French press coffee is a classic — simple to make and always reliable. But let’s be honest: nobody enjoys cleaning those grounds mashed at the bottom of the carafe. The American Press was invented specifically to solve that problem, born from the frustrations of a college student who watched his peers leave dirty French presses sitting for days. We put it through its paces and then compared it head-to-head against both the French press and the Aeropress.
How the American Press Works
The American Press is made up of three main components: a flask that holds all the water, a glass pod that holds the coffee grounds with a metal mesh filter, and a piston for pressing.
It offers pressurized extraction, hands-on control of brew time, and ultra-fine 100-micron steel filtration. With no paper filters or plastic pods required, it positions itself as an eco-friendly brewing option — a point reinforced by its raw cardboard packaging. It brews up to 14 ounces at a time with an average brew time of two to three minutes.
Brewing with the American Press
The manufacturer recommends a medium grind — too fine and the resistance when pressing becomes unpleasant. The pod fits between 15 to 20 grams of grounds (the instructions say 20 to 24, but we consistently found it holds less).
Since American Press does not specify an optimum water temperature, we used 93 degrees Celsius (about 200 degrees Fahrenheit), a common temperature for immersion brewing. We filled to the max line (roughly 355 milliliters) and began plunging until the first drop of coffee rolled over the top.
The manufacturer recommends a pre-infusion stage of 30 seconds to 2 minutes before pressing. We went with 30 seconds, which was also a nice opportunity to appreciate the aroma as the coffee off-gassed. The pressing itself should take between 30 seconds and 2 minutes — many reviewers online have found that longer press times produce better brews, so we aimed for about 2 minutes.
The visual experience is genuinely cool. You can see the extracted coffee layering on top while clear water remains underneath — something no other brewer really offers.
The Three-Way Taste Test
To keep things fair, we brewed three cups using the same Costa Rican medium roast beans, the same medium grind, and the same 93-degree water across all three brewers.
French Press: A slightly woody overtone, which usually indicates mild over-extraction from being immersed too long. Not ruined, but we knew these beans could taste better.
Aeropress: Like a completely different coffee. Every flavor came through — fruity notes, complexity, and clarity. The Aeropress consistently extracts the most from the beans.
American Press: Better than expected, especially when compared side by side with the Aeropress. It extracted a surprising amount of flavor. Not quite at Aeropress level, but remarkably close and a clear step above the French press.
The Rankings
Flavor:
- Aeropress — Best extraction, most flavor complexity
- American Press — Surprisingly close, with solid flavor extraction
- French Press — Good but slightly over-extracted, woody notes
Convenience:
- American Press — The pod is easily removed and simple to clean. This is its biggest selling point.
- Aeropress — Generally convenient, but you need to remove the paper filter and manage the grounds
- French Press — Dead last. Grounds stuck at the bottom, cleanup all over the sink. We are all guilty of leaving it dirty for too long.
Should You Buy It?
Yes. The American Press is a useful, well-designed brewer. It is compact, all-in-one, travels well, and is not made of glass on the outside (so it is likely shatterproof). The brewing experience takes about the same time as a French press, and the cleanup convenience is genuinely its killer feature.
If you are chasing the absolute best flavor extraction from your beans, the Aeropress remains the champion. But if convenience matters more to you — and you are tired of scrubbing grounds out of a French press — the American Press is a worthwhile addition to your coffee arsenal.
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