AeroPress Vs French Press | Which’s Better?

A French Press and an Aeropress are both manual coffee makers since both involve full immersion type brewing processes and require pressing to “Brew a cup of Coffee”.

But! They have some major differences such as

The French Press prepares a rich, full-bodied cup of coffee, whereas the Aeropress prepares smooth and dense shots of coffee. The French Press can be used for brewing coffee in large quantities, while the Aeropress is ideal for brewing coffee solo.

We’re gonna discuss the “Pros and Cons” of both French Press and Aeropress thoroughly and how these coffee machines are different which will surely help you in making a decision.

First have a brief overview of both!

An Overview of AeroPress

Aeropress is a relatively new innovation in the World of coffee devised in 2005 by toy inventor Alan Adler.

It’s made of BPA-free Polypropylene plastic with no phthalates and uses a paper filter to filter out the coffee drink.

An Aeropress basically comprises”Two parts”:

• Chamber: A circular jar made of food-safe polypropylene.
• Plunger: It consists of a lid and an airtight seal made of silicon, and a paper micro-filter.

In the coffee world, Aeropress is known as a manual espresso maker since it makes concentrated shots of coffee much similar to Espresso. But without the signature layer of Crema as the brewing pressure is much less than the Espresso machine.

Aeropress forces water through a thin paper filter for smooth, grit-free, and clean-flavored coffee with no oils and sediments.

An Aero press only offers a single design and that’s the traditional one.

An Overview of French Press

A French Press also known as Cafetiere or Coffee Press is a popular manual coffee brewing machine.

A French Press mainly comprises “Two Parts”:

• A Plunger– It consists of a lid and a mesh filter assembly
• The Carafe- The carafe or coffee jar which may be made of one of three different materials: Stainless steel, glass, or Ceramic with Glass being the most popular one.

French Press is quite popular in the USA, a good 4 percent of American coffee drinkers brew their coffee using the French Press.

French press coffee is known for its bold and rich flavor although you do require some brewing expertise otherwise you will end up with a muddy cup of coffee.

Unlike other coffee makers, French Press only uses paper filters (you can also use paper filters in the french press though). These metal filters let most of the coffee oils pass through and give the coffee a unique and stronger mouthfeel.

Difference between Aeropress and French Press

Let’s discuss the differences between French Press and Aeropress in detail.

1) How Aeropress and French Press Compared in taste

Considering the taste profile, both brewing devices can make exceptional coffee. Yet, they’ve some significant differences. Mainly, because of the brewing time and filter.

A French Press coffee is rich, full-bodied, and has a stronger mouthfeel as it is full of flavorful coffee oils. However, it will be a little bitter in taste because of the prolonged brewing process.

On the other hand, Aeropress coffee has a smoother taste. It uses a microfilter, which removes much of the grit, resulting in a coffee that is smooth and lacking the sediment sometimes found in French Press. In taste, Aeropress is much similar to dense and concentrated Espresso shots.

In short, if you prefer a regular serving of coffee with a rich mouthfeel go with the French Press and if you like espresso-styled rich, and dense coffee shots go with the Aeropress. In taste, I must say I like French Press more!

2) The Grind size

Whether you’re brewing a french press, cold brew, latte, cappuccino, or espresso. Grind size matters! 

It’ll have an impact on taste, texture, and the final outcome.

For a French press, an ideal grind size should be anywhere between Medium Coarse to Coarse. That’s simply because French Press only uses metal strainers to filter coffee. If you use fine grounds you will end up with a cup of coffee full of fine coffee sediments.

For an Aero press, the ideal grounds should be Fine or Medium fine. That’s simply because Aeropress is a quick brewing method and fine coffee grounds with large surface areas extract flavors more quickly.

Use Burr Grinder for consistent grind- Ground coffee becomes stale within minutes. So, buy whole-bean coffee and grind your beans right before use. It can be a game-changer for a fresh coffee drink!

3) Ease of use

French Press and Aeropress are both completely manual coffee makers that let you control the entire brewing process.

That’s both a good and bad thing at the same time!

Good for coffee lovers who want to adjust brewing parameters such as coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, water temperature, and steeping time according to their taste.

The bad thing you can easily mess up the taste of your brew if you don’t know how to use them properly.

