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 into numerous. The previous half decade or so has introduced an explosion of recent 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 easy however richly flavorful and fragrant cup. Famously created by a Stanford-educated inventor previously known for improving 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 pretty much as good because it does. And but it does, attaining a outcome someplace between French press, espresso, and filter espresso. Be at liberty to comply with the recipe on the field. However the gadget additionally permits a outstanding quantity of management over your espresso as you modify 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.
This is our greatest recommendation on which model of AeroPress to get, and our favourite equipment from AeroPress and different makers.
Make sure you take a look at our different espresso guides, together with the Best Coffee Grinders, Best Drip Coffee Makers, Best Coffee Bean Subscriptions, and Best 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.
Finest AeroPress Total
The WIRED group 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 a number 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 rapidly rising in scope and importance, amid some real health questions.
At a little bit of a worth premium, the brand new plastic-free AeroPress Premium is the reply: a steel-and-glass AeroPress with sturdy building and the identical nice means to make AeroPress-style espresso. WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar, a longtime AeroPress fan, has stowed his beloved authentic AeroPress along with his tenting gear in favor of the new Premium as a home device. Notice, nonetheless, he had intermittent points with espresso blowouts on one assessment pattern, a “manageable quirk” he solved by utilizing AeroPress’s chrome steel filter we focus on beneath.
Prettiest AeroPresses
Magnificence is not free. It prices $10 additional. The brand new Clears and Colours (that are additionally thought-about Clears) are just about the identical gadget as the nice old school AeroPress Authentic. They only occur to be better-looking, brighter, extra numerous, and barely costlier. Some AeroPress lovers recognize that the Clear helps you to see the brewing course of—although if I’ll 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.
Finest Price range Traditional
If you happen to’re a longtime AeroPress proprietor, likelihood is that is the one you’ve got received. You in all probability really feel nostalgic and deeply hooked up, and rightly so. That mentioned, the unique Authentic 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 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 as of late it is $10 cheaper than the newer bright-colored and clear AeroPresses, which work the very same means. Shopping for the Authentic marks you as a sensible one that cares not for frippery.
Finest 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 want 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’ll be able to earlier than heading out tenting—or if you happen to’re in a brand new metropolis, purchase a bag and ask them to grind for AeroPress. (Though, if you happen to actually wish to go for it whereas tenting, attempt our favorite 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 house, limiting its use case significantly. Persist with the usual Go.
Finest for (Actually) Huge 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 implies that making espresso for multiple particular person is usually 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. Actually, greater appears a bit of 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 straight into most mugs. It additionally positive factors a number 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 scorching liquids you seemingly won’t wish 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 non-public components. If you happen to actually love AeroPress, need an additional cup’s price each time you brew, and are not delay by the potential perils, go for it, however most of us who crave extra espresso would seemingly 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 explanation it was marketed. The massive concept is that by changing the usual filter cap with a cap outfitted with a pressure-actuated valve, you’ll be able to 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 laborious on the plunger. In observe, it is a little little bit of hooey. Your arm isn’t creating the 9 bars of stress required to provide espresso, regardless of how laborious you lean. However by grinding wonderful, utilizing much less water, and pushing the brew by way of the tiny holes of the Prismo’s chrome steel filter, you’ll be able to 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 sluggish leak by way 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 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 circulation management cap, for this exact motive. And although the chrome steel filter is required for the Prismo to work, you’ll be able to 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 “Circulation Management Filter Cap.” The unique circulation management had a bent to leak, in accordance with some on-line experiences, however AeroPress appears to have mounted this difficulty within the meantime: I’ve not had the issue. The Circulation 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 chrome steel filter on the similar worth, 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 if you happen to like a chrome steel filter? Use the Prismo. If not, roll with AeroPress’s model.
Additionally, here is a tip for many who cannot work out the way to expel espresso pucks utilizing the Prismo or Circulation Management with out making a large number. Pull again the plunger a bit of 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 folks pitch this as an environmental choice, 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 seemingly a little bit of a wash (see what I did there?). The actual distinction is desire and taste. The metal filter will supply 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 if you happen to push wonderful espresso by way of it with the Prismo or Circulation Management Cap. The usual paper filters will supply extra readability of taste and take away all sediment and a number of the espresso, however will not have the physique of the steel-filtered stuff. However notice for the heart-conscious: Research going back decades present that unfiltered espresso comprises chemical substances 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 substances. Metal filters haven’t.
One other theoretically environmentally pleasant choice is cotton-wool filters, not in contrast to the filter used within the basic Toddy to make cold brew. An Austin, Texas, firm referred to as CoffeeSock makes reusable woolen filters for chilly brew, pour-over, AeroPress, you identify 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 of muddy-tasting, and perhaps even a bit of gym-socky—and it is a number of work rinsing and drying and mainly doing laundry on my espresso filter. However perhaps you will prefer it greater than I did.
The Finest AeroPress Caddy
The AeroPress is each a remarkably easy espresso gadget and a tool with a number of humorous little components. There is a scoop if you happen to’re a scooping kind, a funnel if you happen to’re a grinder and pourer, a tamper if you happen to 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 resolution 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, if you happen to’d moderately a cyberpunk vibe.
Taking the Case
Every AeroPress used to come back with a bit of vertical stand on your filters. That is now not true. As a substitute, this compact little journey case is bought individually. Do you want a bit of filter-holder? I dunno. But it surely does not price quite a bit, it is compact if you happen to’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 of happier now that I’ve it.
When You’re Having Funnel
This can be a funnel. It additionally used to come back with the AeroPress however now not does. If you happen to pour fresh-ground espresso into your AeroPress moderately than scooping, you will in all probability recognize having this. It is also good for not spilling water whereas pouring rom a kettle. Funnels are good for not spilling stuff, usually. A couple 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.
