I’ve been a regular user of Aeropress Coffee Makers since 2016. I bought one after reading about them in a travel review where the article writer chose one as his Desert Island item. I’d never heard of Aeropress prior to reading that article but the reviews I found online, following that, were good so I invested in one. If you’re unfamiliar with these coffee makers here is a quick guide to how an Aeropress works, courtesy of Google AI:
- Immersion (like a French press): Ground coffee and hot water steep together inside the main chamber.
- Air pressure: You push down on a plunger, using gentle air pressure to force the water through the grounds.
- Micro-filtration (like a pour-over or espresso): A paper or metal micro-filter at the bottom catches oils and fine grit, producing a clean, rich cup in under two minutes.
I only drink real coffee, beans or ground, and I only drink it black. I usually make an Americano, a diluted espresso. I took to my first Aeropress from the get go. They’re easy to use, portable, brew quickly (2 minutes), they’re easy to clean and make a great coffee. Since that initial purchase I’ve bought several more, either as replacements or additions. I had one for home and one for work. In recent times, the original workplace Aeropress is kept in a suitcase for use whilst we’re travelling.
Aeropress’s have grown in popularity since I first bought mine. Some of our local artisan coffee houses now offer to serve a coffee from an Aeropress. However, these days I rarely use my Aeropress at home as I now have a bean to cup machine for making my daytime coffee. I always use my Aeropress when we’re away but during our last trip mine started to leak and it was not pressing smoothly. Over time the plungers become slightly slack just through general wear and tear. It was time for mine to be retired.
Whilst researching prices for a replacement I discovered a new addition to the Aeropress family – the Aeropress Go Plus. It’s designed to be used by travellers, commuters, road trippers or basically anyone who wants a coffee on the go. It’s cleverly designed so that a slightly modified traditional Aeropress fits inside a custom thermal cup you can drink your freshly brewed coffee from.
The new addition gets great reviews although it’s more suited to users like me rather than walkers who might find it a bit heavy to carry around. The main criticism was the price. It’s currently £73 on Amazon, double the price of a regular Aeropress. The reviews I read did say it’s ideally suited for travelling users who have access to a counter and hot water etc, like in a hotel room, and for whom the weight issue isn’t such a problem. Taking all this into consideration I decided to replace my old Aeropress with the new Go Plus version.
The Aeropress thermal cup feels like a quality item. Everything else is up to the usual Aeropress quality. Personally, I don’t think it’s overly heavy when everything is stowed into the cup and I’d be happy taking it in my rucksack on a walk or hike. There again I’m used to carrying heavy photography eqiupment around with me.
It’s going to be ideal for our holiday trips. I usually find the standard hotel coffee machines are dreadful and the room supplies are usually instant coffee or coffee pods. Having the option to make my own coffee in our hotel room or taking one into breakfast, using the thermal cup, will be a real bonus.
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