Carolina Ibarra Garay’s Winning Recipe from the World Aeropress Championship

2018 W.A.C. Champhion Carolina Ibarray Garay (right) with emcee Michelle Johnson. Photo by Abi Varney, courtesy of W.A.C.

Angeleno by way of Colombia Carolina Ibarra Garay beat out 55 other national champion Aeropress competitors this past weekend in Sydney, Australia, becoming the first ever World Aeropress Champion representing the United States.

Photo by Abi Varney, courtesy of W.A.C.

The manager of Los Angeles’ Café de Leche, Garay used a compulsory coffee — a new change for the W.A.C. competition structure — provided by renowned Australian roasting company Single O and sourced from green coffee seller Cafe Imports. The Kenya Mugaya AA is currently available from Single O, meaning Aeropress aficionados have the rare opportunity to recreate the winning recipe right in their own home kitchens.

Garay with second-place finisher Xiaobo Zhang of China (right), and third-place finisher Evgeni Pinchukov of Belarus. Photo by Abi Varney, courtesy of W.A.C.

Should you be so obsessively inclined, here’s Garay’s winning recipe, courtesy of the W.A.C. team:

2019 World Aeropress Championship Recipe from Carolina Ibarra Garay

Setup

Coffee: Mugaya AA
Origin: Kirinyaga, Kenya
Roasted by: Single O
Imported by: Cafe Imports
Brewer position: Inverted
Filter: Paper filter
Preparation: Rinsed with hot water
Coffee weight: 34.9g
Grinder: Mahlkonig EK43S
Grind size: 8
Water weight: 200g
Type of water: Filtered water by Brita
Temperature: 85°C

Method

Step 1: Set your water temperature at 85°C
Step 2: Prepare filter paper and grind coffee
Step 3: Pour 100g of water for 30 seconds
Step 4: Stir vigorously but carefully with wooden pair of chopsticks for 30 seconds
Step 5: Put the filter cap on, flip the AeroPress and press into a glass server for 30 seconds
Step 6: Do not preheat your serving vessel.
Step 7: Top up your brew with 60g of 85°C water and 40g of room temperature water