Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Things I Love: Coffee, Upside Down AeroPress Technique
I’ve talked about, read about, and learned more about coffee in the past couple months than in the previous 20 years combined. For most of my life, coffee was Maxwell House from a can, scooped into a filter, brewed and percolated, and 15 minutes later, I was likely sharing part of a pot of coffee with someone. I liked coffee, even back then. I was so young …so naive.
Flash forward 20 years, and I’m borderline obsessive about my coffee. I can’t remember the last time (outside of a highway gas station when a “caffeine fix” was the end game) I had a drip brew cup of coffee. It’s not like I choke and gag when I drink a drip brew, but I’ve come too far with the AeroPress, French Presses, and Americanos at my local coffee houses. I can’t go back to the old way. I learned, like a wine lover who wouldn’t be caught dead drinking a glass of Woodbridge Cabernet from a gallon-sized bottle, I like coffee not just for the caffeine fix, but for the flavor, texture, and taste.
I’ve learned about the brewing processes and determined the AeroPress is the one for me. Now, I’m on a quest for the perfect bean (and the Tanzanian Peaberry from Chazzano in Ferndale, MI is about the best I’ve found).
I talk alot about the AeroPress. I learned of the AeroPress from my cousin Scott. His Dad, whom I call Uncle Jerry, is a curious sort of person and when someone like me talks incessantly about something, he’s apt to Google the topic and learn more about it. I’m not the type of guy to “learn” …I just boldly dive head first into things and hope for the best. Turns out, there are AeroPress Championships and there’s an even better technique than the standard AeroPress technique for brewing an amazing cup of coffee. It’s the Upside Down AeroPress. So I tried it. My first attempt didn’t yield a cup of coffee so brilliant I’m ready to brew upside down and only upside down, but it was pretty good. And I could see this technique being used when making coffee for multiple people. However, it was good. And as is probably the main reason I do anything, it’s something to talk about.
If I have you over for dinner …trust me. You’re having a cup of coffee, you’re going to hear about where I bought the beans and why I like the beans, and you’re going to hear why and how I make my coffee the way I make my coffee.What? You’d rather talk politics, debt ceiling, or the U.S. credit rating? No …thank …you.
Here’s the upside down AeroPress technique. Try it. I expected some mess. There was no mess. It’s pretty much the same process – but with flair. Yet another vacation memory, and I haven’t even talked about the really good parts of vacation. I’ve only touched on the nearly horrible neck injury I almost had, and now the coffee. More to come. Thanks for reading.
Oh, and if you want to read more and perhaps ORDER AN AEROPRESS, click here and follow the links.
Don Kowalewski 
I love the comment “If I don’t give my wife reasons to roll her eyes, they get lazy”…
FUNNY DON!
miss you all…
Jen
That was one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on the internet – and I’ve seen almost ten of them. Thanks for experimenting for me…. but I thought the point was to make a whole cup of coffee in the aeropress, as opposed to making espresso and then adding hot water a la americano? Hence the 2 minute brew time? I could be wrong. My aeropress method has been in flux since I don’t have my albuquerque bean-grinder and high altitude water temps (fun fact! water boils below 200 degrees over 6,000 feet). But I’ll be sure to use it for you next time you’re in Oakland.
Scott …your are correct. I’ve since made a full 4-cupper and it was a bit strong, so I made a 3-cupper and cut with hot water (sea level hot water, that is) and it was very good. Still …mostly the same. An Aeropress cup of coffee is so good it’s hard to improve on it, truly. Thanks for reading.