As soon as upon a time, each AeroPress was one of the best AeroPress. However the humble AeroPress espresso maker has since multiplied. It has grow to be varied. 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 huge AeroPress, a small AeroPress, a purple AeroPress, a blue AeroPress.
However at its coronary heart, the AeroPress stays a compact and ingeniously easy espresso maker, utilizing strain utilized by hand to extract a easy however richly flavorful and fragrant cup. Famously created by a Stanford-educated inventor beforehand recognized for enhancing the aerodynamics of the flying disc, every AeroPress seems a bit like a fats syringe that injects brewed espresso by way 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 consequence someplace between French press, espresso, and filter espresso. Be happy to comply with the recipe on the field. However the machine additionally permits a outstanding quantity of management over your espresso as you alter grind, brewing time, agitation, bloom, and filter of selection.
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 known 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. Some’s an actual enchancment—or not less than an alternate imaginative and prescient for an already quirky espresso maker.
This is our greatest recommendation on which model of AeroPress to get, and our favourite equipment from AeroPress and different makers.
Make sure to take a look at 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 units, and up to date hyperlinks and costs all through. The unique model of this information was written by WIRED contributor Joe Ray.
Greatest AeroPress Total
The WIRED crew 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 loads of low-cost, handy issues, the unique AeroPress is made from (BPA-free, pthalate-free, licensed food-safe) plastic. And microplastics are a priority that’s quickly rising in scope and significance, amid some actual well being 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 unique AeroPress together with his tenting gear in favor of the brand new Premium as a house machine. Word, nevertheless, he had intermittent points with espresso blowouts on one overview pattern, a “manageable quirk” he solved through the use of AeroPress’s chrome steel filter we focus on 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 machine as the great old style AeroPress Unique. They only occur to be better-looking, brighter, extra varied, and barely costlier. Some AeroPress lovers admire that the Clear permits you to see the brewing course of—although if I’ll be sincere, espresso slurry is not precisely a fireworks present. The true good thing about the brand new designs is that you simply 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 received. You in all probability really feel nostalgic and deeply connected, and rightly so. That mentioned, the unique Unique AeroPress shade was really clear. This “smoked” shade was added in 2010 to scale back notion of espresso staining, again when AeroPress was made with a unique materials. Now, this smokiness has advanced right into a design hallmark. Amid the proliferation of AeroPress sizes and colours, the Unique’s design has remained principally unchanged for 15 years. And today it is $10 cheaper than the newer bright-colored and clear AeroPresses, which work the very same manner. Shopping for the Unique 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 might 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 may 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, attempt 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 known as the Go Plus ($80), however this one’s a little bit of a dud, in line 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 dwelling, limiting its use case significantly. Follow the usual Go.
Greatest for (Actually) Large Boys
AeroPress followers have been clamoring for a much bigger model of the traditional brewer for years, principally as a result of the Unique’s 10-ounce capability implies that making espresso for a couple of particular person could be a ache within the butt. These followers received 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 a bit extra harmful. Whereas the Unique, Clear, and Go all use the identical dimension cap and filter, every 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 straight into most mugs. It additionally features loads 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 possible is not going to need to be doing earlier than your morning espresso, or ever, actually. Utilizing the inverted methodology additionally feels extra perilous—that is half a liter of scorching water you are perching excessive above your countertop, legs, and personal components. For those who 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 possible be higher off with a unique form 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 concept is that by changing the usual filter cap with a cap outfitted with a pressure-actuated valve, you may pave the best way 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 strain required to supply espresso, regardless of how onerous you lean. However by grinding advantageous, utilizing much less water, and pushing the brew by way of the tiny holes of the Prismo’s chrome steel filter, you may 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 mounted the gradual leak by way of the AeroPress’s commonplace filter cap. The usual model dribbles a bit whereas steeping, inflicting aficionados to do bizarre stuff like brew “inverted,” after which flip over a column stuffed with boiling scorching liquid earlier than plunging. The Prismo avoids the necessity for such early morning adrenaline, and likewise stops your treasured elixir from dribbling into your mug earlier than you plunge the AeroPress. I just about completely use the Prismo or AeroPress’s circulate management cap, for this exact motive. And although the chrome steel filter is required for the Prismo to work, you may add a paper filter atop it for extra readability of taste.
AeroPress now has its personal model of flow-control filter cap known as, catchily, a “Stream Management Filter Cap.” The unique circulate management had an inclination to leak, in line with some on-line reviews, however AeroPress appears to have mounted this concern within the meantime: I’ve not had the issue. The Stream 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 principle distinction between AeroPress’s and Fellow’s filter cap is as follows: The Prismo comes with a stainless-steel filter on the similar value, but additionally requires that you simply use the metal filter. (The rubber O-ring on Prismo’s metal filter stops the machine 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 many who cannot work out the best way to expel espresso pucks utilizing the Prismo or Stream Management with out making a multitude. Pull again the plunger a bit after brewing. This may 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 an alternative choice to disposable paper filters. Some individuals pitch this as an environmental choice, in decreasing waste. However provided 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 possible a little bit of a wash (see what I did there?). The true 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 will even offer you a little bit of satisfying crema in the event you push advantageous espresso by way of it with the Prismo or Stream Management Cap. The usual paper filters will provide extra readability of taste and take away all sediment and loads of the espresso, however will not have the physique of the steel-filtered stuff. However observe for the heart-conscious: Research going again many years present that unfiltered espresso comprises chemical compounds known as diterpenes which might 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 not like the filter used within the traditional Toddy to make chilly brew. An Austin, Texas, firm known 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 received utilizing woolen filters on my AeroPress—it was a bit muddy-tasting, and perhaps even a bit gym-socky—and it is loads of work rinsing and drying and mainly doing laundry on my espresso filter. However perhaps you may prefer it greater than I did.
The Greatest AeroPress Caddy
The AeroPress is each a remarkably easy espresso machine and a tool with loads of humorous little components. There is a scoop in the event you’re a scooping sort, 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 essentially 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 chrome steel countertop organizer ($100) for its units, in the event you’d fairly a cyberpunk vibe.
Taking the Case
Every AeroPress used to come back with a bit vertical stand to your filters. That is not true. As a substitute, this compact little journey case is offered individually. Do you want a bit filter-holder? I dunno. Nevertheless it does not price rather a lot, 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 a bit happier now that I’ve it.
When You’re Having Funnel
It is a funnel. It additionally used to come back with the AeroPress however not does. For those who pour fresh-ground espresso into your AeroPress fairly than scooping, you may in all probability admire 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 firms 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.