AeroPress Championship Finals Recipe: "Zuppa Lunga" Method
Last time, I told you all about my journey through the North East heats of the English AeroPress Championships. Well, I must have done something right, because I managed to make it through to the National Final.
That meant one thing: it was time to take my AeroPress recipe up a notch.
I had a few months to work on my brew method, tweak the recipe and figure out how to get the best possible cup from the mystery competition coffee.
My previous recipe had earned me second place in the heats, so rather than completely reinventing it, I wanted to build on what had worked. The goal was still the same: bright acidity, big sweetness and minimal bitterness.
Finding the Right AeroPress Recipe
While researching different AeroPress brewing methods online, I came across Lance Hedrick, who had just shared a Zuppa Lunga AeroPress recipe.
It immediately caught my attention.
What is Zuppa Lunga?
Zuppa Lunga literally translates to “long soup” and is a coffee brewing method popularised for the OXO Good Grips brewer.
The method is designed to produce a balanced cup with plenty of sweetness, bright acidity, juiciness and a medium-to-heavy mouthfeel.
Basically, it ticked every box I was looking for in my competition brew.
So I studied the method, tweaked a few things here and there and then did what anyone preparing for the English AeroPress Championships would do:
practised, practised and practised some more.
Why Use the Zuppa Lunga AeroPress Method?
The Zuppa Lunga method is a little more fiddly than my standard AeroPress coffee recipe.
It uses two paper filters; one underneath the coffee and another on top - and involves tamping the coffee bed before brewing.
Those extra steps introduce a few more variables and, naturally, a few more opportunities for things to go wrong.
Thankfully, nothing went disastrously wrong during the National Final.
That didn't stop me from being eliminated in the first round, but the judges did say it was a very difficult round to judge, so I'm choosing to take that as a win.
And, more importantly, I came away with a seriously good AeroPress recipe.
So, here it is.
Mat's AeroPress Championship Zuppa Lunga Recipe
You'll need:
Step-by-Step AeroPress Recipe
Heat your water to 84°C.
Place one paper filter into the AeroPress filter cap and lock it into place.
Add 15g of coffee, ground towards the fine end of a typical filter coffee setting.
Place a second paper filter on top of the coffee inside the chamber.
Insert the plunger and use it to gently push the second filter paper down onto the coffee grounds.
Press firmly to tamp the coffee bed.
Remove the plunger. The second filter paper should now be wrapped around the end.
Place the second paper filter back into the chamber. Use the AeroPress scoop, paddle or a spoon to make sure it sits completely flat on top of the coffee grounds.
Add 150ml of water at 84°C. Pour gently into the centre of the filter paper to make sure it stays in place.
The water should sit in a column above the coffee grounds.
Insert the plunger and press steadily until you hear the hiss.
While brewing, bring your remaining water up to 92°C.
Your AeroPress should yield approximately 136g of brewed coffee.
Once the water reaches 92°C, top up your brewed coffee until the total weight reaches 150g.
Give it a stir, let it cool slightly, sip and enjoy.
What Does This AeroPress Recipe Taste Like?
The aim of this recipe is to create an AeroPress coffee with bright acidity, plenty of sweetness, juicy flavours and very little bitterness, while maintaining a fuller mouthfeel than you might expect from a typical AeroPress brew. It works perfectly with our Organic Doyo Coffee.
It's certainly more involved than our everyday AeroPress method, but if you enjoy experimenting with speciality coffee at home, it's a fun one to try.
And if it's good enough to make it all the way to the English AeroPress Championship National Final, it's probably worth getting the kettle on for.
Now all you need is some good coffee...
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