a bag of Caffe Prima Colombian coffee beans on the table next to the aeropress

The Caffe Prima AeroPress Guide

The AeroPress is one of the most forgiving and flexible home brewers available, but small changes in grind size, water temperature and brew time produce noticeably different results. This guide covers every Caffe Prima bean with specific recipes, parameters and method recommendations for each, plus World AeroPress Championship techniques adapted to the range.

Standard vs Inverted: Which Method and Why

The AeroPress can be used in two orientations. The method you choose should match your roast level and bean composition — it is not just personal preference.

Standard Method

The AeroPress sits upright on your mug. Water is poured onto the grounds and a small amount immediately begins dripping through the filter before the steep begins. This percolation element produces a brighter, more defined cup with good clarity. It works well for medium-roast and 100% Arabica beans where you want to preserve citrus, caramel and clean chocolate notes.

Inverted Method

The AeroPress is assembled upside-down, creating a sealed chamber. No water exits until you flip and plunge. Every gram of water contacts every gram of coffee for the full steep time — pure immersion brewing. This is the right choice for dark roasts, Robusta-containing blends, and light roasts that need extended contact time to extract fully from their denser structure.

Quick Reference: All Caffe Prima Beans

Bean Roast Origins Tasting Notes Best Method Grind Water Temp
Espresso Coffee Beans Medium Brazil, Guatemala, Vietnam Dark cocoa, hazelnut Standard Medium-fine 93°C
Roma Coffee Beans Medium Brazil, Honduras, Vietnam Citrus, nutty finish Standard or Inverted Medium-fine 92–94°C
Continental Coffee Beans Dark Brazilian Arabica, Vietnamese Robusta Dark cocoa, hazelnut Inverted Medium-coarse 82–85°C
Italian Mahogany Coffee Beans Dark Arabica & Robusta Cinder toffee, cocoa finish Inverted Medium-coarse 80–85°C
100% Colombian Coffee Beans Medium Mountain-grown Arabica Caramel, hazelnuts, almonds Standard Medium 93–95°C
Brazilian Arabica Coffee Beans Light 100% Brazilian Arabica Almonds, chocolate, smooth Inverted Fine 95–96°C
Decaf Brazilian Arabica Medium CO2-processed Brazilian Milk chocolate, silky, clean Standard Medium-coarse 90°C
Decaf Espresso (Mountain Water) Dark Mexican & Brazilian Arabica Dark choc, milk choc, nuts Inverted Medium 85°C

Espresso Coffee Beans — Standard Method

Caffe Prima Espresso Beans are Brazil, Guatemala and Vietnam Robusta in a medium roast. The cocoa and hazelnut profile comes through cleanly with the Standard method. The Robusta provides body and crema even in AeroPress; lower temperatures than you might expect are the key to preventing bitterness.

Parameter Setting
Dose 15g
Grind Medium-fine — similar to caster sugar (~500 microns)
Water 250ml at 93°C
Bloom 30ml, wait 30 seconds
Fill and steep Add remaining 220ml. Stir 5 times gently.
Total steep time 2:00 minutes
Plunge Slow, over 30 seconds. Stop at the hiss.
Yield ~220ml

Tip: After filling, insert the plunger 1cm into the chamber to create a vacuum seal and prevent dripping during the steep. Pull it back out slightly, stir, then plunge at 2:00.

Roma Coffee Beans — Standard or Inverted

Caffe Prima Roma Beans are Brazil, Honduras and Vietnam in a medium roast. The citrus brightness of the Roma is best preserved with the Standard method, though the Inverted gives a fuller, rounder result if you prefer more body over clarity. Both work well — choose based on what you want from the cup.

Parameter Standard Inverted
Dose 15g 16g
Grind Medium-fine (~500 microns) Medium-fine (~480 microns)
Water 250ml at 93°C 220ml at 92°C
Bloom 30ml, 30 seconds 40ml, 30 seconds
Steep time 2:00 minutes total 2:00 minutes total
Plunge 30 seconds Flip, then 30 seconds

Which to choose: Standard gives you the citrus notes upfront and a clean finish. Inverted rounds that off into something fuller — better if you take it with milk.

