Stainless Steel AeroPress Review: Plastic-Free Brewing Has Never Been More Portable

Let’s not bury the lede here: The new Stainless Steel 3 in 1 Coffee Press and stainless steel Manual Coffee Grinder from AeroPress will set you back a total of $370 ($170 for the press and $200 for the grinder). That is, obviously, a lot for an entirely analog coffee-making system.

But, as I am about to delineate all the reasons that these AeroPress models are among the most impressive devices in the coffee category I’ve tested lately, I didn’t want to lead you down the primrose path just to smack you with the uncomfortable truth several paragraphs in. Can a nonelectric, manual coffee maker and grinder possibly be worth nearly $400? Budget-dependent and values-contingent, I say yes. So let’s get into it.

How does AeroPress work?

For those not familiar with the original, AeroPress is a manual coffee press that sits directly on top of a coffee mug to deliver a rich, quickly brewed cup of coffee via a plunger in a pressurized chamber. It scored highly among the methods coffee pros prefer, coming in second only to pour-over.

AeroPress outlines its three-in-one technology as “fast immersion, micro-filtration, and air pressure,” delivering coffee that is “full-bodied like a French press, smooth like a pour-over, and rich like espresso.” I’d add that it combines the plunger operation of a French press with the air pressure of espresso and the agitation of pour-over, plus the speed of a K-cup, minus the potential grit and cleanup of a French Press, the footprint of automated espresso, the fuss of pour-over and the waste of a K-cup. The outcome of all this is, as the experts (mostly) agreed, a superlative mug of coffee.

If you’re already sold, the original AeroPress system is only $40 and maintains many of the pros of the Stainless Steel model, as outlined above. That value has to be at least part of why coffee pros, from baristas to roasters, give it such high marks.

Why plastic-free brewing is all the rage

The original AeroPress, however, is made of BPA-free plastic, and “safe” plastic or not, AeroPress, like many other brands, has taken the collective consumer temperature and offered up another option. Plastic emerged as the villain mere moments after its invention (okay, a couple of decades anyway), and we’ve been looking for ways to back ourselves out of plastic dependency since the terms “microplastics” and “forever chemicals” came into the vernacular.

Because all coffee makers are conduits for boiling or nearly boiling water, it’s no wonder there’s now a bandwagon of coffee brands of all ilks coming to the fore to offer plastic-free alternatives, just in case. It’s already well known that plastic production is environmentally disastrous, and perhaps it’s just a matter of time until all plastic is deemed unsafe for coming in contact with anything one might ingest, especially something heated.

Simply Good Coffee is one plastic-free automatic drip brewer I examined, but others are also coming into the market, including the Coulée SWIRL Mini and the Ratio Eight Series 2, just to name a couple. 

AeroPress three-in-one stainless steel press in operation

The new AeroPress stainless steel press works just like its plastic progenitor. A removable filter basket is fitted with a small paper filter, and the coffee grounds are loaded directly into the insulated chamber. Boiling water is added, and a stirrer is included to manually agitate the grounds. The plunger creates a vacuum once pushed into the chamber, allowing the grounds to briefly steep, then is depressed to push the water through the filter and into the awaiting cup. A satisfying hiss at the end of the plunge reveals the air pressure that built up in the chamber during brewing. The whole operation takes about 45 seconds, plus however much time is required in your household to boil approximately 12 ounces of water. 

Several thoughts on how well-designed the whole system is: The coffee scoop itself is narrow and deep to easily deliver grounds into the chamber without scattering any, and the stirrer takes the shape of a long “T” such that it’s impossible to accidentally drop it into the chamber. A well-marked line inside the chamber shows the ideal water level to add. All of the above also applies to the original AeroPress, which is why it’s popular and has a nearly 5-star rating.

With the added bonus of stainless steel, the vacuum-insulated chamber helps retain heat, making it easy to hold and operate while keeping coffee hot without getting burned. The puck is easily (and satisfyingly) expelled from the bottom of the chamber with the removal of the filter basket.

My husband, who took to this as quickly as I did (after also taking to our Casabrews espresso machine), came prepared with the hard-hitting questions: Are the required paper filters hard to replace? (No, and not expensive either.) And more importantly, might we shatter our coffee mugs with the force required to depress the plunger? Admittedly, he has a point, as the stainless steel AeroPress clocks in at nearly a pound and a half on its own before you even start applying pressure. But the chamber’s ledge is designed to distribute weight evenly, and consumers shouldn’t worry about using this model on standard coffee mugs of varying thicknesses. (Perhaps avoid delicate, porcelain coffee cups, thin-walled glass carafes and anything that isn’t symmetrical, as the pressure won’t be distributed evenly.)

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Those with minimal counter space will appreciate that the system here takes up less space than your average water bottle and it is entirely portable. If you lament the coffee-making equipment at your workplace, here’s an easy fix.

I freely admit that, after testing, this stainless steel AeroPress has more or less become the main system I actually use every day to make coffee. It also makes for quick cold brew in a more satisfying way than anything else I’ve tried.

AeroPress stainless steel manual coffee grinder in operation

Here’s where this gets interesting. In the quality coffee snobbery spectrum, freshly ground beans are on par with freshly roasted beans when it comes to what raw materials you put into whatever coffee-making system. And not just any ground beans, mind you, but those that are crushed with a burr grinder, rather than sliced with an electric blade grinder.

Along with the Stainless Steel 3 in 1 Coffee Press, AeroPress has also recently introduced a new stainless steel manual burr grinder that’s as easy to operate and take on the go as its coffee-making system.

Again, there are extremely thoughtful elements here. The whole system, including the crank, consists of a slim cylinder. The steel hand crank affixes to the chamber via a magnet, and a small drill-bit-looking tool is included for separating the crank from the chamber, which it does easily. The grind size is adjustable to 60-plus settings, and the chamber for catching the grounds has a capacity of about 25 grams (perfect for hitting that golden ratio, along with the AeroPress water capacity) and is sized to easily dump directly into the AeroPress chamber without scattering.

Best of all, the AeroPress Manual Grinder fits inside the AeroPress stainless steel coffee press. One or the other device alone is bound to up your coffee-making game, but together? Name another complete, high-quality coffee-making system that’s so compact for both storage and portability. I’ll wait.

Plastic-free coffee anywhere: What’s that worth to you?

So, here we are again, with the value conundrum. The only thing I wasn’t sure about with these AeroPress devices — the Stainless Steel 3-in-1 Coffee Press and the Stainless Steel Manual Coffee Grinder — was the price. But as the only near-complete coffee system you would need for home and anywhere else, it also frees up your counter space and includes not a trace of plastic — if the price is not a barrier, then it’s an easy decision. 

Pamela Vachon

Contributor

Pamela is a freelance food and travel writer based in Astoria, Queens. While she writes about most things edible and potable (and accessories dedicated to those topics,) her real areas of expertise are cheese, chocolate, cooking and wine. She’s a culinary school grad, certified sommelier, former bartender and fine dining captain with 10 years in the industry. When not sitting at the keys, she leads in-home cheese classes, wine tastings and cocktail demonstrations.

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