Aeropress 'bloom management' question

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Aeropress 'bloom management' question

Postby quoad » Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:28 pm

Got one for my birthday! Fantastic, and loving it to bits.

One query.

When adding water to the grounds, if they're proper fresh, I'm getting a thumping great 'bloom.' Which would be fine and manageable in a broad-topped FP (due to the width of the top and the time of the brew) but is a bit of a headache in the Aeropress - don't really have the room to stir it away, and in a <30s brew don't really have the time to let it settle.

Because of the bloom, I'm not getting much water in to most of my brews at the mo. Even with a '4 cup' brew, I'm probably getting half the volume, max.

They're chuffing gorgeous brews, like, but this morning I tried some older beans (4 week-old SQM decaff) and got virtually no bloom; et voila! A FULL cup of aeropress coffee.

Anyone found any decent ways of addressing this? I'm thinking tight stirring with a small implement, but'm wary of using anything metal and tbh am unconvinced it'll have any great effect.

ty in advance!
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RE: Aeropress

Postby bruceb » Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:35 pm

I'm afraid that's part of the game. It's the same phenomenon as with espresso and freshly roasted beans. The foam overwhelms the crema. A lot of CO2 is released when the coffee is fresh. Adding a bit of water, stirring and then topping up might help.
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
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RE: Aeropress

Postby quoad » Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:59 pm

Just tried that, Bruce. Great improvement - ty!
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RE: Aeropress

Postby wacchimacchiato » Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:24 pm

Hi quoad,

I'm a lover of the AP too, infact it's probably my most used piece of brewing equipment! I use mine along with home roasted beans, so masses of bloom, which I almost take for granted now. The method I guess I've settled on is making a short, concentrated shot (water between 2 & 3- 85c-ish) using a not far off espresso grind, a gentle stir / patting of the brew and bloom then plunging the whole lot through (20-30 secs), so some foam ends up in the cup. I then stretch this with hot water (measured). I find I get good sweetness (I do have a sweet tooth!- possibly because of the finer grind) and good concentration of flavour. It's still clear and clean. Dose is 2 scoops (25g ish)

It's been a while since I brewed a 'cup in one' on the AP so I think it's time to experiment again!

Craig
La Cimbali Junior D/1, Mazzer mini A, Cimbali cadet, Bizerba (Ditting) 903, sozen Turkish x2, Aeropress, Cafetiere's, Chemex, Stovetop(s), Bravilor novo2, Siphon TCA-5, Ibrik, Porcelain single cup filters, vitnamese filter, Turbo Crazy, Genecafe, Samiac GE 7/5 kg
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Postby Dahtac » Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:13 am

Maybe a tad but but I just joined joined, so forgive the tardiness.

If you are aiming for a long 200-250ml brew in the aeropress, I have found that doing a short prefusion at the beginning, using about 30ml of water for about 20 seconds, slows down the massive release of gas at the beginning leaving you plenty of space for brew water. I generally brew about 250ml brews in mine at home and there is just about enough space to accommodate this
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