*The AeroPress Go has quickly become my favorite coffee maker*

As a coffee enthusiast (AKA coffee snob) the AeroPress Go has quickly become one of my favorite ways to brew a quick and easy cup of coffee. The AeroPress coffee maker’s relative ease of use combined with its ability to make a strong espresso-like cup of coffee is what initially drew me into the AeroPress ecosystem.

I’ve seen many a reviews for the AeroPress Go but rarely (or rather none) any of them showcase actually using the AeroPress Go in its intended environment, “On the go”…

As food and travel blogger and someone who travels quite frequently, after a couple of months using my AeroPress Go, I feel like I have a firm grasp of the pros and cons of this little coffee brewer. And so I took it upon myself to provide my fellow globe trotters with a comprehensive AeroPress Go Review from the a traveler’s POV!

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The AeroPress Coffee Maker Ecosystem

AeroPress Go Coffee Maker — *Do you like my little coffee corner setup?*

For those of you who don’t know, the AeroPress is a line of coffee brewers owned by Tiny Capital Ltd., a Canadian holding company. They have a whole range of AeroPress from your standard AeroPress Coffee Maker, to an XL version, to a premium version made out of glass and metal.

But all of the AeroPresses use essentially the same brewing mechanism, a long tube with holes on one end (similar in concept to a conical filter brewer), and a plunger that pushes down on the tube to create a pressurized brew.

This plunger is the iconic image of the AeroPress, and in today’s blog post, I will of course be reviewing the portable AeroPres Go. There is a version called the AeroPress Go Plus that includes a more premium travel mug but that also comes at a higher cost.

I’ll be reviewing the regular AeroPress Go, the one that most people are likely to buy when considering coffee on the go.

What Makes AeroPress Coffee Different?

AeroPress Go Coffee — *Brewing AeroPress coffee is like brewing a French Press and a filter brewer at the same time*

What makes AeroPress different from the other coffee brewers in the market is the iconic plunger. See, the plunger makes it so the AeroPress is both a percolation brewer as well as an immersion brewer. Imagine a French Press combined with a Filter Coffee Brewer.

The Plunging mechanism is the magic that makes the AeroPress. Plunging creates an air tight pressure that forces the water through the coffee grounds causing the resulting brew to exhibit similar qualities to a shot of espresso.

The result is that the AeroPress gives you a more concentrated and “stronger” tasting cup of coffee thanks to the pressurized plunge. The taste is also more deep and rich compared to say a pour over brewer.

This also comes with the added benefit that you can use AeroPress coffee as an espresso substitute for espresso based drinks like a Caffe Latte or a Cappuccino. The versatility is of course welcome, if you are looking to be a home barista without investing your entire life’s savings in to an espresso machine.

AeroPress Go Design and Portability

The AeroPress Go is tiny, about the size of a large camping mug. The whole thing measures out at about 14cm x 10cm x 10cm and weighs just 326g. The brewing capacity is about 240ml or 8 fl oz of coffee.

The size is perfect to just lob into your camping backpack or in a luggage for travel. The design is quite minimalistic and compact as well, you won’t look like a crazy person if you brought this out to brew coffee, compared to the other “portable” coffee maker’s I’ve seen.

All the tools and accessories that come with the AeroPress Go perfectly fit inside of the included mug, so that’s a big plus on the portability aspect. Not to mention a smart use of storage space.

What Comes with the AeroPress Go

The AeroPress Go comes with a lot of fun goodies:

Mug - for which to brew your coffee into and to drink from
Mug Cap - more like a cap than a lid, made of rubber
Plunger Tube and Plunger - plunger has a rubber gasket to create an airtight seal
Filter Cap - to go on the end of your plunger tube
365 AeroPress Paper Filters - enough to last a year
Small Container - for your paper filters, can store about 10 papers
Stirrer - to assist in brewing
Scoop - for dosing coffee

A nice selection of accessories and all you need (aside from water and coffee beans) to brew a cup of coffee. And as I mentioned before, I really like how all of this fits inside the mug, making for great portability.

Additional Equipment Needed for the AeroPress Go Workflow

This is where I found some issues with portability. One glaring issue is that you need to have access to hot water, so you’ll either need to be in some place that has a kettle or you’ll need to bring a water bottle full of hot water with you.

The other issue is more so for the people who desire the freshest coffee, you’ll need a grinder, and a lot of the “portable” hand grinders out there don’t fit inside of the AeroPress Go’s plunger tube so you’ll need to pack it as an extra in your traveling bag. Not to mentioned needing to pack coffee beans as well.

My solution is to pre-grind my coffee beans from home and portion them out in small ziplock bags. This way they take up minimal space in my bag. This does come at the downside of not having the freshest coffee beans but at least it’s still better than instant coffee.

Personally, I find the hot water issue easily addressable, if you’re in a hotel use a kettle, if your camping heat up a campfire and boil water, etc..

Build Quality of the AeroPress Go

AeroPress Go Coffee Maker Tools — *The stirrer feels a bit cheap and feels like it can break at any moment*

I have some issues with the build quality, all of the components (aside from the rubber) are made from polypropylene plastic so the build quality is slightly sturdier and more “solid” compared to products made from polyethylene plastic.

