Best AeroPress Coffee Makers Tested and Reviewed (2025) Leave a comment

As soon as upon a time, each AeroPress was the very best AeroPress. However the humble AeroPress espresso maker has since multiplied. It has turn out to be numerous. The previous half decade or so has introduced an explosion of latest variations of AeroPress: a plastic-free premium AeroPress (7/10, WIRED Recommends), a big AeroPress, a small AeroPress, a red AeroPress, a blue AeroPress.

However at its coronary heart, the AeroPress stays a compact and ingeniously easy espresso maker, utilizing stress utilized by hand to extract a clean however richly flavorful and fragrant cup. Famously created by a Stanford-educated inventor beforehand recognized for bettering the aerodynamics of the flying disc, every AeroPress seems a bit like a fats syringe that injects brewed espresso by means of a filter and into your ready mug. It does not appear to be it ought to make espresso nearly as good because it does. And but it does, attaining a outcome someplace between French press, espresso, and filter espresso. Be happy to observe the recipe on the field. However the gadget additionally permits a exceptional quantity of management over your espresso as you alter grind, brewing time, agitation, bloom, and filter of alternative.

The AeroPress has impressed cultish fandom since its introduction in 2005, to not point out a burgeoning aftermarket of equipment and mods. And but it took until 2019 for AeroPress to launch a second mannequin, a barely smaller journey model referred to as the AeroPress Go (9/10, WIRED Recommends). After fairness firm Tiny Capital acquired a majority stake in AeroPress in 2021, the portal to the AeroPress multiverse was thrown open. Aeropress now makes alternate filters, flow-control caps, gadget organizers, and a scorching pink AeroPress (as a result of why not?). A few of that is advertising and marketing. Some’s an actual enchancment—or at the very least an alternate imaginative and prescient for an already quirky espresso maker.

Here is our greatest recommendation on which model of AeroPress to get, and our favourite equipment from AeroPress and different makers.

Make sure to try our different espresso guides, together with the Greatest Espresso Grinders, Greatest Drip Espresso Makers, Greatest Espresso Bean Subscriptions, and Greatest Espresso Machines.

Up to date April 2025: We’ve added the AeroPress Premium, Fellow Prismo, AeroPress Journey Filter Holder, AeroPress Stainless Metal Filter, Hexnub Bamboo Organizer, and Coffeesock wool filters. We’ve additionally retested earlier AeroPress gadgets, and up to date hyperlinks and costs all through. The unique model of this information was written by WIRED contributor Joe Ray.

Greatest AeroPress General

The WIRED workforce has lengthy admired AeroPress. Reporter Steven Levy profiled its inventor in his Palo Alto workplace a decade in the past, when AeroPress mania was first reaching fever pitch. However like plenty of low-cost, handy issues, the unique AeroPress is product of (BPA-free, pthalate-free, licensed food-safe) plastic. And microplastics are a priority that’s quickly rising in scope and significance, amid some real health questions.

At a little bit of a value premium, the brand new plastic-free AeroPress Premium is the reply: a steel-and-glass AeroPress with sturdy development and the identical nice capability to make AeroPress-style espresso. WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar, a longtime AeroPress fan, has stowed his beloved authentic AeroPress together with his tenting gear in favor of the brand new Premium as a house gadget. Notice, nevertheless, he had intermittent points with espresso blowouts on one assessment pattern, a “manageable quirk” he solved through the use of AeroPress’s chrome steel filter we talk about under.

Prettiest AeroPresses

Magnificence is not free. It prices $10 additional. The brand new Clears and Colours (that are additionally thought of Clears) are just about the identical gadget as the great old style AeroPress Authentic. They simply occur to be better-looking, brighter, extra numerous, and barely costlier. Some AeroPress lovers recognize that the Clear enables you to see the brewing course of—although if I will be trustworthy, espresso slurry is not precisely a fireworks present. The actual good thing about the brand new designs is that you just get to decide on a shade that matches your shirt, your kitchen decor, or your entire vibe.

