In recent years, use of the Aeropress has been on the rise, with many coffee drinkers preferring it to more traditional approaches.But like all equipment, it can be tough finding the best parts for the perfect cup of coffee, especially the best filters.
Aeropress offers metal, paper and cloth filters in a wide array of options. While ‘best’ is a matter of preference, it’s a question of what fits with your budget and your personal quirks for coffee brewing.
For a good look at your options in regards to Aeropress filters, keep reading.
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What Are The Best Aeropress Filters?
The best aeropress filters are ones that work within your budget, and produce the taste you desire, or avoid producing an aftertaste or flavor addition you don’t.
To determine the best Aeropress filter, you should also determine how fine you want your coffee ground, and how you want your coffee brewed, given the several different styles of coffee brewing available.
What Do I Need To Know To Choose The Best Aeropress Filter?
There are a few questions to answer when determining which is the best Aeropress filter.
- Do you prefer paper, cloth or metal?
- What is your budget for Aeropress filters?
- Reusable or disposable?
- What fineness do you prefer?
What Are The Pros and Cons of Metal vs Paper Filters?
Cloth filters aren’t that common, so it’s easier to compare paper and metal. Comparisons of key features include:
Influence on Taste
- Paper: Lighter, cleaner taste
- Metal: Heavier, richer flavor, as well as a more robust mouthfeel.
Sediment Inclusion
- Paper: No sediment gets through, on intact filter
- Metal: Fineness of grating determines amount of sediment that may come through
Sustainability of Filter Use
- Paper: Short use life, but composition allows for being recycled or composted
- Metal: Harder to recycle, but lasts for far longer.
Convenience of Use
- Paper: Very convenient to use.
- Metal: Harder to use, due to the necessity of cleaning.
Cost Of Purchasing
- Paper: Cheaper initial cost, but more expensive to use long term
- Metal: More expensive primary cost, cheaper over long term
Basic Breakdown
Paper is cheaper in the short term, removes more from the brew, and offers more convenience.
Metal lasts longer and is cheaper in the long term, and leaves a heavier, richer flavor, but it requires more cleaning and may allow sediment through for less clarity in the brew.
Cloth filters generally wind up occupying the middle ground between metal filters, and are reputed to offer the clarity of the paper filter and the flavor of the metal filter.
When it comes to the best filters, coffee aficionados all have their own personal preferences. These are the ones that have been listed as ‘best’ filters, both Aeropress brand and otherwise.
Best Metal Filters for the Aeropress
Here are some of the options available for top Aeropress metal filters.
Able Disk
It’s been rated by some coffee aficionados as the Best Value metal coffee filter for the Aeropress.
In some ways, this is the standard metal filter for the Aeropress, if metal is the way you want to go.
It comes in 2 options: Standard/Original or Fine.
The Standard is, as the name implies, the industry standard in terms of size and porosity.
The Fine is about 2/3rds smaller, with smaller holes, and offers a cleaner, lighter cup of coffee
As a negative aspect, the Fine Disk can be easily damaged, so it needs to be handled with care.
Another negative aspect is that both disks, even the Fine, will let a bit of sediment through.
On the other hand, they are both high quality and fairly affordable.
AMEUUS Aeropress Metal Filter
These filters are engineered to let every drop of coffee oil through, without letting any of the grounds through.
They come in multiple levels of thickness with between 10,000 to 50,000 holes per filter. They’re listed as the 100 micron filter and the 30 micron filter.
They’re well-made and have let almost no sediment through.
The only problem is that they are sometimes prone to breaking or bending.
Kohi Labs Metal Fabric Filter
They’re theoretically indestructible, and can even be rolled or folded, though it’s not recommended.
Like the AMEUUS filter, they’re engineered to let through maximum coffee oil, and little to no coffee sediment.
As a downside, however, it’s one of the more expensive filters out there, and it requires regular cleaning for proper performance.
Get the Kohi Labs filter direct from their website.
IMS ULTRAFINE Aeropress Filter
An Italian brand of Aeropress filter with precision screens.
They have high-quality materials and an excellent track record.
As a downside, they can be hard to find, and they operate as more of a traditional coffee filter than some of the ones that are easier to use.
Check their website for their current selection of filters.
Fellow Primo
It’s reusable, and comes with a pressure attachment that can be used instead of the filter cap of his Aeropress.
If you’re not a fan of sediment, then this is not the optimal filter.
It gives a rich, full cup of coffee, similar to an espresso.
It makes a good 2-for-1 replacement if you’ve broken or lost your Aeropress filter cap.
Aeropress Reusable Filter Set by Slimm Filter
These are sold as a pack of 3 different metal mesh filters: mesh, fine and ultrafine.
They’re considered easier to clean than many other metal filters.
The varying levels of fine mesh allow for brewers to fine-tune their coffee to the exact flavor and acidity they like.
Cafe Concetto Premium Aeropress Filter
Listed by Bougie Bean as the Best Premium Filter.
It’s stainless steel, and designed for quick and easy brewing.
They’re higher-priced than many, but known to offer nearly flawless filtering.
These will last for long periods of time.
Best Paper Filters
These are some of the filters that have been listed as the best paper filters on the market for the Aeropress.