Continental Coffee Beans — Inverted Method

Continental blend - Brazilian Arabica and Vietnamese Robusta in a dark roast. The dark cocoa and hazelnut profile needs the Inverted method and lower water temperature. Dark-roasted Robusta extracts quickly — too much heat or too fine a grind produces bitterness rather than sweetness.

Parameter Setting
Dose 18g
Grind Medium-coarse — similar to coarse sand (~650 microns)
Water 200ml at 82–85°C
Bloom 50ml, stir gently, wait 30 seconds
Fill and steep Add remaining 150ml. Total steep 2:00 minutes.
Plunge Flip at 2:00. Plunge over 30–40 seconds.
Yield ~170ml — rich and full-bodied

Why lower temperature? Dark roasting takes beans past second crack, which breaks down cell walls and makes the structure more porous. Compounds extract faster and more aggressively at high heat. Dropping to 82–85°C gives you the sweetness and cocoa depth without the harsh edge.

Italian Mahogany Coffee Beans — Inverted Method

Italian coffee beans are a blend of Arabica and Robusta dark roast with cinder-toffee sweetness and a cocoa finish. This is the most intense bean in the Caffe Prima range — the goal in AeroPress is to extract that sweetness cleanly without pushing into bitterness. Use the lower end of the temperature range for the smoothest result.

Parameter Setting
Dose 18g
Grind Medium-coarse (~650–700 microns)
Water 200ml at 80–82°C
Bloom 50ml, stir once, wait 30 seconds
Fill and steep Add remaining 150ml. Steep for 1:45 total.
Plunge Flip at 1:45. Plunge firmly over 25–30 seconds.
Yield ~165ml

Tip: The cinder-toffee note comes through most clearly at the lower temperature (80°C). At 85°C the cup is still good, but the sweetness competes more with the cocoa bitterness.

100% Colombian Coffee Beans — Standard Method

Our Colombian beans are mountain-grown Arabica in a medium roast. Caramel, hazelnuts and almonds with full body. No Robusta, which means a more forgiving extraction — but it still benefits from the Standard method to keep the caramel sweetness front and centre rather than buried under body.

Parameter Setting
Dose 15g
Grind Medium (~500 microns)
Water 240ml at 93–95°C
Bloom 30ml, wait 30 seconds
Steep time 2:00 minutes total
Plunge 30 seconds, steady
Yield ~215ml

As a concentrate: Use 20g at medium-fine grind with just 70ml of water at 93°C in the Inverted method. Steep 90 seconds, plunge firmly. The Colombian produces an exceptionally sweet, hazelnut-forward concentrate — try it over ice with a splash of cold water.

Brazilian Arabica Coffee Beans — Inverted, Extended Steep

100% Brazilian Arabica, light roast. Smooth and mild with almond and chocolate notes. Light roasts have a denser, less porous cell structure than dark roasts — they need higher temperature, finer grind, and longer contact time to extract properly. Rushing this bean produces a watery, underdeveloped cup.

Parameter Setting
Dose 12g
Grind Fine — similar to fine table salt (~350 microns)
Water 200ml at 95–96°C
After pouring Stir vigorously 10 times immediately
Steep time 3:00 to 4:00 minutes
Plunge Very slow — 45 seconds
Yield ~175ml — light, clean, smooth

Note on steep time: Start at 3:00 minutes. If the cup tastes thin or sour, extend to 3:30 or 4:00. The almond and chocolate notes come in as the extraction progresses — a short steep loses them entirely.

Decaffeinated Brazilian Arabica — Standard Method

CO2-processed decaf Brazilian Arabica in a medium roast. Smooth and silky with milk chocolate notes and a clean finish. The CO2 decaffeination process makes the bean more porous than the caffeinated equivalent, so it extracts faster. A shorter steep time and coarser grind than you might expect are what keep this clean and silky rather than woody.

