Review: AeroPress Clear and Go Plus

AeroPress is one of the most beloved brands and coffee brewers in all of coffee-dom. Part of this is because the brewer is so unique. Alan Adler invented it. He’s the same guy who invented the Aerobie, a flying disc so aerodynamic that you could chuck it out of a stadium, and he seemed pretty happy with his two-product product line. Years after its debut, it still feels clever and makes great coffee. Pour hot water over grounds in the brewing chamber, stir, wait a beat, then use a plunger to push the coffee through a filter and directly into a mug. It's like making coffee in a giant syringe.

After the AeroPress Original came the sublime Go, a compact model beloved by travelers and campers where all of its parts pack into a cup held together with a rubbery red lid. Both make outstanding coffee. While fans clamored for more, it was also hard to imagine what that would be. For a while, they didn't get anything. After a 2021 investment by the Canadian firm Tiny, more AeroPress gear appeared. The Clear seemed like it would be a natural upgrade of and replacement for the Original, yet the plunger in early models connected to the base in a way that was a little too wobbly for me.

The XL was indeed big—twice as large as the Original—but the extra size brought extra peril, which is extra bad considering that while AeroPress spills are rare, they are a true hot mess. Besides, if you already owned another AeroPress, adding another one didn't make a lot of sense. Finally, a flow-control cap and a metal filter left our testing crew unimpressed. This put a funny amount of pressure on two new arrivals. The slightly retooled Clear now comes in a mini-rainbow of colors, and there’s now a full-size brewer and travel mug combo called the Go Plus. I ordered a giant bag of coffee and got to testing.

Rainbow Bright

First up was the Clear, which is made of BPA-free Tritan plastic. It first came out in late 2023 and since then has been subtly reworked. It also comes in a brand new set of colors. Normally, colors aren't really my thing, because I am more interested in performance. The brioche and chiffon pink Dutch ovens from Le Creuset perform the same as their classic reds and oranges.

But the AeroPress coming in different colors could open doors. For years, their Original has been made from an opaque gray plastic that would be right at home in a lab- or plumbing-supply shop. The Clear comes in a clear and clear gray, but it's not much of a stretch to think that cheery colors like red, green, blue, and purple can change a lot there.

The coffee it produces is identical to the excellent coffee the Original and Go make. It is also just as neat and tidy as they are. After you depress the plunger, you can remove the cap and push out a neat little puck of spent grounds directly into your compost bin. There is barely any mess.

This isn't a problem exclusive to the Clear, but I wish they could have used the move to Tritan as the time to clear up an issue where the filter cap doesn't connect to the brewing chamber easily, a process that the company calls “engaging.” It becomes more noticeable when using the inverted brewing method, where you stand the plunger on the countertop, mount the brewing chamber on it, add the grounds and water and agitate, then put on the filter and cap, carefully flip it onto your mug, and depress.

On the flip side, AeroPress seems to have cleared up an issue with the Clear where the end of the plunger didn't fit as snugly into the end of the brewing chamber as I'd like, but I wish they'd fix that engagement for all of its brewers.

Nevertheless, the Clear is now the best AeroPress. That's not to say you need to upgrade if you already own one, because you don't. The coffee is the same, but part of what makes them better is being able to see what's happening inside the brewing chamber. The Clear is best for that. All of the colors are slightly darker, so it's harder to see inside, but they look really nice compared to the Original. It will cheer up your coffee nook, which can be a bit of a countertop dead zone of stainless steel and black plastic, and it's cute enough to gift to a non-nerd.

Pack It Up!

Now for the hard part: The Go Plus is a bit of a mess. Its travel-friendly predecessor, the Go, is a bit peculiar, but mostly ingenious and fantastic. Just a little smaller than the original—8 ounces instead of 10—the Go packs up along with the stirrer, measuring spoon. and little pack of filters into a plastic mug that you can brew into, all covered with a red rubbery lid that gives it a sort of Mario Brothers mushroom look.

It is fantastic for chucking into your carry-on for a business trip, and light enough to cram into your backpack for camping. Whichever you're doing, all you need is hot water and grounds, and you've got coffee that will be worlds better than the Keurig in your hotel room or the freeze-dried packets people use while camping. The Go is also excellent for home use. You really only need one AeroPress, whichever one it is, but users longed for a full-size version of the Go.

What they got is a different animal. Compared to its predecessor, the Go Plus seems to be primarily engineered for commuters who will stick it in a cup holder. Instead of just being a bigger version of the original, the Go Plus is a travel-mug version, with a tall metal cup and a lid with a magnetic slider to open and close it. The brewer packs right inside.

Those familiar with AeroPress will not need to look at the Go Plus manual the first time they use it, but they will likely be scratching their heads. The first one I received was missing the gasket that seals the lid and cup together, so keep your eye on user reviews to see if that was a one-off or a theme.

It's much bulkier and heavier than the Go. The Go weighs about 330 grams with all of its gear and no filters, while the Go Plus is almost double that at about 560 grams, which means I'd be half as likely to bring it on a trip.

One major difference will literally bop you on the nose. They've turned the magnetic slider that opens and shuts the lid into a protruding relief sculpture. To drink comfortably, you need to either sip on an edge, like with a water glass, or suck through a straw or beer bottle. The slider on the Go Plus makes drinking neither sip nor suck, and also forces you to mush your nose against the lid. It was much more pleasant to drink from by removing the slider entirely.

There is yet more branding, including the AeroPress name in big letters on one side of the mug, and a drawing of an AeroPress on the other. It all feels a little tacky. By comparison, my favorite Oxo travel mug has a discreet and tiny logo on one side and a near-invisible one on the lid.

The thing that caused me to give up on the Go Plus altogether, though, was a pair of tabs protruding from the underside of the brewing chamber. They cleverly allow the lid to clip to it when it's all packed up together. However, they're not clever at all when you are trying to brew into one of your own mugs because you probably won't be able to. Part of what's nice about the AeroPress line is that, other than the XL, I can use any of them to brew into almost every one of the 15 or so mugs in my cupboard. The Go Plus, however, needs a mug with an opening of more than three inches across, and I only own a few of those.

Finally, I can't fully understand who the Go Plus is for. The Go either gets used at home or is packed up for use at a campsite or hotel room. Do you use the Go Plus en route to your destination? What do you do with the brewer? Leave it at home? Put it in a plastic bag, toss it into the back seat and bring it with you? Why not just use a regular AeroPress and brew it (or pour it) into your favorite, less annoying, travel mug? Compared to the ease and functionality of almost all of the other items that AeroPress makes, it's hard to recommend it.