AeroPress Go Plus Review

After 6 months of traveling with the AeroPress Go Plus, we’ve used it everywhere from remote campsites and campervans to hotel rooms with laughably small cups. We’ve brewed 100s of cups of coffee on the road – so we’re finally confident sharing our hands-on AeroPress Go Plus Review. We’ll be breaking down how it performs in the real world… and where it falls short.

If you travel or camp a lot (and care about coffee, obviously), the AeroPress Go Plus is a good option. It combines the AeroPress brewer’s familiar ease and high-quality with an insulated travel mug. All the accessories neatly fit inside the cup for a (slightly bulky) self-contained system. The big advantage of its size is the ability to brew enough coffee for 2 people, though there’s only 1 cup.

No, it’s not perfect. It’s not small, not light, and not cheap. Compared to the regular AeroPress or compact AeroPress Go, the Go Plus has to earn its higher price and extra bulk. And, depending on how you travel (solo, ultralight, as a couple), it might not be the right choice for you.

In this review, we’ll break down our experience of using this portable coffee maker in the real world. We’ll show where it shines, where it falls short, and whether it’s a worthy investment for the way YOU travel. If it’s not, you’ll also find some strong alternatives that we highly rate.

At a Glance: AeroPress Go Plus Review

✅ Best for: Traveling couples, hotels, vanlife

❌ Skip if: Solo traveling, hiking, minimalist packer

The AeroPress Go Plus is ideal for someone who needs to make coffee for 2 people (or 1 very large coffee, we don’t judge) while traveling, but who isn’t restricted by weight allowance.

If you’re looking to make 1 regular cup of coffee, then the AeroPress Go is the best option. As the lightest brewer in the AeroPress lineup, it’s the most compact option.

If packability doesn’t bother you, then you’re better off buying a regular AeroPress and a separate travel mug. There are better travel mugs available for the extra $50 you’ll spend on the Go Plus over the regular AeroPress. That’s assuming you don’t want the scoop and stirring stick to fit inside for travel.

1. Complete Travel Coffee System

Everything you need to brew your coffee conveniently fits inside the insulated tumbler:

The AeroPress brewer, coffee scoop, stirrer, and paper filters all fit inside the mug with lid, making it easy to throw in your bag. All you need to do is add ground coffee and hot water.

2. 3 in 1 Brewing System

The combination of immersion, filtration, and pressure gives you complete control over brewing and can result in sensational coffee. Think of it like a combination of French press, espresso, and drip.

With thousands of recipes and brewing variants available online, you’re bound to find the one that gives you the perfect flavor profile. (We generally stick with the inverted method.)

3. Dishwasher Safe

While you may not have access to one on the go, being able to put your AeroPress through the dishwasher when you’re at home is a huge bonus.

4. Fast Brewing and Cleaning

You can brew your coffee and clean your AeroPress in less than 2 minutes. No waiting around for infusion, no time spent with fiddly small pieces. Just quick brewing, awesome coffee, and easy cleaning.

5. 10oz Capacity

Large enough to brew 2 people’s worth of coffee, depending on your recipe. That extra capacity is perfect for a couple looking for a travel coffee maker or someone who just loves a large coffee in the morning.

The AeroPress Go Plus includes a standard-sized AeroPress coffee brewer. There are literally thousands of AeroPress recipes you can use, but the basic concept is – add ground coffee, add hot water, stir, plunge.

The parts that are unique to the Go Plus all work really well:

The scoop is easy to use, the fold-out stirrer is nice, and the tumbler is a good size. It also has a lid that fits perfectly (though it’s not spill-proof) and a slick screw bottom for storing your filters.

We use the inverted method and this is the exact recipe we use:

This isn’t the most precise of recipes, especially if you don’t travel with a scale. But it works really well for us, for an Americano-style coffee.

We usually use light roast beans, but you can use any coffee roast you like; you’d just need to adjust the grind size to make sure your extraction is balanced. We also travel with the superb 1Zpresso K-Ultra grinder, using the setting 7.5 for light roasts.

Can you make espresso with the AeroPress Go Plus?

Technically, no. Espresso requires 7-9 BAR of pressure, and you can’t get anywhere near that with the AeroPress. What you can make is a very intense coffee concentrate that is similar to espresso in terms of style and how you use it.

To make “espresso” using the inverted method, add 18g of coffee to the chamber and 90g of hot water. Stir aggressively, then allow it to sit for 90 seconds. Add the cap with a rinsed filter, flip the AeroPress over, and press into a cup.

This is a James Hoffman recipe, so we trust it to do a good job.

We happily cart around our 1Zpresso K-Ultra manual grinder so we can use freshly ground beans for amazing coffee when we travel. But we’re probably more obsessive than most.

If you’re short on space, travel carry-on only (not sure what TSA would make of a manual coffee grinder), or hiking so weight matters, then you may prefer to use pre-ground coffee with the AeroPress. It’s a compromise on flavor, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

If you’re buying pre-ground coffee, then make sure you’re getting it ground for AeroPress. Most roasters will grind specifically for AeroPress if you ask. If that’s not an option then “medium” should work just fine.