Although both French Press and Aeropress are fairly easy to use but in French Press the margin of error is high. A beginner can easily ruin a cup of coffee using French Press. That’s why the ease of use point goes to Aeropress

4) Ease of Cleaning

It’s an Important Thing to consider which “Press” is easy to Clean. As it’s an Important Task that needs to be done on a Daily, Weekly, And Monthly Basis.

French Press contains oil residues and coarse coffee ground remains that makes it relatively harder to clean.

This time, an Aero press got a plus point as it’s easier and a matter of seconds to clean as compared to the French press.                            

5) The Type of Filters in French Press vs Aeropress

The type of filter you use while brewing a coffee will eventually have an impact on the taste and the texture.

A French Press uses a “metal filter”, That lets coffee oils and fine coffee grounds pass through resulting in a bit different taste.

Coffee filtered with a Metal filter is Rich, Creamy, and Full-bodied. Also, fine coffee grounds can pass through these Filter Pores resulting in sediments at the bottom of the cup (which some people hates and other enjoy).

Meanwhile, an Aero Press uses a “Paper Filter” with finer perforations that Filter excessive oils and makes a grit-free smooth cup of coffee.

6) Capacity and time for a brew

If you’re living in a house full of java addicts or have to prepare coffee for a bunch of people then French Press is a coffee device for you.

• It can easily make 3-8 cups of Coffee of time (different sizes available)
•  A French press takes around 10 minutes to brew a cup of coffee (From bean to brew)

If you’re buying a device for solo use, and one or two cups is enough at a time. Then an aero press is going to be a great choice!

• The capacity of Aeropress is typically around 10 oz.
• An Aero press is faster- Can brew a cup of java within a minute.

Mr. Adler concluded a motive behind inventing an aero press:

“I want to have good, quick coffee always at hand, so I invented the Aero Press”

Ask a few questions to yourself before making a decision! Are you looking for a device for solo use or for family use? How much coffee do you drink daily? Are you an Espresso person or a traditional one?

7) Which is best for travel AeroPress or French Press

While French Press also has a portable design and can be used for traveling and camping trips but it certainly can’t match the portability of an Aeropress.

The glass jar of French Press can break due to pressure or turbulence. (However, you can buy a metal one that can’t break easily!)

Aero press is designed with BPA-free plastic that’s easy to carry, portable, and lightweight.

8) The versatility of French Press vs Aeropress

In terms of versatility, both Aeropress and French press have their advantages.

French Press gives you the option to make hot coffee, cold brew, and iced coffee. You can also froth milk in the French Press to prepare the milk-based coffee drink Cafe Au Lait. In addition, you can also make tea with a French press.

In contrast, Aeropress can make hot coffee in various different ways. Coffee that is simple and smooth with a low coffee-to-water ratio or Espresso-styled rich and dense shots of coffee that can be used to prepare Cappuccino and Latte.

9) The Budget

Both “presses” are quite affordable so any coffee lover can easily add these to their coffee collections.

A French Press offers a wide range of Prices. A cheap one is easily available for under twenty dollars, while an expensive double-walled or ceramic French press can cost up to 100-150 dollars.

However, if you are looking for something good and reliable you must have a budget of around 30-50 dollars. Bodum Chambord is my personal favorite

While an Aeropress has a Standard price that’s around $30 and other than that you have to purchase paper filters separately.

AeroPress vs French Press | What’s best for you

I have made both the Aeropress and French press transparent in this detailed comparison

Now to conclude “which one’s going to be best for you?”

Well, the answer is it depends!

Since it all comes down to what your preference is and what’s the purpose to buy one? Both of the “press” have specific qualities and a few drawbacks.

French presses are perfect for preparing coffee for a bunch of people, take almost five minutes to brew, and are better for household purposes.

Meanwhile, an Aero Press is suitable for solo coffee lovers, brews within a minute, and is perfect for traveling.

Nevertheless, my vote goes to French Press as I love the taste of rich and full-bodied brew from French Press.

Also Read Other French Press Comparisons

• French Press vs Moka Pot
• French Press vs Espresso
• French Press vs Percolator
• French Press vs Keurig
• French Press vs Pour Over
• French Press vs Drip Coffee

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