Dialed in with Graham Hayes: Toronto AeroPress Champ of 2018

In the August 2018 issue, we reached out to Graham Hayes, Account Manager with De Mello Palheta - but also, a competitive Barista who won quite the bragging rights this year. In February, he won the National Coffee In Good Spirits Competition and he took top place at the Toronto AeroPress competition in May. Pretty incredible!

Graham Hayes (@instagraham_facebook), shared with us his winning-brewing-secrets which makes for quite the delicious brew of the Ethiopian natural, Shakisso, featured in August!

AeroPress Brew:

What you need:

1. AeroPress and paper filters
2. Scale and a timer
3. 20g of the Shakisso (medium-fine grind – like kosher salt)
4. 200g of water at 94-96°C (201-204°F)
5. Spoon

 Steps:

1. Place the rubber stopper about 1/2 inch into the end of the AeroPress, flip it upside down and place it on the table so that you're looking into the chamber of the brewer.
2. Put two filters in the cap and wet it to remove any paper taste.
3. Add ground coffee to the AeroPress, zero the scale and start the timer.
4. Add 40g of water for the bloom, then gently stir the slurry to make sure you saturate the grounds.
5. Put the kettle back on the heat to ensure your water temperature stays up.
6. At the 0:30 mark, start pouring 20-40g pulses every 20 seconds until you hit the 200g mark. You should reach this point at the 1:50 minute mark. In between each pulse pour, place the kettle back on the heat to bring the water temperature up to the desired temperature
7. Use a spoon to scoop out the crema/crust to remove some of the undesirable characteristics from the cup.
8. Flip it over onto a mug and press down for about 10 seconds.
9. Enjoy!

“If you were to boil the water, pour, let it bloom, let the kettle sit there, then pour again – as that kettle is sitting there and as the water is sitting in the AeroPress, it’s slowly cooling down - the extraction is slowing down over time, so I’m just trying to keep that extraction consistent the entire time through the whole process.”