Image: AeroPress

AeroPress Go Plus Review: The $80 Plastic Cup

Name: AeroPress Go Plus
Brand: AeroPress

The AeroPress Go Plus is a gorgeous, clear Tritan travel brewer that packs perfectly but fails as a travel mug thanks to a bafflingly bad lid.

December 28, 2025 • 3 Min Read • AeroPress Go Plus

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The Verdict

8 10

The AeroPress Go Plus is a frustrating paradox. As a brewing device, it is arguably the best version of the AeroPress ever made. The crystal-clear Tritan construction feels premium, robust, and infinitely less like a medical device than the original. The increased capacity (10oz vs the old Go’s 8oz) finally makes it a viable daily driver for people who drink more than a thimble of coffee at a time. The way it nests—silently, securely, rattle-free—into its own tumbler is a masterpiece of industrial design. It triggers that lizard-brain satisfaction of things fitting where they belong.

But then you try to drink from it. The included travel tumbler, which accounts for half the price tag, features a lid that seems designed by someone who has never discouraged liquid from leaving a cup. It creates a vacuum that makes sipping a chore, and the magnetic slider is "splash-resistant" in the same way a screen door is "burglar-resistant." It’s an $80 travel system that forces you to bring a separate mug if you actually want to enjoy the coffee you just made.

If you need a compact, self-contained brew kit for a hotel room or a desk, this is fantastic. Just take the lid off before you drink. If you want a leak-proof commuter mug, buy an original AeroPress and a Zojirushi, and spend the money you saved on better beans.

The Good

Gorgeous, shatterproof Tritan construction replaces the 'cloudy syringe' look.
Nesting design is incredibly satisfying and space-efficient.
Increased 10oz brew capacity makes it a real coffee maker.
Same legendary, forgiving brew quality.

The Bad

The tumbler lid is an ergonomic disaster (poor venting, splashing).
Insulation is mediocre compared to dedicated travel mugs.
$80 is a steep ask for a plastic press and a steel cup.
Printed markings tend to rub off over time.

Stop wasting beans. The AeroPress is just one tool. Learn the actual science of extraction in our Ultimate Guide to Making Coffee at Home.

Read the Guide

The Shiny New Syringe

For years, owning an AeroPress meant accepting that you were brewing coffee with something that looked like a Swedish penis pump. It was ugly, grey, and started to look scuffed after two trips in a backpack. The Go Plus solves this insecurity with aggressive prejudice. The new brewing chamber is made of crystal-clear Tritan, and frankly, it’s beautiful.

It feels substantial, it looks like premium kitchenware, and it lets you see the bloom of your coffee in high definition. It’s the first AeroPress you can leave on a counter without looking like you’re running a meth lab.

The Art of Packing

The real magic here isn’t the coffee—which tastes exactly the same as it does from the $40 model—but the packaging. The entire kit nests inside the included stainless steel tumbler with zero wasted space. The scoop and stirrer have been redesigned to fold and tuck away. The filter cap snaps into the plunger.

The whole thing slides into the cup with a pneumatic woosh that is deeply satisfying. It feels like a spy gadget. If you are the kind of person who organizes their cables with velcro ties, this packing mechanism will give you a dopamine hit every morning.

Drinking From A Vacuum

And now, the tragedy. AeroPress decided to pair this brilliant brewer with a tumbler lid that actively fights you. The magnetic slider is fiddly and prone to popping off if you look at it wrong. worse, the venting is nonexistent. Taking a sip requires you to form a seal and suck the liquid out against a vacuum, like a nursing calf.

It turns the simple act of drinking coffee into a pressurized event. Furthermore, it is not leak-proof. Do not throw this in a bag. It will leak. It will ruin your laptop. It is a “travel” mug that demands to be held upright at all times, which is not how travel works.

> Specs

Brew Capacity 10 oz (295 ml)
Tumbler Capacity 16 oz (473 ml)
Weight (Packed) 1 lb 4 oz
Packed Dimensions 7.3” x 4.2”
Materials Tritan™, 18/8 Stainless Steel
Included Tumbler, Brewer, Scoop, Stirrer, Filters

The Comparison Trap

If you want better coffee, buy a Wacaco Picopresso. It makes real espresso, not the “espresso-style” concentrate AeroPress lies about. If you want better portability, the Outin Nano heats its own water, meaning you don’t use to hunt for a kettle. But both of those are finicky. The AeroPress remains the king of “hard to mess up” coffee.

The real competitor is the original AeroPress combined with a decent mug you already own. Or, if you are just brewing at home, stop pretending you need a travel brewer and buy a Breville Bambino.

Just brewing at home? The Breville Bambino is a far better choice if you don’t actually need to travel. It makes real espresso and costs about the same as an AeroPress setup plus a good grinder.

Read Bambino Review

The Internet is Unimpressed

The community consensus is essentially a collective sigh. Reddit users adore the form factor but are largely appalled by the lid. There are entire threads dedicated to “fixing” the Go Plus by finding third-party lids that actually fit. Reports of the magnetic slider falling off are common, and the fading volume markings (a legacy AeroPress issue) persist here too. Everyone agrees: great brewer, terrible cup.