The issue that I have is that despite the stronger plastic, the plastic on hinge/locking mechanism on my stirrer has been “sanded” away by constant friction. My stirrer is essentially floppy which makes the actual usage of its namesake, stirring, annoying.

Other than that the build quality on the other components is pretty good.

Another minor complaint that I have and one that is shared by James Hoffmann is that the lip of the mug is sharp and kind of worrying to drink from, if that makes sense.

I guess it’s due to the manufacturing and plastic molding process, but the little bits of excess plastic around the rim of the lip from when the mold gets cut does seem a little worrying.

Maybe it’s just an irrational fear I have that whenever I am drinking from the AeroPress Go’s mug tiny bits of microplastics from that lip excess will go into my body.

The “sharpness” issue wears off with time as you keep drinking from the cup, but I guess that also means bits of plastic are being sanded off the mug by your lips in order for that to happen.

Brewing with the AeroPress Go

The AeroPress Go comes with a handy dandy instruction booklet that tells you various brewing methods for different types of coffee drinks like hot, cold, americano, and cold brew.

The gist is… The provided instructions make for a pretty weak cup of coffee, the resulting brew is rather watery, under-extracted and tastes like coffee flavored water rather than actual coffee.

And don’t even get me started on the included instructions for the AeroPress Cold Brew Coffee, room temperature water, and only a few minutes of brewing? No way that would work, might as well just soak ungrounded coffee beans in water.

The measurements in the included brewing instructions account for the included AeroPress Go scoop. I think it’s fine to use the scoop but if you want a more consistent cup of coffee then it’s best to measure your coffee properly with a scale.

My Personal AeroPress Go Recipe

The above AeroPress recipe card is the standard recipe that I use with my AeroPress Go. It works really well with dark roasts for those who prefer that.

Explaining the whole brewing process and all the intricate details will be too long for this already long blog post. So if you want more details on brewing, you can check out my recipe for more details on how I brew my AeroPress Coffee, it includes details like water temperature, types of coffee beans, timing, and grind sizes.

I will say that the whole brewing process is pretty fun, as it requires you to interact a lot with AeroPress, from timing, to stirring, to plunging… Maybe not for those who just want a cup of coffee but a fun and relaxing little ritual after you wake up in a tent while camping, for example.

Notes on the Labeled Plunger Tube

The leveled labels on the plunger tube suggests that a serving (1 on the tube) is equal to about the same amount of liquid as a shot of espresso. Which to me is wayyy too small a serving for a single cup of coffee. That is assuming you’re intending to drink the coffee black like I do whenever I brew with the AeroPress Go.

But if you are intending to use the AeroPress coffee for espresso drinks then I think the numbered labels are fine for what they are. Just a thing to note.

AeroPress Go Coffee Taste Test

Using the included recipes that the AeroPress Go provides, the flavor of the final brew is very weak and watery, and overall just tastes terrible. Maybe I did something wrong? Or maybe my tastes for coffee is different compared to the average Joe.

However, using AeroPress recipes that I found online, and then eventually my own recipe, I found the resulting coffee to taste much better, more rich, full bodied, slightly bitter, yet not so harsh. It really does have espresso-like qualities, and the immersion brewing aspect really allowed the coffee grounds to fully steep its flavors into the water.

In all honesty, I think once you get the right recipe that suites your tastes, the AeroPress can produce a damn fine cup of coffee to start your day. Not the best coffee I’ve ever had but a solid cup.

Using the AeroPress Go in Real Life

Of course, in a controlled review environment, it’s hard to get a realistic understanding of how a product works in day to day life. So I took it upon myself to try using the AeroPress Go in various environments of which I think most people would find themselves using an AeroPress Go.

Tip: In all situations abroad, I recommend just bringing a canister of pre-ground coffee, I know it’s not the freshest coffee but it’s more convenient than adding weight by packing a hand grinder and coffee beans, unless you want to, it’s your life not mind, just recommending.

Using the AeroPress Go at Home

By far the most comfortable place to use an AeroPress Go is at home. I find that within the safety and comfort of my home, I am able to control the brewing process well.

And I have access to all my usual coffee brewing tools like a scale, timer, and grinder, plus all my other accessories like my favorite Fellow Monty Ceramic Cup and an endless supply of coffee beans.

Using the AeroPress Go as a primary coffee brewer at home is easy and comfortable.

Using the AeroPress Go while Camping

AeroPress Filter Paper — *Nice of them to include a little carrying case for your AeroPress Go filter papers*

A more challenging environment and one where I think the AeroPress Go’s appeal is mainly targeted towards. Using the AeroPress Go while out and about in the wilderness or in the far fringes of the snowy tundras, or wherever you set up tent is more uncomfortable compared to brewing at home, obviously.

While camping in the mountainous province of Chaiyaphum, Thailand at a secluded Durian orchard, the main issue I experienced is the lack of control with my AeroPress brewing. I packed lightly, only bringing the AeroPress Go (with its accessories) and a small zip-lock bag of pre-ground coffee.