Parameter Setting
Dose 16g
Grind Medium-coarse (~600 microns)
Water 240ml at 90°C
Steep time 90 seconds only — do not extend
Plunge 25–30 seconds
Yield ~215ml — silky, clean cup

Why shorter? Decaffeinated beans have an open cellular structure. Leave them in contact with water for a full 2 minutes and you extract a woody, papery bitterness that masks the milk chocolate notes this bean genuinely has.

Decaffeinated Espresso Coffee Beans — Inverted Method

Our decaf Espresso Coffee Beans are Mountain Water processed Mexican and MC processed Brazilian Arabica in a dark roast. Dark cocoa, milk chocolate and nut notes. The Mountain Water process preserves more of the original flavour compounds than many decaf methods, but like all decaf beans, it extracts more readily than its caffeinated equivalent — hence a shorter steep time than you would use for the Continental or Italian Mahogany at the same roast level.

Parameter Setting
Dose 17g
Grind Medium (~550 microns)
Water 200ml at 85°C
Bloom 40ml, wait 20 seconds
Total steep 1:45 minutes
Plunge Flip and plunge over 30 seconds
Yield ~170ml

Concentrate Method — All Beans

The AeroPress makes an excellent coffee concentrate — a short, strong shot that can be served over ice, diluted as a long black, or used as the base for milk drinks. The same approach works across the entire Caffe Prima range with minor temperature adjustments per roast level.

Parameter Setting
Dose 20g
Grind Fine (~300–350 microns) for dark roasts; medium-fine for medium/light roasts
Water 70ml — 90°C for dark roasts; 93°C for medium/light
Method Inverted
Stir 20 vigorous stirs after pouring
Steep 90 seconds
Plunge Firm, steady — 20–25 seconds
Yield ~45ml concentrate. Dilute to 150–200ml for a long black.

Per bean: Continental and Italian Mahogany produce the most espresso-like result — rich, dense, with strong crema. The Colombian concentrate is exceptionally sweet with pronounced hazelnut. The Brazilian Arabica gives a lighter concentrate with distinct almond notes.

World AeroPress Championship Recipes  Adapted for Caffe Prima

The World AeroPress Championship publishes all winning recipes at worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes. Competition recipes are designed for specific single-origin beans, but the techniques translate well. Below are the four most recent winners and how to apply each approach to the Caffe Prima range.

2024 Winner — George Stanica (Romania)

Original parameters: 18g, 870 micron grind (very coarse), 96°C, two 50g pours, NSEW stir for 10 seconds, press at 1:35.

Key technique: Extremely coarse grind paired with very high temperature. The coarse grind limits extraction surface area while the high temperature drives out the aromatic compounds quickly, then the brew stops before bitterness develops.

Best for Roma Blend: Use 16g at 800 microns, 96°C, two 50g pours with a 10-second NSEW stir after each. Press at 1:35. The high temperature extracts the Roma's citrus notes immediately and the coarse grind keeps the finish clean and nutty.

2023 Winner — Tay Wipvasutt (Thailand)

Original parameters: 16g + 2g late addition, 89°C, 100g water, press at 1:35.

Key technique: Adding dry grounds at the 45-second mark, partway through the steep. The late-addition grounds increase aromatic intensity — furans and pyrazines responsible for nut and caramel notes — without extracting the heavier, bitter compounds that come later in the extraction.

Best for 100% Colombian: Use 14g + 2g at 89°C. Start with 100ml water on the 14g, then at 0:45 add the remaining 2g dry. Press at 1:35. The hazelnut and almond notes of the Colombian become much more pronounced with this technique.

2022 Winner — Jure Črepič (Slovenia)

Original parameters: 18g, temperature stepping — 50g at 90°C for the bloom, then 135g at 80°C to finish. Press at 1:35.

