In the modern premium coffee-obsessed world, the Aeropress has proven itself a much-loved tool for superior coffee-making. It's never been the best-looking piece of kit, though. That changes with the Aeropress Premium, a more upscale press made from all glass and metal and complemented by an equally chic storage rack.
We're a bit surprised Aeropress released the new Premium this year and not in 2025, which marks its 20th anniversary, but we suppose it's long overdue. The Aeropress has become a darling of coffee connoisseurs the world over, but with a history of murky plastic construction, it's never quite looked the part of a high-end piece of coffee gadgetry that belongs next to a five-figure espresso machine or even the average French press.
New Atlas founder Mike Hanlon was all over the coffee beat back in the mid-2000's. When the Aeropress was finding its way out to the coffee-loving masses in early 2006, he said of the intriguing piece of brewing paraphernalia: "There's always a better way – ALWAYS! You'd think we would have already perfected the best way to produce a cup of coffee from coffee beans, but several years of research by Stanford University mechanical engineering lecturer Alan Adler [inventor of the Aerobie flying disk] appear to have found a better coffee machine."
Mike's words were backed at the time by a number of resoundingly positive early reviews and have since piled up 18 years' worth of support. Aeropress claims to have accumulated 55,000 total five-star reviews from countries around the world, and all the Aeropress coffee maker variants we found on Amazon rank 4.6 out of 5 or higher. Seattle Coffee Gear customers show equal enthusiasm, and the latest professional reviews remain as strong as ever, even though the Aeropress has settled in as an everyday coffee maker, no longer the latest, shiniest new coffee widget to grab the public's imagination.
If there's one deserving knock on the Aeropress, however, it's that its aesthetic has never at all matched its high-rated coffee-brewing performance. For years, Aeropress stuck with a basic plastic design, even when switching from the original polycarbonate construction to BPA-free copolyester in 2009 and polypropylene in 2014. It added a smoky tint in 2010 in response to customer complaints about coffee staining, but we're not sure that looks much better than the staining itself.
Frankly, the Aeropress always looked more to us like a big plastic syringe than a high-end piece of coffee-making equipment. The plastic may not be a problem for many happy users, but for others, it's proven a definite negative.
The Tritan-based Clear model Aeropress introduced just last year was a step in the right direction, giving the press a more glass-like look. Some home and travel baristas, however, would prefer not to have any plastic co-mingling with their beverages, whether because of health or aesthetics concerns.
With years of customers and fans asking for a glass version, Aeropress has finally answered, ditching the plastic entirely for the Aeropress Premium. Perfect for fancy dessert parties or fancier coffee bars, the new press features a crystal-clear handblown glass outer tube complemented by an anodized aluminum plunger and stainless steel filter cap. The dual-wall borosilicate glass main tube protects from burns by keeping the heat in the inner chamber.
The Premium still promises the same Aeropress experience, delivering a cup of smooth, non-bitter, grit-free coffee in just two minutes with the addition of coffee grounds and boiled water. That result comes from a three-in-one process that includes direct coffee immersion in water, fast, pressurized plunging, and micro-filtration through extremely fine paper filters.
Like the original Aeropress, the Premium is designed to make all kinds of coffee, including American filter coffee, cold brew and espresso-style drinks. It holds 10 oz of liquid and brews as many as four (tiny) cups. It's not recommended for travel use or dishwasher cleaning.
Of course, premium in design tends to mean premium in price, and that's very true here. The latest Aeropress prices in at $149.95, quite a hike from the $49.95 price tag of the Clear and $39.95 of the Original. But if you rely on your Aeropress coffee in the morning and would rather do away with plastic, it's your best (and only) choice. Those who don't balk at the Premium price and need a place to store the components when not in use will find the perfect complement in the $99.95 Stainless Steel Organizer stand.
Source: Aeropress
