Keep in mind, they adjusted the brew methods for the type of coffee they used (light/medium).

I loved this video! As a coffee geek who recently had his eyes opened to the wide world of Aeropress Championships I really enjoyed your nice attitude and thoroughness. There are a few points I'd like to engage with you on, though! I found out today that the WAC had one brand of roasted coffee for all competitors across each year's competition. That is, there was one type of coffee for 2015, another for 2016, another for 2017... so each recipe is tailored for that year's coffee in particular. This was a big question I'd had for some time! It's only natural to want to pit these recipes against each other, but it bears noting that they're geared towards different coffees, and might not all treat your dark roast Sumatra equally well. (For what it's worth, though, I enjoyed your evaluations of all the brews, and think there still is something to be gained by a one-bean analysis.) Regarding kit: I had used your exact Hario hand grinder for years, and I ended up being a little disappointed with the uniformity of the grind size. Granted, my burrs did end up visibly wearing out, but I think an electric grinder would be more in-line with what these competitors were using and help you achieve a more even extraction. Coffee tech has improved by leaps and bounds since 2009, after all! Temperature also seems to be an ENORMOUS thing in these competitions. I've always been skeptical about the differences caused by brewing with different temperature water, but I do think there's a huge difference in drinking temperature (and thus drinking experience) when diluting with hotter or cooler temperature water. Does your Pyrex glass have good thermal stability? Unless it's preheated, I could see it taking a fair bit of thermal energy away from the water! Of course, judicious use of a thermometer would probably alleviate this, and you might've just edited it out. (Eventually I will splurge for a temperature-controlled electric kettle... until that day, it's just approximating 92°C water, lol.) This next one is something I like to do personally, but I think stirring the brew after diluting it (or adding it to another vessel of water, as in the 2018 recipe) makes a big difference. This has got to help with the thorough mixing of both high/low temperature liquids and concentrated/diluted brew. Alright, I hope you enjoyed this essay; I just wanted to engage with you on a video that I enjoyed quite a lot. Looking forward to seeing you in the future :)

Just made myself a cup using the Aeropress with 2019 recipe. Been using auto brewer but since im traveling. Got another Aeropress for travel to try the best Coffee in my country. Looking forward to it. Lets keep these champions going and allow us to try new options.

I'll second that most of these recipes were using light to medium roasts, which allow for more flavors and fruit notes. The most complexity you can get from dark roasts is caramel sweetness or like you said some savory fruit. I'll add that brew temp is less important for the additions to the concentrate. For brewing, yes, brew temp will affect the cup. Darker roasts should be using a lower temp brew water. However, competition aeropress recipes are designed to be drunk immediately. That's why they say the water added to the concentrate should be a certain temperature. Therefore, you can add hot, or not so hot, water to your concentrate. You might just have to wait a little longer to drink your coffee if you use a hot water addition.

2019 recipe with a swirl for me. Basic. Yummy 😋

Thanks for this vid! It would be great to have the bean/roast info they used at each comp in the description, and maybe the water, as that must all be key to the recipes

Wow, Its girls back to back to back!!! Tried the 2015 so far and it brought out all the flavors in my coffee and slapped the hell out of me while on my nightshift! Great job Lukas!

Great attitude and thoroughness. You know how to do yt videos! Maybe not super scientific in the specificities of the recipes, but quite perfect for what I was looking for. Thank you!

Great content 👌 👏 👍

Great review to compares all last 5 WAC recipes in one video.. it surely gives insight & reference to me.. but, since you were using dark roast.. it's kinda tricky in my opinion.. as my experience, using lighter roast for 2017 recipe was the best.. 😁 It gave clarity n distinct notes to my cup.. For darker roast, i usually using coarse grind with minimum Temp., agitation, and brew time.. since, it still full immersion.. 😁

Curious why all these recipes use so much coffee? I much prefer the more mellow taste from the aero press but using twice the amount of coffee is too strong and I always have to dilute it? I feel like I’m missing something

The recipes were dialed in for different coffees. This test is a nice idea but that’s like testing how well Skis, Rollerblades and Bikes perform on ice.

#3:35 - You shouldn't sit and wait 40 seconds there. Check that winning recipe again. Its total brew time is 60 seconds. You are suppose to flip the aeropress at 40 seconds mark, after water hits the coffee. By waiting 40 seconds there before flipping, you extended the brewing time a lot (which might have been a positive thing actually, reasons explained below). Besides, I find this recipe doesn't work for me at all. 30g of coffee is a lot of coffee. I normally brew half of that. Also 60 seconds is not a particularly long brew time. I'm not sure what coffee was used there, but what I'm currently using (beans from Brazil, medium roast) ends up underextracted and sour. I have much better results with 90 seconds or more.

Thanks! I got a lot of useful info here. Can't wait to try the 2016 recipe as it seems to be the most no-fuss of them (isn't that the point with the aeropress?) while also getting a positive feedback from you. Cheers!

Using the 2016 winner as an example, is there a reason why not to double the coffee to brew, and simply mix into double the hot water? Asking for a friend

So if I use half the coffee , say 15 grams , but brew for twice as long, will it taste the same ?

May I ask, what do you think of letting the air out while being on inverted position? Does it affect the taste? Just ordered Aeropress, and really curious about all the recipe from the champs! Cheers from Indonesia

That's a hario grinder? How do you zero down on the desired grind settings?

In every video I see everyone are pressing waay harder than the inventor intended. One can find a video of him doing it on youtube. Does not pressing strength matter?

well again, not gonna use alot of coffee with my income of 370Euros/month. I´d rather grind finer, use less, and stirr more.

Waitrose coffee? Really?

Just complicating a simple mathad, just feels like foolish

speaking Too fast! I miss 2/3 s

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL...................Areopress Championships. There's nothing to it. Championship of what? Pouring water and pressing. Like that takes skill?