The AeroPress is quite possibly the most unique, innovative and culturally popular coffee brewer in the world.
Since its invention it’s taken the community by storm, generating buzz, widespread acclaim, and even fierce competition amongst users.
We dive in to review the device and provide our verdict on whether it’s a coffee maker you should try—and own.
- What You'll Find in Our AeroPress Review
- AeroPress Overview: Background & Basics
- Who Should Buy an AeroPress Original?
- Who May Be Disappointed With an AeroPress?
- What's Included With the AeroPress Original?
- Pros of Owning and Using an AeroPress
- Cons of Owning and Using an AeroPress
- Our Verdict From Personal Experience
What You’ll Find in Our AeroPress Review
- An overview of the AeroPress and why it appeals to coffee lovers
- Who the AeroPress is for, and who will likely appreciate it most
- Use cases and customers who may not be a great fit for an AeroPress
- Everything you get when you purchase the AeroPress Original
- Detailed pros and cons covering everything from design, form factor, brew quality, price and unique features
- Professional-Grade Coffee Right at Home
- Goodbye, French Press
- Travel with Your Coffee Gear
- Free of BPA and phthalates
- Made in the USA
AeroPress Overview: Background & Basics
We’ve got tons of great articles all about using, hacking, and understanding the origins of this purported king of manual coffee makers, but we’ll lay out a few key details about it here:
Origins of the AeroPress
In 2005 an inventor and coffee enthusiast by the name of Alan Adler was fed up with the drawbacks and limitations of household coffee makers like the French press.
He envisioned a new device the average person could use to brew great coffee to their individual preferences, even bordering on what was previously only possible with an espresso maker.
The first AeroPress prototype was made from a modified bicycle pump—employing a pressurized immersion brewing method to maximize coffee extraction in a simple, manual process that took very little time and produced delicious coffee.
With help from a business partner, the AeroPress design was re-engineered for mass production and became an overnight sensation amongst coffee enthusiasts around the world.
Today the AeroPress World Championship is a well-known competition where contestants from all over the planet bring their own personalized AeroPress recipes to the table to stake their claim to the best cup of coffee made with the groundbreaking device.
Key Selling Points
Here’s how the AeroPress is marketed in terms of what separates it from other single-serve coffee makers:
- Brew coffee that tastes better, with “no acidity, bitterness, or grit”
- Uses patented technology to offer better brews with more control over flavor and strength
- Brewing coffee with the AeroPress takes “under one minute”
- Use it to make cold brew, Americano or concentrated coffee akin to espresso
- Easy to use, durable and portable
- Sells (without commonly available promotions and discounts) for just $39.95
Who Should Buy an AeroPress Original?
If you’re a true coffee lover who takes care to “dial in” the different variables that contribute to extraction, flavor and strength, and French press coffee just doesn’t cut it for your tastes, you’ll probably love and AeroPress.
If you’re a frequent traveler or explorer who wants to be able to brew a cup of coffee on the go, no matter where you are in the world, you’ll love that this compact coffee maker can be stashed in a carry-on or trekking backpack for some impromptu coffee brewing in any setting.
Or if you simply appreciate great-tasting coffee and prefer to keep your coffee gear to a minimum, the AeroPress will offer a significant upside in coffee quality over a French press, while potentially being even easier to store out of the way.
Who May Be Disappointed With an AeroPress?
While the AeroPress is a fantastic device for plenty of people and opens the door to brewing some very good coffee in previously unrealistic scenarios (like while hiking), it’s not intended to be all things for all people.
For one, if you’re used to true espresso from an espresso machine as your go-to caffeine fix, the AeroPress may fall short.
It’s known to be an excellent option for brewing hot coffee that’s right up there with espresso in intensity and flavor, but it inevitably cannot produce actual, authentic espresso.
Similarly, if you prefer a coffee machine that allows you to be as hands-off as possible, the AeroPress definitely won’t be the best solution for you.
It’s quick to brew with, but requires a decent amount of manually-generated force as well as a few setup steps, not to mention your full attention while brewing.
Lastly, for those who like to be able to brew larger quantities of coffee at a time, the AeroPress may let you down. It’s designed for just a single cup of coffee at a time.
While it’s easy to reset and refill the brew chamber with new coffee grounds and hot water, it’s not going to replace a drip coffee maker that leaves you with a full pot that’s ready to pour.
What’s Included With the AeroPress Original?
The AeroPress comes with quite a kit of goodies and accessories, most of which are simply nice additions to an already great value product.
