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| Aeropress Premium - Glass and Metal |
I love coffee, and one method of brewing that I fell in love with years ago was the Aeropress, which is an oddball brewer that is basically a giant syringe, but the plunger pushes concentrated coffee through a filter instead of a needle.
It's an incredibly flexible way to brew, and there are thousands of recipes out there. I've created my very best cups of coffee using the Aeropress.
The only problem? It's made of plastic, and I don't like brewing in plastic, because plastic absorbs off-flavors, and I don't believe that even BPA-free plastic isn't leaching something into my coffee. I do use plastic for food storage, but I try to limit its use to things that are room temperature and below, as chemical leaching happens far more at hot temperatures than cold.
But that means that I decided not to use the Aeropress as an every-day brewer, and limited its use to traveling (it's lightweight and nearly unbreakable), and for a few days each month to mix it up with other methods of brewing. I've wanted a glass or metal version ever since.
Alan Adler, the inventor (incidentally, he also invented the Aerobie frisbee), resisted the call for a glass or metal version for nearly two decades because he thought it was a terrible idea. And, to be fair to Mr. Adler, there really are significant downsides. Glass and metal get hot, and are heat sinks, expensive, breakable and heavy. The AP was also beloved because not only did it make excellent coffee, it was also cheap. They were originally sold for $20 back in 2005. Even today, the basic versions retail for $30-$40.
But, eventually, Mr. Adler got old and sold the company, and the investment firm that bought the business started releasing new versions left and right (Adler was notoriously cautious about implementing new ideas), but most didn't interest me. But a year and a half ago, they teased coffee lovers with a glimpse of a glass and metal version, which DID, and a few weeks ago (finally!) they released the Aeropress Premium, made of double-walled borosilicate glass, steel, aluminum, and silicon (the plunger disk/seal). It came with a premium price tag, too, one that rather shocked the world of specialty coffee: $150. Even I think it should have been priced in the $80-$100 range. I had a coupon, so I got mine for $120, but still.
I decided to skip the new stand/caddy they were offering to go with the Premium, because it too was shockingly expensive; $100 for the caddy. No thanks. I just hoped my existing stand might work.
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| The packaging was well-designed to protect the glass |
Besides the price tag, am I happy with it? Yes and no, but mostly yes. I can get delicious cups of coffee with the thing, just as good as with the plastic one. But the damn thing feels a bit like a showpiece (it is undeniably attractive) rather than a convenient, practical, everyday piece of equipment for one reason: IT IS NOT DISHWASHER SAFE. What the hell were they thinking?
The plunger and (I think) also the collar at the bottom of the brew chamber are made out of coated aluminum, and aluminum does ugly things in the dishwasher. Even the brew cap filter holder is made of coated stainless steel, and the coating isn't dishwasher safe. And in the end, if the coatings aren't safe in the dishwasher, are they safe for coffee brewing? Hopefully.
So, it is not exactly what I was looking for. I would have preferred they not use aluminum or coat the stainless (which don't need coatings anyway), and make the collar that holds the brew chamber and the plunger out of heavy-duty plastic or hollow stainless steel. I'd have been fine with plastic parts as long as they don't touch the coffee. We called for a metal/glass version not because we wanted something fancy but because we wanted something that couldn't leach unwanted chemicals into our coffee.
Now, handwashing aside - I'm happy with the fact that they used double-walled borosilicate glass. The outer diameter is the same as before, so existing accessories might still work. But the double-walls are MUCH thicker than in the Original, which means they had to make the Premium significantly taller in order to keep the capacity the same (both hold about 320 ml if you are curious). That also means the plunger and stirrer had to be longer as well. So my existing Aeropress caddy only sort of works with the Premium.
Here it is first with the Original AP, then with the new Premium:
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| Existing after-market stand holding plastic AP Original. |
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| Premium AP in the existing stand. Note how the brew chamber extends down over the funnel |
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| Note the changes in shape between the tools. |
The stand accommodated the plastic funnel that came with the AP Original, though the AP Premium ditched the funnel entirely. I actually use the funnel and will keep using it.
