When AeroPress Inc. announced last year the upcoming launch of an even more portable version of the coffee maker, dubbed the AeroPress Go, the news was met with some degree of scepticism. The original AeroPress is already well adapted for travel, so was a slightly smaller version — even one that cleverly packed all of the essential brewing accessories inside a tumbler for brewing and drinking — really necessary?
As I'm the target market for the AeroPress Go, I thought it would be worth trying out, although I do appreciate the irony of reviewing a travel brewing product at the time when no one is going anywhere! I travel a lot and I also travel light, usually taking a backpack that fits under an aeroplane seat for long weekends or a cabin-size suitcase for trips of one week or longer. I also like to visit a lot of coffee shops when I travel and don't want to spend all day brewing coffee, especially while on holiday. This means I only take enough kit to make my first coffee of the day, and I'm not pedantic about the brew.
If I know there will be a kettle at my destination, I might take my smallest V60, but otherwise my travel coffee kit consists of my AeroPress, my Made by Knock Aergrind (pictured below inside the AeropPress) and a cup for brewing (usually my 8 oz HuskeeCup or 8 oz KeepCup). On weekend trips, I usually pre-grind my coffee and leave the Aergrind at home. The AeroPress has a relatively small footprint and it's also a relatively forgiving brew method, especially if you don't have scales or a pouring kettle.
There are times, however, when even the AeroPress feels like it's too big for my bag — if I've got work kit or hiking gear, for example. And this was the appeal of the AeroPress Go. I've been using it for a week now, and have carried out some direct comparisons with its less petite sibling.
Brewing with the Go was pretty similar to the original AeroPress experience. Using the inverted method and 15 g of coffee (an Ethiopian from Outpost Coffee during my testing), I was able to add about 210 ml of off-the-boil water to the Go; the official capacity is 237 ml, compared to the 296 ml capacity of the original, but I don't fill to the absolute max as I'm always worried about spillages.
After plunging, I added a further 40 ml of water to the cup to make up the ratio. I found the cup relatively pleasant to drink from, but its large, 444 ml capacity dwarfed my 250 ml brew. The coffee tasted almost identical to the same coffee brewed through the regular AeroPress.
My main issue with the Go is the brewing cup. The product is cleverly conceived, with the stirrer folding up and slotting into the plunger along with the compact 14 g scoop. The whole AeroPress then fits inside the cup, sealed with a rubber lid that also holds a slim filter-paper holder). But the cup is so big that the Go isn't actually much smaller than the original, although it is shorter and squatter. That being said, I usually have to take a separate cup with the original AeroPress, so overall, the Go kit takes up less space.
Will the AeroPress Go replace the original in my travel bag? It depends. On occasions when space is at a real premium, I would consider the smaller size of the Go a good trade-off for the faff of having to add additional hot water to the brewed coffee (not always easy in kettle-less hotel rooms). I would leave the cup at home, though, and take my HuskeeCup instead — which I'd also use for any take-away coffees during my trip. As I travel a lot both domestically and internationally — in normal circumstances, anyway — I am confident I will get good use out of my AeroPress Go, and can now retire one of my two originals, which I've had for nearly eight years and which is finally starting to suffer.
If you don't already have an AeroPress and are interested in buying one, I would still recommend buying the original model unless having the smallest possibly coffee-making kit is extremely important. If you already have kit for brewing coffee at home/work and are in the market for a very portable brewing device for travel, the AeroPress Go may be worth considering. AeroPress have published a detailed side-by-side comparison if you're still not sure which would be best for your brewing needs.
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Hi Bex,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed review. It rather confirms my already held prejudices about the Aeropress Go. I think if I didn't already have an Aeropress, I might get one as a travel brewer, but I'm not sure I see the point since I already have three (and plenty of travel cups).
Thanks,
Brian.
Thanks, Brian. Indeed, I don't think it's a brewer for everyone (you could probably say that about all brewers; that's why there are so many options!) but one of my originals needed replacing anyway and I'm confident I will get good use out of the Go when I travel.
DeleteThanks for stopping by,
Bex