Hello, I’m Russell Volz, owner of Lake City Coffee. This article focuses on my personal and professional experience concerning the Best AeroPress Accessories.
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Coffee Professional
If you found this page through an internet search of “Best AeroPress Accessories” or something like that, you’ll find nearly all of the entries on the search engine results page consist of articles written by internet marketers, who are affiliate salesmen for the likes of Scamazon or Skrewgle, i.e., they most likely don’t know squat about coffee or the AeroPress.
That is not the case here. I am a coffee professional. I personally search the world over for the smoothest coffee beans grown on God’s good green earth. Then, I taste test dozens of beans, to find the very smoothest and best tasting. Next, I import those lovely beans to Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Each week I gently roast those beans to perfection, and finally ship those freshly roasted warm beans to your address.
All that to say, I know coffee and you can trust my opinion. What you’ll find in this article is the straight scoop, no BS, Good, Bad, and Ugly, regarding what are truly the Best AeroPress Accessories and also the Worst AeroPress Accessories.
What Is The AeroPress & Why You Should Have One
Just in case you don’t have an AeroPress, this is why you need one. The AeroPress is one of the most popular and least expensive ($35-$40) coffee brewing systems in the world. In my humble opinion, if you have the best coffee for the AeroPress, it is one of the best coffee brewers in the world.
Why is the AeroPress one of the best coffee brewers in the world? Simply put, I like smooth coffee, i.e., not bitter. I want to taste all the prominent and subtle flavors which God put into those coffee beans. The best brewing systems are those, that allow the grounds to steep in the water, much like tea. This is precisely what the AeroPress does and is why it produces a very smooth and flavorful cup of coffee.
Made In USA
In today’s day and age, it is very difficult to find consumer products that aren’t made by slave labor in Communist China. Those consumer products which are not made in China are often made in Thailand, Malaysia, or Mexico. Unfortunately, these countries do not have production standards nor the consumer protection policies that come close to anything made in USA.
In my list below of the Best AeroPress Accessories, I’m definitely giving preference to Made In USA coffee products. That does not mean that I’m cutting Made In USA products any slack. The fact is consumer products Made In USA are nearly unparalleled in quality, craftsmanship, effectiveness, and longevity. If and when I find good quality products made in Japan, Italy, or Switzerland, I will recommend them to you.
Criteria For Best AeroPress Accessories
Almost without exception, nearly every list of Best AeroPress Accessories that you’ll find on the internet will include some of the silliest and dumbest things that barely relate to coffee, much less the AeroPress. Therefore, not only am I going to list the best AeroPress accessories, but I’m also going list the worst and stupidest accessories.
My criteria for choosing the best AeroPress accessories include:
- If an accessory was free, would people use it?
- Does the price per value make sense?
- What is the country of origin?
- How well does it work?
AeroPress Paper Filters
Made In USA By Free Americans
As you may know, the AeroPress itself is Made In the USA and comes with paper filters. These paper filters are made by AeroPress right here in the good old USA. In my opinion, these filters are just amazing. For some reason, they filter out a lot of the bitter flavor of coffee. Of course, if you’re using our fresh roasted Lake City Coffee whole beans, which is already low acid and almost without any bitterness, then together with these filters the results are fantastic. A pack of 350 filters are available on the AeroPress.com website for about $8.00.
I’ve tried a variety of other filters, all of which were Made In Communist China by Slave Labor. Keep in mind, I wasn’t “looking” for Made In China, just so I could beat up on them, it just so happens that nearly 100% of the AeroPress replacement filters that are not made by AeroPress just so happens to be made in China. Each of these, non-AeroPress, paper filters produce a different flavor. Granted, the differences in taste are generally pretty subtle.
AeroPress Stainless Steel Reusable Filters
Made In USA By Free Americans
Like AeroPress’s paper filters, these stainless steel reusable filters are also Made In USA by Free Americans. These reusable filters do a great job. The resulting coffee is still smooth and flavorful. The question is how does it differ from the paper filters?
In my professional opinion, the reusable stainless steel filters produces coffee that’s only slightly more bitter, but it also gives you a little more flavor. The challenge is that there are over a hundred different compounds inside coffee beans, each with its own flavor. If you change just one variable, like going from a paper filter to a stainless steel filter, then you’re going end up with a different taste. Some people will love the difference and others will not. The only way to know the difference is to buy one. For a mere $25 on the AeroPress website, you too can decide if this is your magic key.
AeroPress Replacement Seal
Made In USA By Free Americans
I use my AeroPress every day, 365 days a year. It seems that the rubber seal on the end of the AeroPress plunger starts leaking in about 2 years. I’ve replaced mine three times over the last six years. You can find these gaskets on the AeroPress.com website for about $8 each. Shipping is about $5.00, so I recommend ordering at least two, keeping in mind, each one will last you about 2 years.
Bad and Stupid AeroPress Accessories
At the risk of being overly critical here, my issues aren’t so much these products as it is who made them and the knucklehead “Affiliate Sellers” on Scamazon and Screwgle that are promoting these products.
As I said before, a vast majority of these affiliate sellers don’t know squat about coffee, much less about the AeroPress. I suppose that if these products were made in the USA and they were being promoted by knowledgeable coffee professionals, then I’d be more excited.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. You will find the products listed below all over the internet. I do not recommend them. Stay away. They’re a waste of money.
Espresso Attachment
Made In China By Slave Labor
Companies selling this little attachment claim that it will instantly turn your AeroPress coffee maker into an espresso machine. That statement is quite a stretch. Here’s why.
Espresso machines brew a particularly thick, bitter and strong shot of coffee. To do this, the espresso machines generates about 640 pounds of pressure. It’s this pressure that creates the espresso machine’s unique flavor. These AeroPress attachments, at best, create about 25-50 pounds of pressure.
Bottom line is that the taste from these little gizmos isn’t exactly up to par with a real espresso machine. Some would say that it’s not even close.
AeroPress Organizers
“Holy Cow, Batman!” You have got to be kidding me. There are more “AeroPress Organizers” out there than Carter has liver pills! Seriously? You need an organizer to hold your AeroPress stuff? You want to see what a real AeroPress organizer looks like?
Take a look at mine in the picture here. It’s my fricken dishwasher! You use your AeroPress, then you put it in the dishwasher. The next morning when you need your AeroPress, you open the dishwasher door and like magic, your AeroPress is meticulously organized and clean as a whistle!
AeroPress Travel Kit
Someone must have more money than they know what to do with it. My AeroPress paraphernalia gets shoved into a stuff bag. End of story.
AeroPress Paper Filter Case
Made In China By Slave Labor
Surprisingly, I think this little filter case is a great idea. When I travel, my paper filters usually end up wrinkled. A very small, nice plastic case for the filters would be helpful.
But guess what? They’re all made in China. You know, instead of funding the same people preparing for war with us, I’d just as soon put up with wrinkled filters.
Lake City Coffee
When Alisha (my wonderful wife) and I started Lake City Coffee, we did so because we wanted super smooth, non-burnt, non-bitter, super fresh roasted whole bean coffee.
Unfortunately, nearly all coffee sold in the US has been sitting in warehouses and on store shelves for months if not years. The difference between old stale beans vs. beans that were warm when placed in the USPS Priority Mail box; that difference in taste is enough to make you believe in God. It’s truly astounding.
And that’s what we do. One bean (Costa Rican), 3 roasts (White, Medium, Barely-Dark), and shipped warm. That’s our whole business model. Apparently, that’s what true coffee lovers want, because we’re crushing it.