Greatest Finances Traditional

For those who’re a longtime AeroPress proprietor, likelihood is that is the one you have bought. You most likely really feel nostalgic and deeply connected, and rightly so. That mentioned, the unique Authentic AeroPress shade was truly clear. This “smoked” shade was added in 2010 to cut back notion of espresso staining, again when AeroPress was made with a special materials. Now, this smokiness has advanced right into a design hallmark. Amid the proliferation of AeroPress sizes and colours, the Authentic’s design has remained largely unchanged for 15 years. And lately it is $10 cheaper than the newer bright-colored and clear AeroPresses, which work the very same manner. Shopping for the Authentic marks you as a sensible one who cares not for frippery.

Greatest for Frequent Fliers

The travel-friendly 8-ounce Go (9/10 WIRED Recommends) is, on the one hand, only a barely smaller AeroPress. On the opposite, says WIRED contributor Joe Ray, it is an “ingenious” improve he could favor to the unique, nestling inside a mug for simple transport to a campsite or a resort. Voila: no extra unhappy resort Okay-cups. Grind no matter beans you possibly can earlier than heading out tenting—or in the event you’re in a brand new metropolis, purchase a bag and ask them to grind for AeroPress. (Though, in the event you actually need to go for it whereas tenting, strive our favourite hand grinder, the Kingrinder K6, at a grind setting between 60 and 90 clicks.)

AeroPress additionally launched an up to date journey AeroPress referred to as the Go Plus ($80), however this one’s a little bit of a dud, in accordance with Ray: It is made for an insulated journey mug whose magnetic slider makes it disagreeable to drink from. The Go Plus can also be too small to make use of with standard-sized mugs at residence, limiting its use case significantly. Follow the usual Go.

Greatest for (Actually) Large Boys

AeroPress followers have been clamoring for an even bigger model of the basic brewer for years, largely as a result of the Authentic’s 10-ounce capability signifies that making espresso for multiple particular person generally is a ache within the butt. These followers bought their want with a mannequin that is twice the scale of the unique. However larger doesn’t appear to be higher. Actually, larger appears just a little extra harmful. Whereas the Authentic, 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 huge to brew instantly into most mugs. It additionally good points plenty of peak. With the plunger prolonged and related 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 scorching liquids you probably won’t need 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 scorching water you are perching excessive above your countertop, legs, and personal elements. For those who actually love AeroPress, need an additional cup’s price each time you brew, and are not postpone by the potential perils, go for it, however most of us who crave extra espresso would probably be higher off with a special type of brewer. —Joe Ray

Put a Lid on It?

The Fellow Prismo, initially launched in 2020, was a revelation, although not for the rationale it was marketed. The large thought is that by changing the usual filter cap with a cap outfitted with a pressure-actuated valve, you possibly can pave the way in which to make precise espresso along with your AeroPress. You do that by grinding your espresso finer after which pushing actually, actually onerous on the plunger. In observe, this can be a little little bit of hooey. Your arm isn’t creating the 9 bars of stress required to provide espresso, regardless of how onerous you lean. However by grinding tremendous, utilizing much less water, and pushing the brew by means of the tiny holes of the Prismo’s chrome steel filter, you possibly can certainly make a powerful and espresso-like substance with some crema. It’s kind of extra astringent than espresso, to my style. However right here we’re.

For me, what made the Prismo terrific was that its valve fastened the sluggish leak by means of the AeroPress’s customary filter cap. The usual model dribbles a bit whereas steeping, inflicting aficionados to do bizarre stuff like brew “inverted,” and then flip over a column filled with boiling hot liquid earlier than plunging. The Prismo avoids the necessity for such early morning adrenaline, and in addition stops your valuable elixir from dribbling into your mug earlier than you plunge the AeroPress. I just about completely use the Prismo or AeroPress’s movement management cap, for this exact cause. And although the chrome steel filter is required for the Prismo to work, you possibly can add a paper filter atop it for extra readability of taste.

