Best AeroPress Coffee Makers Tested and Reviewed (2024)

You’ll want to try our different espresso guides, together with the Best Coffee Grinders, Best Portable Coffee Makers, Best Coffee Bean Subscriptions, and Best Espresso Machines.

Up to date July 2024: We’ve added the AeroPress Go Plus and the newest model of the Clear, and we’ve up to date hyperlinks and costs all through.

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Finest for House or Workplace

In the event you’re a longtime AeroPress proprietor, likelihood is that is the one you’ve got bought. Not a lot of a looker in its cloudy grey shade, however it’s an exceedingly excessive performer and has been a favourite of baristas and residential brewers because it got here out. A part of the reason being that it means that you can management so lots of the brewing variables: water temperature, quantity of espresso, grind measurement, and bloom and brew instances. Even when you do not make an ideal cup, it is normally nonetheless fairly good. The compact measurement means it barely takes up more room than a mug in your kitchen, and it is pretty straightforward to tackle a visit. Plasticky? Sure, but additionally sturdy sufficient that I now not keep in mind how lengthy I’ve owned mine. I’ve an Unique and a Go, and I have a tendency to make use of the previous at dwelling and take the Go on the highway. If I labored in an workplace, I’d maintain an Unique there. In comparison with the opposite fashions, it is most likely essentially the most versatile, able to accommodate your interior nerd if you wish to take a deep dive. Even when this had been nonetheless the one one in existence, we might be simply as fanatical about it.

Finest for Frequent Fliers

It by no means actually dawned on me that the Unique may very well be improved, and in a method the Go is only a barely smaller model, but the adjustments are ingenious, permitting for it to nestle inside a mug, together with a scoop, stirrer, and little compactlike clamshell that holds filters. Pack all of it up and toss it within the backside of your suitcase to your subsequent flight, or put it in your backpack and head for the hills. (Campers love these.) You’ll be able to, after all, convey complete beans and a hand grinder, however that looks as if overkill to me. Grind what you want earlier than heading for the nice open air or, in case your journey is extra city, discover a espresso store at your vacation spot, meet some locals, purchase a bag, ask them to “grind it for AeroPress,” and ask if they’ve any brewing solutions—I guess they may. Earlier than you skip city, purchase a bag of beans to grind at dwelling and name it each a memento and self-care reward. The 8-ounce Go (9/10 WIRED Recommends) is clearly for the vacationers on the market, however should you’re not too finicky, it is shut sufficient to the 10-ounce Unique that proudly owning each feels redundant. I journey lots, so if I needed to pare it down, this may be The One.

Aeropress additionally not too long ago launched an replace known as the Go Plus ($80), however this one’s a little bit of a dud. Whereas the unique Go is a tiny marvel, able to make your morning cup in your kitchen or be packed into its mug and tossed in your backpack or carry-on bag, the Go Plus appears to be extra angled towards commuters, with all of its brewing elements and equipment packed inside an insulated steel journey mug. Two large issues drag it down. First, the magnetic slider on its cup lid makes consuming from it surprisingly disagreeable, because it’ll probably be touching your nostril as you drink, leaving you caught in a bizarre nether house between making a seal and never making one; it’s neither sip nor suck. Worse, in contrast to the Unique, Clear, and Go, you possibly can’t brew it right into a mug with an inside diameter smaller than three inches … which is to say, most mugs. It is also laborious to puzzle out precisely whom it is for. In contrast with the Go, it feels somewhat too heavy to convey alongside in your baggage, and should you’re alleged to drink it in a automobile, do you simply depart the brewing elements at dwelling? At that time, you could possibly use a traditional AeroPress and simply pour it right into a journey mug that you simply like.

Finest for Gifting

Whereas there is not an enormous distinction between the brand new Clears and the Unique, these are our new favorites. The utterly clear model is superb for seeing what is going on on contained in the brewing chamber and is … clearly … higher trying than the cloudy, opaque Unique, which may very well be thought of our price range choose now. The various shade choices make it somewhat more durable to see what is going on on in there, and whereas we are typically extra functionally centered with our evaluations, having one thing cheery-looking that does not remind you of lab gear or plumbing will definitely open doorways to new customers. In the event you already personal an AeroPress, there is no purpose to improve, however should you’re simply beginning out, that is the place.