Here’s what comes with every AeroPress:
- The AeroPress itself (the brewing chamber and plunger)
- 350 AeroPress micro-filters
- A filter holder and the filter cap you use with the device
- A funnel for neatly adding your ground coffee to the chamber
- A stirrer that’s conveniently sized for use with the AeroPress
- A scoop for measuring out the perfect amount of ground coffee (to match AeroPress’s suggested recipes)
Pros of Owning and Using an AeroPress
Here’s what we love about the AeroPress, and think you will too:
Versatility and Control:
The AeroPress allows you to customize everything from the grind size of your coffee beans to the quantity of coffee grounds you use, to the temperature of your hot water.
You can use it with a paper filter or a metal reusable one, which will further affect the outcome of your brew. You can even use it to make excellent cold-brew coffee.
No matter what kind of coffee you make with it, you can control flavor, strength, extraction and more to a level not achievable with other manual coffee brewers.
Durability and Portability
Made from BPA-free, FDA-approved plastic, the AeroPress is virtually indestructible.
Not only can you toss it into a tightly packed bag with no fear it will break, it will also last for years and years, even with daily use (although you’ll eventually need to replace the rubber seal on the plunger).
Pack it quickly, bring it anywhere, and enjoy amazingly smooth coffee wherever you go. It’s hands down the best portable coffee maker money can buy—which leads us to our next point.
Price
At no more than $39.95, the AeroPress provides an amazing value considering the quality of coffee it produces and how beloved it is amongst coffee drinkers.
Pair that with its durability and longevity, and it’s an incredibly affordable high-quality piece of coffee kit.
Quality of Coffee
Last but certainly not least is the most important detail: how good the actual coffee is!
Fortunately (and amazingly) with all the other upsides the device brings to the table, the coffee it creates is perhaps its best feature.
We can confidently report that the claims on AeroPress’ website hold up: we’ve made some of the richest, smoothest coffee in our coffee-loving careers using this magical little coffee press.
Cons of Owning and Using an AeroPress
Even the best coffee maker in the world can’t be perfect across the board, and the AeroPress does have its drawbacks.
Physical Effort
While we think a delicious cup of AeroPress coffee is worth it, it’s notable that this is far from a hands-off brewer.
In fact there are plenty of online discussions centering around concerns that the AeroPress is quite hard to press down.
While this quirk is something most owners tend to quickly get the hang of, it’s worth noting that the AeroPress is probably the opposite of automatic drip machines in terms of required effort.
Small Batches Only
As we mentioned above, the AeroPress is good for one or two cups at a time, max.
There’s no getting around that, as the device simply doesn’t have the capacity to brew more in one go.
It’s easy enough to reset and brew with a second time, but that inevitably reduces the convenience compared to brewers that produce enough for a small gathering in one go, or that at the very least don’t require physical exertion from the user for every cup.
Materials
BPA free plastic is important, and FDA approval is reassuring as well, but nevertheless, the AeroPress necessitates pouring hot water into a plastic tube, which doesn’t sit well with some people.
We understand this and also would probably prefer if there was a version of the device made entirely from naturally occurring or fully inert materials (we’ve assessed the possibility of a glass or metal AeroPress before), but for now at least, this is a downside worth noting for some.
Design & Aesthetics
While it’s overwhelmingly beloved by our friendly caffeinated community, the AeroPress understandably gets a good amount of flack over its appearance.
We won’t mention any specific comparisons (that sort of thing’s not our bag, baby), but suffice to say if you’re passionate about creating an upscale or modern-looking coffee corner in your kitchen or at your bar, the smokey plastic tube may not serve you too well as a centerpiece.
Pros and Cons Wrap-Up
Pros:
- Amazing, high quality coffee
- Brew all kinds—from cold brew to espresso alternative
- Total control over brew factors
- High build quality
- Incredible portable coffee maker
- Affordable
Cons:
- Takes some work to use
- Only one cup at a time
- At the end of the day, still made of plastic
- Not exactly the sexiest coffee brewer out there
Our Verdict From Personal Experience
We’ve been using an AeroPress for years, and can comfortably recommend it as an overall incredible coffee brewing device.
The benefits so far outweigh the cons that they easily fade away into distant memory over time, and the fact it can come with you anywhere means investing in an AeroPress will permanently upgrade your coffee game.
- Professional-Grade Coffee Right at Home
- Goodbye, French Press
- Travel with Your Coffee Gear
- Free of BPA and phthalates
- Made in the USA
