AeroPress Review: A Detailed Look at The Fan-Favorite Coffee Maker
Thirty-two dollars of plastic that makes better coffee than machines costing ten times as much.
Buy it if
- You want one brewer that does filter and something near espresso
- You are learning and want a method that forgives mistakes
- Cleaning is the thing that puts you off other brewers
Skip it if
- You brew for more than two people at once
- You want a hands-off machine
- You are buying primarily to travel — the Go packs better
The AeroPress has outlasted every gadget it launched alongside, and it is still under forty dollars. It brews a clean, low-acid cup in ninety seconds, rinses in ten, and is close to impossible to break. The only real question is which of the two versions you want.
Original or Go?
The two versions brew identically. The choice is capacity against packability, and the pricing is the wrong way round from what you would expect.
AeroPress Original Coffee Press
296 ml, lower price, the larger of the two. 26,223 owner ratings.Check price
AeroPress Go Portable Coffee Press
Everything nests into a 15 oz mug and the lid clamps shut. You pay eight dollars more for twenty percent less capacity, which only makes sense in a bag.Check price
Where the 9.1 comes from
Five criteria. The AeroPress loses on exactly one, and it is the one it has never pretended to win.
Specifications
What it does well, and what it does not
Full immersion means the grounds sit in water rather than being passed through by gravity, and the plunger pressure at the end pushes the last of it through a paper filter. That combination is why the cup is both fuller than a pour over and cleaner than a French press — it is genuinely its own thing rather than a compromise between two others.
What it is not is an espresso maker. The pressure you generate by hand is a fraction of nine bar, so what comes out is a concentrate, not a shot with crema. Reviews that call it espresso are the reason people arrive disappointed. Used as a concentrate for milk drinks it is excellent; used as a substitute for a real machine it is not.
What we like
- Brews clean filter coffee and a concentrate near espresso
- Rinses in ten seconds with no grounds left anywhere
- Effectively unbreakable — no glass, no moving parts
- 26,223 owner ratings at 4.6 stars
What to know
- One or two cups at a time, never a pot
- Not real espresso — no nine-bar pressure
- Plunging needs a firm, steady push
- Paper filters are a running cost
What else to consider
AeroPress Go
Same brew, smaller chamber, packs into its own mug. Worth it only if you actually travel with it.Check price
AeroPress filters compared
Paper against metal changes body and clarity more than most owners expect.Filter guide
Best pour over brewers
Lighter, more delicate cups and a brewer that scales past two people.Pour over guide
How we scored it
This review is editorially researched. We worked from published specifications for both AeroPress models, the owner record on Amazon, and price and availability confirmed on 12 August 2026. We have not run a side-by-side extraction test ourselves and do not claim to have.
Frequently asked questions
Does the AeroPress make real espresso?
Original or Go?
How long do the filters last?
What grind size does it need?
Still the best thirty dollars in coffee
Nothing else at this price makes a cup this clean, cleans up this fast, or lasts this long. Buy the AeroPress Original unless you are buying specifically to travel, in which case the Go costs more and holds less but fits in a bag.