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I thought the AeroPress was the perfect travel coffee maker, but a new contender is vying for that title. That new contender is none other than the AeroPress Go.
The original version of the AeroPress was designed to be the ideal manual coffee maker for home or travel. From its compact design to its built-in travel mug that doubles as a carrying case, the AeroPress Go is clearly built for travel.
But which AeroPress should you buy? In this AeroPress vs AeroPress Go review and comparison, I’ll walk you through all the key differences and what type of coffee lover each of these devices is perfect for. Let’s get going!
Quick Take AeroPress vs AeroPress Go
AeroPress vs AeroPress Go: Size and Shape
The AeroPress Go is almost an inch shorter than the original Aeropress. That’s the most noticeable difference at first glance, but the Go is also slightly narrower. Overall, this cuts 2 ounces of internal capacity from the AeroPress Go, which can hold 8 ounces instead of the 10-ounce capacity of the AeroPress.
The shape of the base is also different. The AeroPress has a hexagonal ring that lets it rest easily on both normal and wide-rimmed coffee mugs. The AeroPress Go has a circular base, which can be problematic for use with very wide coffee mugs. However, that new shape does allow it to fit into the AeroPress Go’s compact travel container.
AeroPress and AeroPress Go: What’s In the Box?
Chamber and plunger
The heart of the AeroPress, the chamber and plunger, are present in both models. As described above, though, the size and the shape of these components are different. The AeroPress has a slightly larger capacity, whereas the AeroPress Go is designed to fit into the travel mug.
The plunger gasket has also been revamped for the AeroPress Go. It now uses a soft silicone seal instead of the old rubber that was overly stiff. Not only is this softer seal easier to use, but it should last much longer than the old rubber seal. Since the seal was always the first piece to go in an AeroPress, this should increase the longevity of the whole device.
Filter cap
The filter cap has been slimmed down for the AeroPress Go. This doesn’t have a real performance impact, but it does further lend to the compact nature of the Go.
Stirrer
The regular AeroPress had a t-shaped stirring stick that was pretty bulky. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to have a stirrer that was exactly the height of the chamber, but there was room for improvement.
The AeroPress Go has a foldable stirrer that looks more like a handle than a paddle. It’s definitely more compact than the original, but its decreased rigidity makes it somewhat harder to use. Many of the better AeroPress recipes have you swirling instead of stirring, though, so the stirrer may not matter much.
Filter holder
The original AeroPress comes with a filter holder that can easily store over 500 paper filters. It’s not particularly portable, though, and you’ll rarely need that many filters on the road.
The AeroPress Go replaces this large, bulky filter container with a slim holder for 20 filters, which is perfect for mobility. Then again, with the original AeroPress, you could always store your on-the-go filters inside the plunger.
Scoop
The original round AeroPress scoop has been redesigned to be oval-shaped for the AeroPress Go. The new shape allows the scoop to fit right into the travel mug, just like everything else with this newer model.
The oval scoop also fits into the brewing chamber, so you can easily pour without spilling with no need for the funnel.
Now, this only matters if you are still measuring your coffee with a scoop. If you’ve opted to measure coffee using a coffee scale instead — and I strongly suggest you do — you probably won’t be using the scoop anyway.
Filters
Both the AeroPress and AeroPress Go come with 350 paper filters. There’s no difference here.
Travel mug and lid
The 15-ounce travel mug with lid is the biggest selling point of the AeroPress Go. All of your AeroPress components fit inside of it, so you have a rugged travel case that fits in pretty much any piece of luggage (although it might be a bit bulky for backpacking).
The mug ensures that you have a serving container with you wherever you take your AeroPress. It’s made of BPA-free plastic, which is FDA and EU approved for food safety. It’s not truly insulated, but it is thick and the ribbed exterior ensures that you can hold it fine even when the contents are hot.
You can microwave the mug as long as you remove the silicone lid. I don’t generally recommend reheating coffee, but you could potentially use a microwave to heat water for brewing.
The lid itself is nothing special. It’s made of silicone rubber and fits snugly on the mug. In a pinch, you can also use it to transfer beans into a coffee grinder or transfer coffee grounds into the AeroPress chamber.
Funnel
The AeroPress Go completely did away with the funnel. The funnel was bulky, so I guess there wasn’t a way for them to fit it into the Go’s travel mug.
There were two main uses for the funnel. The redesigned scoop (see above) eliminates the need for a funnel when pouring ground coffee into the top of the AeroPress chamber.
However, the funnel was also useful when brewing into a mason jar or other container with too small of an opening for the AeroPress. You could place the AeroPress in the funnel and the funnel in the container, essentially using the funnel as an adapter. There’s no good way to do this with the AeroPress Go, but the assumption is that you’ll typically be brewing directly into the AeroPress Go mug anyway.
Filter holder
The original AeroPress has a large filter holder that can keep upwards of 500 filters. The AeroPress Go has replaced this with a travel filter holder. The travel holder can store 20 filters and fits easily into the travel mug.
Filters
Both models come with 350 paper filters.
Do Other AeroPress Accessories Work With the AeroPress Go?
Most AeroPress accessories are fully cross-compatible between the AeroPress and AeroPress Go. That includes the Fellow Prismo and other popular filter and filter cap replacements.
Because the dimensions of the two models are different, some attachments (including the Prismo) can take a bit more effort to attach to the AeroPress Go. This doesn’t seem to affect their performance or longevity, though.
Do AeroPress and AeroPress Go Brew the Same?
You’ll get the same delicious coffee from the AeroPress Go as you got from the AeroPress. All of the best AeroPress recipes work with either coffee maker. That includes all of Alan Adler’s original recipes, the popular inverted method recipes like AeroPress espresso, and a whole lot more.
The only thing that the AeroPress Go can’t handle is a recipe that requires the full 10-ounce capacity of the AeroPress, and those recipes usually aren’t as good anyway.
AeroPress or AeroPress Go: Which Is Better?
The AeroPress Go is certainly the better travel coffee maker. You can buy the original AeroPress with a tote bag, but it will never match the convenience and durability of the Go’s two-in-one travel case and mug.
However, the original AeroPress works with a wider range of mug sizes, has a slightly larger capacity, and fits the accessories slightly better. If you don’t plan to travel with it and just need a compact way to make a delicious cup of coffee at home, there’s no reason not to favor the original AeroPress.
Whichever machine you go with, you’ll have made a great choice. Both the AeroPress and AeroPress Go are high-quality, American-made coffee makers, which is a rare find these days.
And there are still plenty more ways to improve your coffee game. The AeroPress is an amazing coffee maker, but you can make it better with a good AeroPress coffee grinder or travel coffee grinder. An electric gooseneck kettle is also a great call, especially if you need hot water on the road. And, of course, you’re going to want to pick out the perfect coffee beans for your AeroPress.