The new scoop doesn't fit in the scoop spot, but DOES fit in the existing stirrer slot, though I pretty much never use the scoop much anyway (I brew by weight). The new stirrer is too fat to fit in the stirrer slot, but it can be suspended inside the plunger instead. The only true problem is the way the funnel is enclosed inside the bottom of the brew chamber. I don't just use the funnel for the AP, but also when I'm brewing with the Stagg dripper - the funnel works way better than the one Fellow included with the dripper. So the inconvenient access to the funnel (you have to use two hands, one to lift the brew chamber out of the way, and one to grab the funnel) is annoying.
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| AP Original funnel in use with Fellow's Stagg dripper. |
Then it occurred to me that the stand is held together with screws and that we could "just" replace the legs with taller ones. I talked to my husband who disassembled it, and after spending $11 at Menards, he replaced the legs with 12" (30 cm) threaded steel rods, a few nuts, and 4 plastic feet, and voilà:
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| $11 worth of materials and my old stand now fits nicely. |
As for how it works ... well, about the same as the original. You have to be a little gentler with the glass, and pre-heating the brewer is a must to avoid dropping the temperature of the water too much. The new stainless filter cap isn't valved, so I may have to go back to inverted brewing, which is a little annoying (I hope they add a metal valved filter cap later).
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| Inverted brewing (left), and normal (right) |
When using the brewer as intended, you set it on a mug or carafe, and because the filter cap has holes in it, coffee drains slowly out while brewing except when the plunger is in place, and then the liquid stays in the brewer for the same reason it does when you cover the end of a straw: capillary action, surface tension, and air pressure (and yes, I just looked that up). When you push on the plunger, pressure builds in the chamber as you force the coffee through the grounds and the filter, and into the mug.
Because baristas wanted the coffee to stay in the brew chamber during brewing, they invented the inverted method, brewing upside-down; then when you are ready to plunge, you put the filter/filter cap on, flip it, and plunge. It takes some practice, but it can be done without making a mess. But it's still a hassle, and I loved my valved filter holder that held the coffee inside even when brewing right-side up. But it, like the rest of the AP, was plastic, so now that I have a glass brewer, I probably won't use it anymore.
The diameter of the flanged end of the plunger is very slightly wider (maybe 2 or 3 mm?) than on the Original and between that and the added weight, the Premium is actually a little more stable in the inverted position which is a Very Good Thing.
Between the added height in both the brew chamber and the plunger, it's nearly 4" (10cm) taller when inverted, which puts it roughly even with my breast-bone (I'm on the short side, at about 5'3"/1.6m), which is decidedly less convenient (I prefer to pour 200F/93C liquids into vessels that are a little lower than that). But, it is not the end of the world by any means, and it is probably a non-issue for folks who are taller than I am.
Most people who have an AP have knocked over an inverted brewer at least once, and I'd hate to do that with this expensive (and breakable!) version, and right now I'm thinking I'm just not going to use inverted brewing anymore, and I'll modify my inverted recipes to work right-side up.
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| Inverted brewing height: Original (L) and Premium (R) |
How does it brew? Fine. My first brewing was delicious, and there isn't that much difference in quality between what comes from the Premium vs. from the Original, but I didn't really expect it to, as the brewer is essentially the same. Because plastic can absorb odors and flavors, the Premium should remain more neutral-smelling over time. And if you are careful to preheat the brewer, the glass being a heat sink should become a non-issue, with the temperature remaining steady during brewing. I preheat all of my brewers anyway, so it doesn't even represent a change in my brewing habits.
I never upgraded to the AP Clear that the company released a year or so ago, so this was the first time I could actually see the coffee brewing in the brew chamber, and that was really neat.
The filter cap is easier to screw onto the brewer than with the plastic version, and that is quite nice.
All in all, it is a pleasure to use and felt nice in my hands. It's not perfect due to the ergonomics and lack of a metal flow control filter cap, but really, really nice. And yes, I think it'll be worth the handwashing hassle, though I hope the company releases a dishwasher-safe version at some point.
I do plan to continue using my Aeropress Original while traveling through.