Standard Aeropress Press Filter
Standard Aeropress filters come in a 350 pack. They’re cheap and easy to use, as well as easy to find.
They’re listed on Bougie Bean as Best Paper Filter.
They’re also easy to recycle, especially as a composting agent.
On the other hand, the thin paper of these filters is somewhat easy to rip and crumple.
If you’re not careful, the filter can become unusable, and you may not get a properly filtered cup of coffee.
AESIR Aeropress Filter
These are considered premium Aeropress filters, of thicker paper with lower porosity.
These are considered high quality, and make a vibrant, clear cup of coffee.
The thicker paper also means a single filter can make a good cup of coffee.
On the downside, they only come in packs of 100, as opposed to the 350 of regular filters. They’re also more expensive.
2Pour Vegan Non-Bleached Natural Filters
Listed by Bougie Bean as Best Reusable Paper Filter
Considered a more environmentally friendly paper filter. These are chlorine free and biodegradable.
They’re made of something similar to crepe paper, and they’re heavy enough they can be washed and reused.
These filters filter somewhat faster than regular filters, but don’t allow more sediment, so they’re considered pretty good quality overall.
Better Acid Reducing Aeropress Paper Filters
These are made of a special blend of mineral treated paper, and whitened with a non-chlorine process.
Good for ecologically minded individuals – these are 100 percent compostable.
Offers a clean cup of coffee.
Best Cloth Filters
There aren’t very many cloth filters for Aeropress or other forms of brewing, but one has gained attention
CoffeeSock – Cotton Cloth Filter Disk
The CoffeeSock filter is considered a good balance between metal and paper filters.
It allows for a more robust, fuller flavor than most paper filters provide. However, it also provides a cleaner cup, as the cloth strains out more sediment.
They can be used multiple times, so long as they are taken proper care of. With proper cleaning and handling, these filters can last years.
They only come 3 to a box. but they are likely to last long enough to make up for the cost and small amount.
Which Filters Are Most Affordable?
If it’s affordability in the short term that’s your main concern, then the best choices from the above filters would probably be the following:
- Able Disk Filter
- Standard Aeropress Filter
Which Filters Are Considered Best Quality?
If you’re looking for the best quality of coffee, or the best options for fine-tuning your coffee, then you may want to look at these:
- Reusable Filter Set by Slimm Filter.
- IMS Ultrafine Aeropress
Which Filters Offer The Greatest Clarity?
If you’re looking for less sediment in your coffee, then you may want to choose one of the following filters:
- CoffeeSock Cotton Filter
- AESIR Aeropress Filter
- Cafe Concetto Premium Filter
- Kohi Labs Metal Fabric Filter
Which Filters Are The Most Ecological?
While all metal and fabric filters can be considered Ecological because they’re reusable, but there are some paper filters that are fairly good for the environment as well.
- Standard Aeropress
- 2Pour Vegan Non-Bleached Filters
How Do I Know Which Aeropress Filter Is The Best Option For Me?
With all the factors that should be considered for choosing the best Aeropress coffee filter, it can be difficult to identify exactly which filter is best for you.
You may want to start with the standard Aeropress filter, as it is one of the most affordable and easiest to find.
If this does not quite make the perfect cup of coffee for you, you can make adjustments based on your preferences.
- If you want a more robust coffee, try some metal filters.
- If you like to vary the flavor and strength depending on your day, a set of metal filters with varying sizes could be the best choice.
- For a combination of clarity and robustness, you might want to give the cloth coffee filters a test run.
Every choice has pros and cons, so you should explore your options until you hit on exactly the right choice for you.
Can I Combine Filters?
With the right filters, combinations shouldn’t be needed. However, that’s not to say they can’t be combined.
If you wanted to combine a larger metal filter and a paper filter to try and get the best of both worlds, it’s theoretically possible.
How Many Times Can I Use An Aeropress Filter?
It all depends on the filter. Paper filters can rarely be used more than once.
Metal filters, on the other hand, can be used hundreds of times, so long as they are not broken, bent or damaged.
Cloth filters are capable of being used hundreds of times, and may last longer than metal filters if handled properly.
Which Is Recommended: Paper, Metal or Cloth Filters?
The Aeropress is made to use paper filters. However, the metal filters on the market for Aeropress were designed for the Aeropress, so there’s not much incompatibility.
Since 2005, there have been 8 versions of the Aeropress made, so paper filters might be more compatible with all 8 designs, as opposed to metal filters that are more rigid in size.
For example, the Aeropress Go is 1/3 smaller than the regular Aeropress, meaning that a metal filter that is perfect for the Aeropress may not fit the Aeropress Go.
Are There Other Aeropress Filters?
There are other Aeropress filters on the market, but they aren’t as widely marketed.
Other metal filter brands include filters like JavaPresse, S-Filter, and Corretto.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to deciding the best Aeropress filter for your personal use, there are plenty of issues to consider. Price, material, size, clarity and reusability are all things to look at when you’re making a choice.
The list above will give you plenty of options to start with, no matter what criteria are at the top of your list. So whatever you’re looking for in an Aeropress coffee filter, you’re likely to find an option that is exactly your cup of coffee.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.