AeroPress now has its personal model of flow-control filter cap referred to as, catchily, a “Circulate Management Filter Cap.” The unique movement management had a bent to leak, in accordance with some on-line reviews, however AeroPress appears to have fastened this challenge within the meantime: I’ve not had the issue. The Circulate Management Cap prices the identical because the Prismo, and each are equally profitable at stopping the AeroPress from leaking earlier than its time. So the primary distinction between AeroPress’s and Fellow’s filter cap is as follows: The Prismo comes with a stainless-steel filter on the identical value, but additionally requires that you just use the metal filter. (The rubber O-ring on Prismo’s metal filter stops the gadget from leaking.) So in the event you like a stainless-steel filter? Use the Prismo. If not, roll with AeroPress’s model.

Additionally, this is a tip for individuals who cannot work out the right way to expel espresso pucks utilizing the Prismo or Circulate Management with out making a large number. Pull again the plunger just a little after brewing. It will create a vacuum and suck the espresso puck again up with it. Then take away the filter cap, and plunge out the espresso puck into the bin. You are welcome.

Filtered Outcomes

AeroPress makes reusable metal filters in a number of colours as a substitute for disposable paper filters. Some folks pitch this as an environmental determination, in lowering waste. However on condition that paper filters are small, and also you’re utilizing water and cleaning soap to rinse espresso oils off this metal filter, it is all probably a little bit of a wash (see what I did there?). The actual distinction is choice and taste. The metal filter will provide physique that is a bit extra like French press, with extra espresso fines and oils within the espresso, however to some (together with me) the flavour will style extra diffuse or muddy. The metal filter may even provide you with a little bit of satisfying crema in the event you push tremendous espresso by means of it with the Prismo or Circulate Management Cap. The usual paper filters will provide extra readability of taste and take away all sediment and plenty of the espresso, however will not have the physique of the steel-filtered stuff. However observe for the heart-conscious: Research going again a long time present that unfiltered espresso comprises chemical compounds referred to as diterpenes which can be related to a major enhance in LDL ldl cholesterol. Paper filters have been proven to take away these chemical compounds. Metal filters haven’t.

One other theoretically environmentally pleasant possibility is cotton-wool filters, not in contrast to the filter used within the basic Toddy to make chilly brew. An Austin, Texas, firm referred to as CoffeeSock makes reusable woolen filters for chilly brew, pour-over, AeroPress, you title it. A 3-pack goes for $15. I did not overwhelmingly like the flavour I bought utilizing woolen filters on my AeroPress—it was just a little muddy-tasting, and perhaps even just a little gym-socky—and it is plenty of work rinsing and drying and principally doing laundry on my espresso filter. However perhaps you will prefer it greater than I did.

The Greatest AeroPress Caddy

The AeroPress is each a remarkably easy espresso gadget and a tool with plenty of humorous little elements. There is a scoop in the event you’re a scooping kind, a funnel in the event you’re a grinder and pourer, a tamper in the event you like to combine up your AeroPress whereas it brews. There are filters. There is a filter cap, and perhaps your alternate valve-modulated filter cap. Thank goodness for Hexnub, a British firm based by former F1 racing gearheads, which makes by far probably the most compact and downright handsomest answer I’ve discovered. This little bamboo caddy sits properly on a countertop, with slots for an AeroPress and all of the . It sports activities equally good-looking little silicone mats to catch stray liquid. AeroPress makes its personal stainless steel countertop organizer ($100) for its devices, in the event you’d quite a cyberpunk vibe.

Taking the Case

Every AeroPress used to return with just a little vertical stand to your filters. That is not true. As a substitute, this compact little journey case is bought individually. Do you want just a little filter-holder? I dunno. However it does not price quite a bit, it is compact in the event you’re taking the AeroPress on the go, and it seems undeniably nicer than a ziplock baggie. It additionally removes the prospect you splash all of your paper filters with water out of your sink. What I can say is that I am just a little happier now that I’ve it.

When You’re Having Funnel

It is a funnel. It additionally used to return with the AeroPress however not does. For those who pour fresh-ground espresso into your AeroPress quite than scooping, you will most likely recognize having this. It is also good for not spilling water whereas pouring rom a kettle. Funnels are good for not spilling stuff, normally. A number of corporations make knockoffs, however the ones we have seen aren’t even cheaper than the one from AeroPress. And this funnel says “AeroPress” on it, which is classier.