the top of my head: 1. Quantity of beans; 2. Fineness of grind; 3. Water temperature (Aeropress recommends 185F) 4. Length of time before pressing; 5. Right side up or inverted.

There may be more but I've found changing one or more of these variables had a definite effect on the taste. I could also add freshness of beans but that would be true of any method. From my experience, water temperature, how fine the beans are ground, and length of time before extraction are the main variables that affect taste.

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  • Sorry but this isn't actually an answer to the question. Can you consider rewriting it as such?
    – fredley
    Commented Jan 27, 2016 at 19:44
  • The OP asked for factors he could adjust to improve the flavor. How is this not an answer @fredley?
    – PJNoes
    Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 23:22
  • The OP is asking about the parameters for a specific dark brew, not a list of what parameters can be changed overall. If you could highlight what parameters, in your experience, affect this particular brew that would be great!
    – fredley
    Commented Jan 30, 2016 at 20:23

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