Finest for (Actually) Massive Boys

AeroPress followers have been clamoring for a much bigger model of the basic brewer for years, principally as a result of the Unique’s 10-ounce capability means making espresso for multiple particular person is usually a ache within the butt. These followers bought their want with a mannequin that is twice the dimensions of the unique. However greater doesn’t appear to be higher. In actual fact, greater appears somewhat extra harmful. Whereas the Unique, Clear, and Go all use the identical measurement cap and filter, each bit of the XL is bigger. It has its personal filters, and also you brew into the carafe it comes with, as a result of the XL’s bigger diameter makes it too large to brew straight into most mugs. It additionally features loads of top. With the plunger prolonged and linked to the barrel, and all of that sitting on the carafe, it is 19 inches excessive. In our testing, 5’3″ Seattle barista Reyna Callejo from Olympia Espresso Roasting Firm stood on a stool to get it to work, a balancing act involving sizzling liquids you probably won’t wish to be doing earlier than your morning espresso, or ever, actually. Utilizing the inverted technique additionally feels extra perilous—that is half a liter of sizzling water you are perching excessive above your countertop, legs, and personal elements. In the event you actually love AeroPress, need an additional cup’s value each time you brew, and are not delay by the potential perils, go for it, however most of us who crave extra espresso would probably be higher off with a distinct form of brewer.

Put a Lid on It?

This accent—which attaches to all AeroPress fashions besides the XL—is designed to maintain your brewing dripless, which it does if issues are working proper. A ketchup-bottle-style pressure-actuated valve permits the inverted-averse to experiment with grind sizes and brewing instances with no drip. Your espresso will not go wherever till you press the plunger. It additionally is meant to create an “espresso-style crema” with darkish roast, which seems to be vaguely sudsy bubbles, not the scrumptious, dense, caffeinated foamy goodness you may hope for. It is form of just like the peach fuzz on a teenage boy’s higher lip in comparison with a legit bushy mustache. In actual fact, I didn’t discover a lot in the way in which of optimistic change that the cap had on the espresso it made. That move management works nice, although. Good luck cleanly ejecting the puck into the compost bin; with out some peculiar futzing that I—and lots of people on-line—by no means found out, the filter and a layer of grounds are inclined to detach from the remainder of the puck and get caught within the cap. I had enjoyable trying by the Amazon evaluations, lots of which complained about leaking, however laughed out loud on the one which hit dwelling essentially the most: “I do not assume it does something.”

Filtered Outcomes

This reusable stainless filter permits AeroPress customers to keep away from utilizing and pitching the paper filters. Chopping down on paper waste is a noble intention, however I used to be pretty unimpressed with the outcomes. Most notably, the tip product is way sludgier than what AeroPress customers are used to. Even for me, a French-press fan who does not thoughts some sediment within the backside of my cup, this appeared like lots. Until you employ a Circulation Management cap, the stainless filter additionally lets espresso drip by a lot quicker than a paper filter does. Amazingly, water poured from a faucet by an empty (no grounds) AeroPress with the stainless filter and inventory cap will fill then overfill the vessel beneath it, not the brewing chamber. With a paper filter and the identical cap, the brewing chamber fills, then takes effectively over a minute to empty out. Equally, if you’re brewing espresso and depress the plunger, it sinks so quick and simply that protecting regular stress on it’s tough. Lastly, amongst all of our each day environmental sins, pitching a compostable 2.5-inch-wide paper disc (which can be utilized for a number of brewings) barely makes a blip in contrast with, say, that plastic- or plastic-lined bag your espresso is available in. As with the Circulation Management cap, there’s most likely a tiny area of interest of people that will make common use of this, however I believe most of us will drop 15 bucks on it, wrestle with it a number of instances, then overlook about it within the utensil drawer.

My Personal AeroPress Setup

Most of us shall be utterly proud of only one AeroPress. By work, I occur to personal two, which is generally redundant. If I needed to whittle it right down to only one, I would take the Go. If I traveled much less, I would be high-quality with the Unique and simply take that on journeys—it does simply high-quality.

The remainder of my dwelling setup contains an Oxo scale for weighing espresso beans by the gram. The present model of the size is this Stainless Steel Food Scale ($56), an awesome all-rounder within the kitchen. WIRED reviewer Michael Calore likes Oxo’s Precision Scale ($56) that contains a built-in timer, which is helpful with extra difficult AeroPress or pour-over brews.

My grinder is a Baratza Encore ($150), which I really like for the standard of the grind, general worth, and sturdiness. It is also repairable, a spot the place many different producers fall quick.

Whereas I really like the look of gooseneck kettles, I discover them finicky and slow-pouring once I’m not utilizing them for espresso. As an alternative, I have been utilizing the Cuisinart CPK-17 ($100) for 4 years, and it is nonetheless chugging away high-quality. It is a reviewers’ darling, with six preset temperatures and a “maintain heat” button to carry it at that temperature for half-hour.

One little factor I’ve come to understand is engaged on a silicone mat whereas I brew. AeroPress fails are rites of passage, principally as a result of they’ll make a spectacular mess. I take advantage of a Silpat mat from my baking drawer, which offers a stable, nonslip base and helps maintain catastrophe at bay.