Aeropress vs American Press | Which Coffee Press Is Better?

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A great cup of coffee in the morning is awesome, and what is even better, is knowing that you made it yourself, exactly the way you want. Unfortunately automatic coffee makers just don’t quite give you that feeling, and that is where a manual coffee maker is.

The two coffee makers we are talking about today, are somewhat the same, while also being very different.

The American Press is a new player in the arena, and the Aeropress is definitely one of the widest used manual coffee makers out there right now.

I have had the chance to be able to use both coffee makers extensively, and both are in my rather large coffee maker selection.

Our PickProductPrice
Best OverallAeropress$$
Best Tasting CoffeeAmerican Press$$$

What is the Aeropress?

If you have spent any time in the coffee world, you likely have at least seen a mention of the Aeropress.

This immersion brewer is made up of three components. The filter housing, the brew chamber, and of course the plunger.

You put together the filter housing onto the brew chamber, add water and then plunge the coffee down through the filter housing.

This makes a clean cup of coffee, that many people enjoy!

You can of course read more about how to use the Aeropress by reading this article I put together here.

What is the American Press?

While the Aeropress is an immersion brewer, the American Press uses a pressure to make coffee. You basically fill a little basket with coffee, and then plunge it through the water container.

The coffee is then extracted, as it moves through the container.

The resulting coffee is a very full cup of coffee, making it a very different cup than what you would find in most other coffee makers.

It is more similar to a french press than a drip, or Aeropress coffee.

Best Taste – American Press

In my opinion, the American Press offers the best cup of coffee by far. It is a very full flavored coffee that is incredibly delicious.

The component on the bottom is the Prismo [Image courtesy of Fellow Products]

If you enjoy that taste, then the American Press is your best bet! That said, I have found, if you add the Fellow Products Prismo to the Aeropress you can get a similar taste though.

Easiest to use – Aeropress

Keeping your coffee routine as easy as possible makes for a much better morning! The Aeropress allows for this by being an immersion brewer. You basically add water, mix it up, and then do a light plunge to get your cup of coffee. It takes just a couple minutes!

The American Press takes a bit more precision in timing, and takes longer to clean afterwards, making it not quite as easy as the Aeropress.

Most versatile – Aeropress

Sometimes you like to mix things up a bit when making coffee! The Aeropress is most definitely the best in this area. You can do an inverted brew, where you turn the coffee maker over to brew, you can do the standard brew, and as mentioned before, you can even get a add-on to completely change the taste.

The American Press has one style of brew, however that one brew is delicicious.

Easiest to clean – Aeropress

Cleaning out the Aeropress is definitely the easier of the two units. After you are done brewing, you pull of the filter basket, and then you just finish plunging and the coffee puck falls out into the garbage.

You then rinse it all off and let it dry.

The American Press takes a bit more time, and requires you to unscrew the basket from the plunger, tap it to get the coffee out, and then rinse it out. It’s a bit more difficult, but not a ton.

Most durable – Aeropress

I actually have the Aeropress Go version of this coffee maker, which means it is a bit smaller, and can be easily stacked into a provided cup. You can easily throw it around with no problems whatsover.

There really isn’t anything that can break, making it one of the most durable coffee makers on the market, not just between these two units.

The American Press is also made mostly of plastic, but doesn’t really have a container to keep it safe. I worry a bit more about damaging its components.

Best Value – Aeropress

Finally, this may be the most important category for many people! The Aeropress is just a great value for what you get.

At around $30 it offers some of the best qualities you could ask for in a manual coffee maker, in a package that is far less than the competition.

Which coffee maker should you get?

This really comes down to what is most important for you! If you like coffee with a bit more in it, then the American Press hands down gives you the best cup of coffee. While it may not win in any of the other categories we talked about, it does give an awesome cup of coffee, and there is no way around that.

If you are looking for an easy cup of coffee, that is quick, and a great tasting cup then the Aeropress is going to be your best bet.

Honestly, I think most people will opt for the Aeropress between these two units, however for those that want something a bit more unique, you can’t go wrong with the American Press.

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you learn a little bit more about what it is like owning both of these, and help you decide which is best for you!

Regardless of which one you get, you will know you are getting a high quality great coffee maker.

I enjoy both, and am glad both are in my collection.