It’s 4.2″ in diameter and 7.3″ tall – hardly compact but also not enormous. It weighs 1lb 4 oz (560g) when it’s all packed up. So anyone counting every ounce on a long hike might feel it’s too heavy.

For those of us using suitcases, it’s not an issue. It’ll take up maybe more of your carry-on allowance than you’d like, but it’s still pretty compact and easy to take away with you.

The Build

There’s not a lot to an AeroPress, which means there’s not a lot to go wrong.

The AeroPress Go Plus is made from their trademarked “Tritan” material. This is a BPA-free plastic that is light, shatterproof, and heat-resistant.

(If you’re worried about making coffee in plastic, there’s an AeroPress Premium made from glass, stainless steel, and titanium. It’s not cheap, though, at around $200. Obviously not great for travel either.)

The tumbler is sturdy, and the lid fits tightly onto the top. It doesn’t screw on, though, so I wouldn’t recommend throwing it around when it has coffee inside or you’ll end up spilling coffee everywhere.

The cup insulation works pretty well, though nowhere near what a dedicated thermal bottle would achieve. We found that around 2.5 hours was the maximum time the coffee stayed “hot”. We don’t typically store coffee in this way as the air oxidizes the coffee and ruins the taste… and we have zero self-restraint.

It also comes in pink or white if you’re not boring like us and own all monochrome things. For the pink version, the AeroPress itself is also pink, which is fun.

After 6 months of use, the only wear and tear we’ve noticed is that by drying it with a towel, we’ve rubbed the branding and numbers from the outside of the AeroPress. This could be slightly annoying if you’re relying on the numbers for measuring the water volume.

Updated Lid

When we were researching other people’s experiences of the Go Plus, we found a lot of hate for the lid. To the point where many said it was completely unusable.

Since its initial release, AeroPress has listened and changed the design. Now the lid works perfectly fine. It keeps the coffee in (though it’s not spill-proof if you knock the cup over), and it’s easy to drink from.

One thing that took me a hot minute to get used to was the cool embossed AeroPress pressing into my lip as I drank. It’s not unpleasant, just a little weird to begin with.

The claim is that you can brew your coffee and clean your AeroPress in under 2 minutes total. This is definitely true if you have access to running water. Simply pop out the puck, rinse the AeroPress and lid, and job done. Less than 20 seconds total cleaning time.

It might take a little longer if you’re camping with limited supplies.

Just be aware that if you don’t dry everything before you put it away, then the water will sit inside the tumbler until you use it again.

AeroPress Go

The baby brother of the AeroPress Go Plus is an incredible travel coffee brewer. It’s smaller and lighter than the Go Plus, obviously, but it brews amazing coffee and cleans just as easily. It’s also nearly half the price.

So, why would anyone bother with the more expensive and heavier version?

The AeroPress Go only makes 8oz of coffee, which really is only coffee for one person. Those extra 2 ounces of space on the Go Plus make all the difference.

The tumbler on the Go is also no where near as nice as with the Go Plus, which we assume is making up most of the price difference here.

If you’re a solo traveler looking for an easy and compact coffee-making kit, the AeroPress Go is absolutely perfect for you.

If you’re looking to make coffee for 2 people, the AeroPress Go Plus is worth the extra money, size, and weight to brew for 2 in one go.

Wacaco Picopresso

The Wacaco Picoporesso is a very different animal. It’s a tiny portable espresso maker capable of pulling exceptional quality espresso shots (unlike the espresso-style of the AeroPress.)

Sounds great, but there are some caveats to this:

Firstly, you really have to have a good quality grinder to go with it. It will obviously work with pre-ground coffee designed for any espresso machine, but it’s almost a waste of such a great device.

It’s also much more difficult to use than the AeroPress. The margin for error is smaller, and it will take quite a bit of practice before you’re pulling those awesome espresso shots.

It also only makes a single espresso at a time, so unless you love making coffee and everyone is willing to wait, it’s not great for more than a solo coffee.

Don’t get the wrong idea, we absolutely love this little guy and happily take it traveling when there’s just one of us. But it’s a very different beast from the AeroPress Go Plus.

Read next: Our in-depth Wacaco Picopresso Review

We love our AeroPress Go Plus. I love how good the coffee is, that it packs up neatly, and that I can brew coffee for both of us at the same time. When hotel-hopping, having a tumbler that’s the correct size for using an AeroPress is surprisingly rare, so the integrated travel mug is a real game-changer.

It isn’t particularly small or light. If you’re hiking you may feel it’s a little too much weight to carry, especially if, like us, you pack a grinder too.

But for coffee lovers who travel or camp, it’s an awesome coffee maker to chuck in your bag when you go away. The only thing we’d add is that solo coffee drinkers don’t necessarily need the “Plus” model. Unless you drink a large quantity of coffee, the AeroPress Go might be a better pick and is half the price.

Don’t forget to buy your AeroPress Go Plus today

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds

Matt's coffee obsession started in 2006 when working as a Barista. A tendency to turn up to work hungover kickstarted his coffee journey which quickly turned into a love affair. As he moved on to work as a Restaurant Manager and Sommelier, the obsession continued to grow. Now, his passion is helping others to enjoy better coffee at home.