I heated some hot water via campfire (though a thermos will make your life easier), and without the insight of my trusty Timemore Coffee Scale, I had to use my phone to keep track of brewing time. Which isn’t the end of the world but it is not ideal.

AeroPress Go Filter — *From what I’ve heard the AeroPress Go’s plastic filter is a bit different from the original AeroPress*

I think the AeroPress Go along with the coffee brewing/drinking experience during camping is perfectly passable. To be fair, I think frequent campers and travelers who are looking to purchase the AeroPress Go aren’t looking for the best coffee in the world, you just want something that is better than instant coffee, and I think the AeroPress Go serves it’s purpose well in that regard.

Coffee tastes nice, just a bit finicky to prepare while camping if you are packing light though beats instant coffee any day. Also the portable compact nature of the AeroPress Go is perfect for situations like this.

Using the AeroPress Go Abroad in a Hotel

I think this situation is where the AeroPress Go shines the most, hotel rooms will either provide you with: instant coffee, coffee capsules, or no coffee at all. And since I have already established that instant coffee is horrible, the other option are coffee capsule machines which are often not provided unless you pay for a suite or better quality room.

That’s where the AeroPress Go comes in, the AeroPress Go is already a damn good home coffee brewer and so it basically feels like you’re bringing your whole coffee setup with you, all you’re missing is coffee and hot water, which your hotel room will most certainly have in the form of a kettle, at least in the Non-US parts of the world.

Using the AeroPress Go on a Plane???

I do not recommend using the AeroPress Go while on the airplane, a train or ferry/cruise ship perhaps but definitely not a plane. The turbulence is unpredictable and quite frankly all that hot water in the brewer can spill everywhere if the plane decides to be a roller coaster.

Also the plane’s tray tables do not look like they can withstand the amount of pressure needed to plunge the AeroPress Go.

Just drink the coffee the nice flight attendant gave you. Don’t be that guy, we all know that guy, the guy who brings their Chemex coffee maker to the office.

Cleaning the AeroPress Go

All you have to do is eject the coffee puck from the plunger, which by the way makes a really satisfying *pop* noise when you do, and rinse the AeroPress Go with hot water.

Cleaning the AeroPress Go is super easy. It’s DISHWASHER SAFE and the official manuals recommend putting the AeroPress Go in the upper levels of the dishwasher.

For those of you (like me), who live in a developing country where we don’t really use dishwashers because they’re too expensive. You can wash them simply with your hands.

Soap is not needed I only wash rinse mine with water as the plunger already acts as an airtight scraper to scrap the coffee grounds and oils out of the plunger tube. I also give it a good rub with a sponge for good measure.

Note: You can use soap from time to time but also be aware that constant washing with soap can erode the plastic after a (long) while, especially if you use a sponge to rub. But that’s a given with any plastic product after prolonged usage.

The Pros and Cons of the AeroPress Go

*Ice coffee anyone? AeroPress Go has got you covered*

So after a a good handful of months using the AeroPress Go in all sorts of environments I can safely say I know the real world usages and quirks. So here are my pros and cons:

Pros of the AeroPress Go

Compact & Travel-Friendly - The whole brewer fits in its included travel mug and the whole thing weighs really light making it super easy to pack for travel.
Quick Brew Time - If you follow the included instructions the brew time is quick, about a minute.
Easy to Clean - All you have to do is eject the coffee and rinse.
Versatile - The AeroPress Go can brew espresso-like shots which can be used to make espresso based drinks, as well as being able to brew Cold Brew.
Durable - Made of a stronger plastic material, allowing the AeroPress Go with withstand some tussle.

Cons of the AeroPress Go

Small Capacity - Can only brew up to 8 oz (vs. 10 oz on the original AeroPress).
Plastic Build - While durable, some of you may prefer stainless steel or glass.
Extra Equipment Needed - For all its portable-ness you still need a grinder, hot water, and timer, which while traveling will add weight to your baggage.
Included Instructions Not Good - The included recipes don’t provide you with the most tasty coffee…

AeroPress Go Final Verdict

Overall I think that the AeroPress Go is a worthwhile purchase if you want a nice cup of coffee every morning or afternoon when you travel. It’s even good enough to be your main home brewer. If you purchase through AeroPress’ website it’ll cost you $49.95 but you can find the AeroPress Go for cheaper on Amazon or Shopee.

The AeroPress Go has actually become my GO-to (no pun intended) coffee maker at home for when I want just a simple cup of black coffee.

Some AeroPress Go Recipes to Try

I have some AeroPress recipes if you would like to check out, in the recipes I use the AeroPress Go but the recipes work with any of the AeroPress variants, just remember to adjust for serving size. Here are some of my recipes:

My Standard AeroPress Recipe - Works best for medium-dark to dark roasted coffee beans, guaranteed a delicious cup of coffee every time :)
My AeroPress Cold Brew Recipe - Yeah can you believe it? The AeroPress can make Cold Brew, and a pretty good cup as well!

I hope my AeroPress Go review helps you and enjoy brewing some delicious coffee with your AeroPress Go!