AeroPress is one from the most loved coffee brands and manufacturers in the entire coffee world. Part of this is because the brewery is unique. Alan Adler invented it. He’s the same guy who invented the Aerobie, a flying disc so streamlined you could throw him out of a stadium, and seemed quite happy with their two-product line. Years after his debut, he still feels smart and makes excellent coffee. Pour hot water over the ground coffee in the brewing chamber, stir, wait a moment, and then use a plunger to push the coffee through a filter and directly into a cup. It’s like making coffee with a giant syringe.
After the AeroPress Original came the sublime Go, a compact model loved by travelers and campers where all its parts are stored in a cup attached with a red rubber lid. They both make excellent coffee. While fans were clamoring for more, it was also hard to imagine what it would be. For a while they achieved nothing. After an investment 2021 by the Canadian firm Tiny, more AeroPress equipment appeared. The Clear seemed to be a natural upgrade and replacement for the Original, however the plunger on the early models connected to the base in a way that was too unstable for me.
The XL was really big.—Two times the size of the Original—but the extra size brought added danger, which is too bad considering that, while AeroPress spills are rare, they are a real disaster. Plus, if you already had another AeroPress, adding another one didn’t make much sense. Finally, a flow control cap and metal filter did not impress our test team. This put strange pressure on two newcomers. The slightly revamped Clear now comes in a mini-rainbow of colors, and there’s now a full-size coffee maker and travel mug combo called the Go Plus. I ordered a giant bag of coffee and started trying it.
bright rainbow
The first was the Clear, which is made of BPA-free Tritan plastic. It first came out in late 2023 and has since been subtly reworked. It also comes in a new set of colors. Colors are usually not my thing, because I’m more interested in performance. Le Creuset’s pink brioche and chiffon dutch ovens work just like their classic reds and oranges.
But the AeroPress available in different colors could open doors. For years, your Original has been made from a dull gray plastic that would fit perfectly in a laboratory or plumbing supply store. The Clear comes in a light, light gray, but it’s not a stretch to think that cheerful colors like red, green, blue, and purple can make a big difference there.
Photography: Amazonas
The coffee it produces is identical to the excellent coffee that Original and Go make. It is also as clean and tidy as they are. After depressing the plunger, you can remove the lid and push a small clean disc of spent soil directly into the compost bin. There is hardly any disorder.
This isn’t an issue unique to Clear, but I wish they had used the switch to Tritan as a moment to clarify an issue where the filter cap doesn’t easily connect to the brew chamber, a process the company calls “attractive.” ” It becomes more noticeable when using the inverted brewing method, where you place the plunger on the counter, mount the brew chamber on top of it, add the ground coffee and water and stir, then place the filter and the Cover, carefully turn over the cup and depress.
On the other hand, AeroPress seems to have fixed an issue with the Clear where the end of the plunger didn’t fit as snugly into the end of the brewing chamber as I would like, but I wish they would fix that compromise. for all your brewers.