Key technique: Using two water temperatures in the same brew. The higher temperature in the bloom triggers the initial extraction of acids and aromatics; the cooler water finishes the steep without extracting bitter, heavier compounds.

Best for Italian Mahogany: 50g at 90°C, stir once, 30-second bloom. Fill with 135g at 80°C. Press at 1:35. The temperature drop prevents the Robusta from contributing bitterness, leaving the cinder-toffee sweetness cleanly in the cup.

2021 Winner — Tuomas Merikanto (Finland)

Original parameters: 18g, 80°C, 200g water, two paper filters, press at 1:40.

Key technique: Low temperature combined with double-filtration. Two paper filters remove more oils and micro-fines, producing a cup with exceptional clarity and a light, clean mouthfeel despite being a full-strength brew.

Best for Espresso Blend as a long black: Use 15g at 80°C, double filter, press at 1:40 then dilute to 300ml. The double filter strips the Robusta oils that can produce heaviness, giving you a clear, clean Americano with defined cocoa notes.

UK Water Quality: How Your Region Affects Your Brew

Water makes up 98–99% of the finished cup. The Specialty Coffee Association recommends water with a neutral pH (around 7) and a total hardness of 50–175 ppm (mg/L CaCO₃) for optimal extraction. In the UK, water hardness varies considerably by region — and it genuinely changes what you taste in the cup.

Region Hardness (mg/L CaCO₃) Classification What to Do
London & South East 200–300+ Hard to Very Hard Use a Brita filter or filtered kettle. Hard water causes chalky bitterness and masks lighter flavour notes — especially noticeable with the Roma and Colombian.
Scotland & Wales 0–50 Soft Very soft water can produce flat, under-extracted coffee. Add a remineralisation cartridge to your filter jug, or use Third Wave Water mineral supplements.
North West & South West 51–150 Moderately Soft to Slightly Hard Generally the sweet spot. Minimal adjustment needed for most Caffe Prima beans.
Midlands 100–200 Moderately Hard Light filtration helps lighter roasts. Dark roasts like the Continental and Italian Mahogany are more forgiving of harder water.

For details, see our guide on how UK water quality affects your brew and which beans to use in your location for the best results.

Grind Size, Temperature and Brew Ratio

If you want to understand why the parameters above are what they are, here is the science in plain terms.

Grind Size

Finer grinds expose more surface area to the water and extract faster. Coarser grinds slow extraction down. The Specialty Coffee Association targets an extraction yield of 18–22% — the percentage of the grounds that successfully dissolves into the cup. For AeroPress:

  • Light roasts (Brazilian Arabica): Fine grind, 300–400 microns. Dense, less porous beans need more surface area.
  • Medium roasts (Roma, Espresso, Colombian, Decaf Brazilian): Medium-fine to medium, 450–600 microns. Balanced extraction in 2-minute brews.
  • Dark roasts (Continental, Italian Mahogany, Decaf Espresso): Medium-coarse, 600–800 microns. Porous, brittle structure extracts quickly — a coarser grind prevents bitterness.

If your cup tastes sour or thin, grind finer. If it tastes bitter or heavy, grind coarser.

Water Temperature

Higher temperatures extract more compounds, but not all of those compounds taste good. Harsh phenolic acids and bitter quinates extract more readily at high heat. This is why dark roasts use lower temperatures, not higher ones:

  • Light roasts: 95–96°C — needed to break through the dense cell walls and release sugars
  • Medium roasts: 92–94°C — the sweet spot for Maillard-derived caramel and nut compounds
  • Dark roasts: 80–85°C — second crack has already opened up the structure; lower heat prevents over-extraction of bitter compounds

Brew Ratio

The SCA Golden Cup standard targets a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of 1.15–1.35% in the finished cup. For AeroPress this typically means:

  • Full-strength: 1:15 to 1:17 (e.g., 15g coffee to 240ml water)
  • Concentrate: 1:4 (e.g., 20g coffee to 80ml water), then diluted to taste

Sources

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